Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Cypress Semiconductor Corporation

Freescale Semiconductor,inc.

Matthew S Berzins

Charles A Cornell

Stephen Myles Prather

James Jung Lim

Min-Su Kim

Andrew Paul Hoover

Prashant U Kenkare

Jong-Woo Kim

Jeffrey William Waldrip

Christina Wells

Samuel J Tower

Lalitkumar Motagi

Mark Stephen Rodder

Min Su Kim

Rwik Sengupta

Steven Philip Larky

Dae-Seong Lee

Hyun Shik Lee

Ahsan Habib Chowdhury

Brian M Millar

Chung-Hee Kim

Joseph Andrew Cetin

Shyam Agarwal

Suhail Ahmed

Sam Tower

San-Ha Kim

Christopher Alan Peura

Jinkyu Lee

Jeffrey F Waldrip

Sumanth Suraneni

Doo-Seok Yoon

According to one general aspect, an apparatus may include a first power signal having a high voltage. The apparatus may include a second power signal having a low voltage. The apparatus may include a third power signal having a voltage configured to switch between the high voltage and the low voltage. The apparatus may include a latching circuit powered by the first power signal and the second power signal. The apparatus may include a selection circuit configured to select between, at least, a first data signal and a second data signal, and powered by the first power signal, the second power signal, and the third power signal.

Method for reducing power consumption in scannable flip-flops without additional circuitry

A low-power low-setup integrated clock gating (ICG) cell is disclosed. The disclosed ICG cell includes a NOR gate configured to receive an enable (E) signal and a test enable (SE) signal, and to output an EN signal. The ICG cell may include a complex gate configured to receive the EN signal and a clock (CK) signal, and to output a latched enable (ELAT) signal. The ICG cell may further include a NAND gate configured to receive the ELAT signal and the CK signal, and to output an inverted enabled clock (ECKN) signal. The ICG cell may further include an inverter configured to receive the ECKN signal from the NAND gate, and to output an enable clock (ECK) signal.

Low-power low-setup integrated clock gating cell with complex enable selection

According to one general aspect, an apparatus may include a latch circuit configured to, depending in part upon a state or at least one enable signal, pass a clock signal to an output signal. The latch circuit may include an input stage controlled by the clock signal and the enable signal(s). The latch may include an output stage configured to produce the output signal. The input and output stages may share a common transistor controlled by the clock signal.

Low power integrated clock gating system and method

A semiconductor integrated circuit including a substrate, a series of metal layers, and a series of insulating layers. The metal layers and the insulating layers are alternately arranged in a stack on the substrate. The semiconductor integrated circuit also includes at least two standard cells in the substrate and at least one power rail crossing over boundaries of the at least two standard cells. The power rail includes a vertical section of conductive material extending continuously through at least two vertical levels of the stack. The two vertical levels of the stack include one metal layer and one insulating layer. The insulating layer is above the metal layer.

Power rail for standard cell block

According to one general aspect, an apparatus may include a metal layer having a metal pitch between metal elements, and a gate electrode layer having a gate pitch between gate electrode elements, wherein the gate electrode pitch is a ratio of the metal pitch. The apparatus may include at least two power rails coupled, by via staples, with the metal layer, wherein the via staples at least partially overlap one or more of the gate electrode elements. The apparatus may include even and odd pluralities of standard cells, each respectively located in even/odd placement sites wherein portions of the standard cells that carry signals within the metal layer do not connect to the via staples.

Power grid and standard cell co-design structure and methods thereof

According to one general aspect, an apparatus may include a flip-flop circuit. The flip-flop circuit may include a selection circuit, a memory element circuit, a clock circuit. The selection circuit to select, as the selected input signal, between at least two input signals. The memory element circuit synchronously controlled by a clock signal, and configured to store the selected input signal. The clock circuit configured to output, at least, an earlier version of the clock signal and a later version of the clock signal. The selection circuit is configured to be synchronously controlled, at least in part, by the earlier version of the clock signal such that the selected input signal is held stable when being read by the memory element circuit.

System and method for improving scan hold-time violation and low voltage operation in sequential circuit

A standard cell architecture provides an improved immunity to power-supply voltage-drop, does not induce power-supply voltage drop on a continuous-row power rail of a standard cell, and maintains standard-cell environment compatibility. A circuit includes a first metal layer and a second metal layer that are formed different distances above a substrate. At least one first standard cell drives a first timing signal and includes at least one transistor receiving power from a first power rail in the first metal layer. At least one second standard cell drives a second timing signal and includes at least one transistor receiving power from a second power rail in the second metal layer. The second power rail has both a low peak noise level and a resistance that is lower than that of the first metal layer.

Layout connection isolation technique for improving immunity to jitter and voltage drop in a standard cell

Apparatuses for a flip-flop are provided. One apparatus for a flip-flop includes a domino logic flip-flop, including a single footer transistor for all nodes in the domino logic flip-flop to be pre-charged, wherein the single footer includes a footer node; and a pre-charge transistor connected to the footer node for pre-charging the footer node before an evaluation cycle. Another apparatus for a flip-flop includes a domino logic flip-flop; and combinatory logic configured to evaluate a complimentary signal in conjunction with circuit events.

High speed domino-based flip flop

Inventive aspects include a dynamic flip flop, comprising a data independent P-stack feedback circuit. The data independent P-stack feedback circuit may include a first P-type transistor gated by a first dynamic inverted net signal, and a second P-type transistor gated by an inverted clock signal. A drain of the second P-type transistor may be coupled to a source of the first P-type transistor. A source of the second P-type transistor may be coupled to a node that is configured to receive a second dynamic inverted net signal. The source of the second P-type transistor may be directly coupled to the node that is configured to receive the second dynamic inverted net signal instead of a constant power source. The data independent P-stack feedback circuit may include one or more delay stages to eliminate race conditions.

Dynamic flip flop having data independent P-stack feedback

A multi-bit flip-flop includes: a single scan input pin to receive a scan input signal, a plurality of data input pins to receive first and second data input signals, a first scan flip-flop to select one of the scan input signal and the first data input signal as a first selection signal in response to a scan enable signal and to latch the first selection signal to provide a first output signal, a second scan flip-flop to select one of an internal signal corresponding to the first output signal and the second data input signal as a second selection signal in response to the scan enable signal and to latch the second selection signal to provide a second output signal, and a plurality of output pins to output the first and second output signals, wherein scan paths of the first and second scan flip-flops are connected to each other.

Multi-bit flip-flops

Embodiments include an integrated clock gating (ICG) cell. The low power ICG cell may include an input condition determination circuit configured to generate a temporary inverted clock signal and an inverted output signal. The low power ICG cell may include an enable control logic circuit configured to receive the temporary inverted clock signal and the inverted output signal from the input condition determination circuit. The low power ICG cell may include a latch circuit coupled to the enable control logic circuit and configured to latch an input value dependent on at least the inverted output signal and the temporary inverted clock signal. The input condition determination circuit is configured to generate the temporary inverted clock signal only when it is needed.

Low power integrated clock gating cell using controlled inverted clock

According to one general aspect, a method may include receiving a circuit model that includes logic circuits that are represented by respective cells. The method may include providing a timing adjustment to the circuit model. This providing may include determining one or more respective cells that are candidates for adjustment by employing a sub-micron stress effect, and, for each candidate, replacing a candidate cell with a stressed cell, wherein a candidate cell and stressed cell perform a same logical function. Each stressed cell may include: a gate electrode, a first gate-cut shape disposed to cut the gate electrode, wherein the first gate-cut shape is disposed upon a row-boundary, a second gate-cut shape disposed upon the row-boundary, a gate-cut break disposed between the first gate-cut shape and the second gate-cut shape, an active region, and an active-cut shape disposed to cut the active region.

Using deep sub-micron stress effects and proximity effects to create a high performance standard cell

A semiconductor circuit includes a first circuit and a second circuit. The first circuit determines a logic level of a second node and a logic level of a third node, on the basis of a logic level of input data, a logic level of a clock signal, and a logic level of a first node. The second circuit determines the logic level of the first node, on the basis of the logic level of the clock signal, the logic level of the second node and the logic level of the third node. The first circuit comprises a sub-circuit and a first transistor. The first circuit determines the logic level of the second node, on the basis of the logic level of the input data and the logic level of the first node. The first transistor is gated to the logic level of the clock signal to connect the third node with the second node.

Semiconductor circuit including flip-flop

A multi-bit flip-flop includes a plurality of multi-bit flip-flop blocks that share a clock signal. Each of the multi-bit flip-flop blocks includes a single inverter and a plurality of flip-flops. The single inverter generates an inverted clock signal by inverting the clock signal. Each of the flip-flops includes a master latch part and a slave latch part and operates the master latch part and the slave latch part based on the clock signal and the inverted clock signal. Here, the flip-flops are triggered at rising edges of the clock signal. Thus, the multi-bit flip-flop operating as a master-slave flip-flop may minimize (or, reduce) power consumption occurring in a clock path through which the clock signal is transmitted.

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Austin, TX, United States of America

Matthew S Berzins