Enable Flip-Flop Circuit With Reduced Transistor Count
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Solution Overview
Problem
Flip-flops in integrated circuits consume a significant portion of power, with enable flip-flops being a major contributor, and there is a need to reduce the number of transistors to minimize area and power consumption.
Innovation Solution
A flip-flop design that includes a master latch, a slave latch, and an output inverter, utilizing PMOS and NMOS transistors, with a multiplexer and tri-state inverters to reduce the transistor count, resulting in a more efficient and power-effective implementation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If enable flip-flops are used in integrated circuits, then the functionality and control capability are improved, but the area and power consumption increase due to higher transistor count
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates redundant transistors from the conventional enable flip-flop structure. By carefully analyzing the circuit functionality, unnecessary transistors are removed while preserving the essential enable control capability, master-latch slave-latch operation, and edge-triggered behavior, thereby reducing area without sacrificing functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges certain transistor functions and optimizes the interconnection between master latch and slave latch components. By consolidating redundant control paths and sharing transistor functions where possible, the design achieves the same control capability with fewer total transistors, directly reducing the flip-flop area
2Adaptability or versatility
If enable flip-flops are used in integrated circuits, then the functionality and control capability are improved, but the power consumption increases due to higher transistor count
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes redundant transistors from the enable flip-flop structure. Since each transistor contributes to dynamic power consumption through charging and discharging of parasitic capacitances, reducing the transistor count directly lowers the power consumption while maintaining the essential enable control functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges transistor functions and optimizes control signal distribution. By consolidating redundant control paths and ensuring that enable signals are efficiently distributed only where necessary, the design reduces the number of active transistors during operation, thereby reducing dynamic power consumption while preserving control capability
3Area of stationary object
If the transistor count in enable flip-flops is reduced, then the area and power consumption are improved, but the reliability and functionality may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent carefully extracts only the redundant transistors that do not contribute to essential functionality. Through systematic analysis, it identifies and removes excess transistors while preserving the critical transistor elements needed for reliable edge-triggered operation, enable control, and data transfer between master and slave latches, thereby maintaining reliability while reducing area
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local optimization by ensuring that the remaining transistors in each critical path (input stage, master latch, slave latch, output stage) are properly sized and positioned. By optimizing the local transistor distribution and ensuring adequate drive strength in key locations, the design maintains reliable operation despite the overall reduction in transistor count
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure provides a flip-flop. The flip-flop includes a master latch. The master latch receives a flip-flop input, a clock input, an inverted clock input, an enable signal and an inverted enable signal. A slave latch is coupled to the master latch and receives the enable signal and the inverted enable signal. An output inverter is coupled to the slave latch and generates a flip-flop output.