Clock Gating Circuit for Dynamic Power Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Semiconductor devices, particularly memory devices, face significant challenges in reducing power consumption due to the continuous transitions in clock signals, which lead to high dynamic power consumption.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a clock gating circuit and a control circuit that includes a polling module, which sets a clock enable signal to a disable value during idle periods, thereby disabling signal transitions in the gated clock signal and reducing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If clock signal transitions are continuously enabled, then processing speed and responsiveness are maintained, but dynamic power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements periodic clock gating by enabling clock signal transitions only during active periods and disabling them during idle periods. The clock enable signal periodically switches between enable and disable states based on whether the processing core is actively processing data or in an idle state, thereby creating a periodic pattern of clock signal activity that reduces power consumption while maintaining processing capability when needed.
2Use of energy by moving object
If clock gating is implemented to reduce power consumption, then energy efficiency improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a clock enable signal as an intermediary element that mediates between the clock signal source and the processing core. This intermediate control signal allows the system to selectively enable or disable clock transitions without fundamentally altering the core processing architecture, thereby achieving power reduction with minimal increase in overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device includes a clock gating circuit and a control circuit. The clock gating circuit outputs a gated clock signal based on a clock signal. Transitions of the clock signal are output in the gated clock signal in response to a clock enable signal having an enable value and are disabled from being output in the gated clock signal in response to the clock enable signal having a disable value. The control circuit includes a first portion that operates based on the clock signal. The first portion sets the clock enable signal to the disable value in response to a disable control and sets the clock enable signal to the enable value in response to a wakeup control. The control circuit includes a second portion that operates based on the gated clock signal. The second portion provides the disable control to the first portion during an operation.