Partitioned Power Gating With Voltage Regulation for Leakage Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional power gating techniques in integrated circuits result in excessive power consumption due to continuous power supply to critical-on circuitry and lack of voltage control, leading to inefficiencies in both inactive and active states.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a power gating circuit that independently controls power and voltage to multiple partitions within a digital logic circuit, using configurable power gating and voltage regulation, with enhanced control signals and voltage modulation to reduce power consumption and prevent sudden current changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If conventional power gating techniques are used with critical-on circuitry always connected to power, then the circuit can be quickly activated when needed, but power consumption increases due to continuous power supply and leakage
Solution Approach 1:
The circuit is divided into multiple power domains with independent power gating control. Each domain can be independently powered on or off, allowing selective activation of only the necessary circuit blocks. This segmentation enables the system to maintain fast activation for critical blocks while powering down non-critical blocks to reduce leakage power.
Solution Approach 2:
The power gating control logic dynamically adjusts power supply to different circuit blocks based on their operational state and criticality. The system continuously monitors which blocks need to be active and adjusts power gating signals accordingly, transitioning between different power states to optimize both activation speed and power consumption.
2Reliability
If power is continuously supplied to all circuit blocks, then the circuit operates reliably without activation delays, but power leakage increases in inactive states
Solution Approach 1:
Different power management strategies are applied to different circuit blocks based on their specific requirements. Critical blocks maintain continuous power supply for reliability, while non-critical blocks use aggressive power gating to reduce leakage. The power gating control logic evaluates each block's criticality and operational patterns to apply appropriate power management locally.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the power supply parameter dynamically based on the operational state of circuit blocks. When a block is inactive, power gating is enabled to cut off power supply, reducing leakage. When activation is detected or required, power gating is disabled to restore full power supply, ensuring reliable operation. This parameter change is controlled by power gating signals that respond to activity detection.
3Productivity
If voltage is not controlled and supplied at full level, then the circuit has maximum performance, but power consumption increases unnecessarily in low-performance states
Solution Approach 1:
The voltage supply to circuit blocks is dynamically adjusted based on their operational requirements. The power gating control logic monitors activity levels and performance needs, then adjusts voltage accordingly. When full performance is needed, voltage is maintained at maximum levels. When performance can be reduced, voltage is scaled down to decrease power consumption while maintaining adequate functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The voltage parameter is changed based on operational state to optimize the power-performance tradeoff. The system transitions between different voltage levels depending on whether the circuit block is active, idle, or in a low-power state. This parameter adjustment is coordinated with power gating control to ensure stable operation at reduced voltage when appropriate.
Data Source
AI summary
In accordance with the described techniques, a device or system includes a digital logic circuit organized into multiple partitions, and a power gating circuit. Further, the digital logic circuit includes base logic representing the digital logic circuit before being modified by external logic of the system that is external to the digital logic circuit. The power gating circuit is configured to independently control power supplied to the multiple partitions of the digital logic circuit. As part of this, the power gating circuit initiates a power state transition to a power state in which an entirety of the base logic of the digital logic circuit is powered off.