Title :
A new family of semidynamic and dynamic flip-flops with embedded logic for high-performance processors
Author :
Klass, Fabian ; Amir, Chaim ; Das, Ashutosh ; Aingaran, Kathirgamar ; Truong, Cindy ; Wang, Richard ; Mehta, Anup ; Heald, Ray ; Yee, Gin
Author_Institution :
Sun Microsyst. Inc., Palo Alto, CA, USA
fDate :
5/1/1999 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
In an attempt to reduce the pipeline overhead, a new family of edge-triggered flip-flops has been developed. The flip-flops belong to a class of semidynamic and dynamic circuits that can interface to both static and dynamic circuits. The main features of the basic design are short latency, small clock load, small area, and a single-phase clock scheme. Furthermore, the flip-flop family has the capability of easily incorporating logic functions with a small delay penalty. This feature greatly reduces the pipeline overhead, since each flip-flop can be viewed as a special logic gate that serves as a synchronization element as well
Keywords :
CMOS logic circuits; flip-flops; synchronisation; timing; clock load; delay penalty; dynamic flip-flops; edge-triggered flip-flops; embedded logic; high-performance processor application; latency; pipeline overhead reduction; semidynamic flip-flops; single-phase clock scheme; synchronization element; Circuits; Clocks; Delay; Flip-flops; Latches; Logic functions; Logic gates; Microprocessors; Pipeline processing; Synchronization;
Journal_Title :
Solid-State Circuits, IEEE Journal of