CIRCUITS AND METHODS PROVIDING STATE INFORMATION PRESERVATION DURING POWER SAVING OPERATIONS

摘要

Methods, systems, and circuits for preserving state information during power saving operations are disclosed. One example embodiment includes a circuit having a processing core, where the processing core includes logic processing circuits as well as circuits (e.g., flip-flops registers) that are used to store state information in the processing core. The logic processing circuits have power connections to a power rail that are subject to a switch, which can disconnect the power connections from the power rail. The circuits that are used to store state information have different power connections that are subject to a different switch. Therefore, the logic processing circuits and the state information circuits can be separately power-collapsed.

主权项

1. A circuit comprising:
a first switch and a second switch configured to receive power from a power supply; a processing core including a first plurality of transistors configured to store state information and a second plurality of transistors configured to process data according to the state information, wherein the first plurality of transistors and the second plurality of transistors are physically interspersed within the processing core; wherein the first switch is configured to provide power to the first plurality of transistors, and wherein the second switch is configured to provide power to the second plurality of transistors; and switching logic configured to:
turn on the first switch and the second switch for active processing, andmaintain the first switch on and turn off the second switch during an idle state of the processing core in which the state information is preserved.