Exploring Variability and Performance in a Sub-200-mV Processor
The work
| Authors | Scott Hanson; Bo Zhai; Mingoo Seok; Brian T. Cline; Kevin Zhou; Meghna Singhal; Michael Minuth; Javin Olson; Leyla Nazhandali; Todd M. Austin; Dennis Sylvester; David Blaauw |
|---|---|
| Editors | |
| Type | article |
| Year | 2008 |
| Citekey | hanson2008exploring |
Where it appeared
| Published in | IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 881--891 |
Identifiers
| DOI | 10.1109/jssc.2008.917505 |
|---|---|
| OpenAlex | W2133256259 |
Access
| Landing page | https://doi.org/10.1109/jssc.2008.917505 |
|---|
From OpenAlex, which stores abstracts as an index of words and their positions: what is shown is rebuilt from that, and reads fluently whether or not it is what the author wrote.
Abstract
In this study, we explore the design of a subthreshold processor for use in ultra-low-energy sensor systems. We describe an 8-bit subthreshold processor that has been designed with energy efficiency as the primary constraint. The processor, which is functional below Vdd=200 mV, consumes only 3.5 pJ/inst at Vdd=350 mV and, under a reverse body bias, draws only 11 nW at Vdd=160 mV. Process and temperature variations in subthreshold circuits can cause dramatic fluctuations in performance and energy consumption and can lead to robustness problems. We investigate the use of body biasing to adapt to process and temperature variations. Test-chip measurements show that body biasing is particularly effective in subthreshold circuits and can eliminate performance variations with minimal energy penalties. Reduced performance is also problematic at low voltages, so we investigate global and local techniques for improving performance while maintaining energy efficiency.
How it got here
| How it got here | agent via openalex |
|---|---|
| Added | 2026-10-27 19:21 UTC |
| Not denied by | a person 2026-10-29 17:12 UTC |
Cite it as
@article{hanson2008exploring,
title = {Exploring Variability and Performance in a Sub-200-mV Processor},
author = {Scott Hanson and Bo Zhai and Mingoo Seok and Brian T. Cline and Kevin Zhou and Meghna Singhal and Michael Minuth and Javin Olson and Leyla Nazhandali and Todd M. Austin and Dennis Sylvester and David Blaauw},
year = {2008},
journal = {IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits},
publisher = {Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers},
volume = {43},
number = {4},
pages = {881--891},
doi = {10.1109/jssc.2008.917505},
}
This record lives at https://refs.drheap.org/hanson2008exploring/ and will keep doing so.