Low-power, serial interface for power-constrained devices

Low-power digital interfaces are a crucial component of reconfigurable systems. We have designed a SPI-compatible, four-wire interface and state machine for use in dynamically scaled voltage systems. The interface features an activity enable signal and latch enable signal on every eighth-bit in order to minimize the total switching power consumed by the interface. The interface also allows for addressing for disparate systems across the IC to share a common bus without contention.