Low leakage circuits, devices, and techniques

摘要

An integrated circuit includes circuitry organized into sub-blocks, and power supply selection circuitry operative to selectively adjust the connectivity of power supply terminals of the sub-blocks. When the integrated circuit is operating in an active mode, the power supply selection circuitry couples the sub-blocks in parallel between upper and lower active-mode power supplies; when the integrated circuit is operating in a standby mode, the power supply selection circuitry couples two or more sub-blocks in series between upper and lower standby-mode power supplies. Additionally, in standby mode, isolation circuitry within a sub-block is activated to isolate circuitry within the sub-block from input or output terminals of the sub-block.

主权项

1. A method for reducing leakage current in an integrated circuit comprising a plurality of sub-blocks of circuitry each including an upper power-supply terminal, a lower power-supply terminal, and an input or output signal terminal, the method comprising steps of:
coupling the upper and lower power-supply terminals of the sub-blocks of the plurality of sub-blocks to couple the sub-blocks in parallel between upper and lower active-mode power supplies when the integrated circuit is operating in an active mode; coupling the upper and lower power-supply terminals of two or more sub-blocks of the plurality of sub-blocks to couple the two or more sub-blocks in series between upper and lower standby-mode power supplies when the integrated circuit is operating in a standby mode; and activating isolation circuitry within one of the two or more sub-blocks to isolate circuitry of the one sub-block from the input or output signal terminal of the one sub-block when the integrated circuit is operating in the standby mode.