New optimal design strategies and analysis of ultra-low leakage circuits for nano-scale SOI technology

Abstract

This paper proposes new SOI circuit strategies for simultaneous reduction of standby gate and sub-threshold leakages. Various enhanced MTCMOS design alternatives are analyzed. A new method for assigning the VTH and sizes of header and footer transistors is proposed, and stacking of headers/footers is analyzed. The optimum stacking height and tapering/sizing ratio under various design constraints are determined. Our strategies reduce MTCMOS standby leakage further by as much as 20× and reduce virtual supply noise by 15%.