Latch-Independent Self-Gating Flops for Dynamic Power Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Integrated circuit devices, particularly programmable logic devices like FPGAs, face challenges in dynamic power consumption due to increased operating frequencies and higher performance computations, with existing clock gating techniques occupying valuable space and introducing timing delays.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a latch-independent clock gating circuit that generates a gated clock signal to enable or disable flip-flops based on input signals, reducing dynamic power consumption without using latches, thus minimizing space and timing overhead.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If existing clock gating techniques are used to reduce dynamic power consumption, then power consumption is reduced, but device area is occupied and timing delays are introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The flip-flop circuit generates its own gating control signal using its input signal Q and clock signal CLK, eliminating the need for external latch-based control circuits. The circuit serves itself by using its internal signals to control its own clock gating, thereby reducing the area occupied by external control logic while achieving dynamic power reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and eliminates the latch component from traditional clock gating circuits. By removing the latch-based control mechanism and replacing it with a direct combination of the input signal Q and clock signal CLK through logic gates, the circuit reduces the area occupied by control logic while maintaining the power gating function.
2Use of energy by moving object
If existing clock gating techniques are used to reduce dynamic power consumption, then power consumption is reduced, but timing delays are introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The flip-flop circuit generates its own gating control signal using its input signal Q and clock signal CLK, eliminating the need for external latch-based control circuits. The circuit serves itself by using its internal signals to control its own clock gating, thereby reducing the area occupied by external control logic while achieving dynamic power reduction.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts and eliminates the latch component from traditional clock gating circuits. By removing the latch-based control mechanism and replacing it with a direct combination of the input signal Q and clock signal CLK through logic gates, the circuit reduces the area occupied by control logic while maintaining the power gating function.
3Speed
If operating frequencies are increased to improve performance, then computation speed is improved, but dynamic power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention implements periodic clock gating by controlling the clock signal CLK to the flip-flop based on the input signal Q. When Q is low, the clock is gated off, creating periodic intervals where the flip-flop is inactive and consumes minimal power. This allows the system to operate at high frequencies when needed while reducing power consumption during idle or low-activity periods, effectively decoupling peak performance speed from continuous power consumption.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems or methods described herein may relate to latch-independent clock gating techniques to enable or disable an internal clock of an integrated circuit device. A programmable logic device includes a clock gating circuit that receives a clock signal and is latch independent. The clock gating circuit includes gating signal circuitry that generates a gating signal based on the clock signal and an enable signal. The clock gating circuit also includes a logic gate that generates a control signal based on the gating signal. The clock gating circuit also includes gated clock generation circuitry that generates a gated clock signal based on the clock signal and the control signal.