Ultra-low power 0.1 μm CMOS

Ultra-low power operation of 0.1μm CMOS is demonstrated at power supply voltages well below 1 V. Design trade-offs among gate delay, active power, and standby power are carried out in a power supply-threshold voltage design space. Experimental results show a ring oscillator delay of 106 ps at a power supply voltage of 0.5 V, and a minimum power-delay product of 0.03 fJ/stage (switching factor = 0.01) at 0.4 V. A 20X reduction in power/circuit is achieved at the same performance level as 0.25μm CMOS.