On the Reliability of Four Full Adder Cells

This study presents a top-down investigation of the reliability of four different fall adder (FA) designs. It provides insights into different parameters that affect the reliability of these FAs. The probability transfer matrix (PTM) approach is used to numerically estimate the reliability of the FAs under investigation. Simulation results show that the FAs´ reliabilities depend not only on the numbers of gates, but also on the types of gates used as well as on the way these gates are interconnected. The simulation results also show how different gates affect the FAs´ reliabilities and are extended with estimates from the device level. Such reliability analyses should be used for a better characterization of FA designs for future nanoelectronic technologies, in addition to the well-known speed and power consumption (which have long been used for selecting and ranking FA designs).