Aggressive drowsy cache cells

An aggressive drowsy cache block management, where the cache block is forced into drowsy mode all the time except during write and read operations, is proposed. The word line (WL) is used to enable the normal supply voltage (V DD_high) to the cache line only when it is accessed for read or write whereas the drowsy supply voltage (V DD_low) is enabled to the cache cell otherwise. The proposed block management neither needs extra cycles nor extra control signals to wake the drowsy cache cell, thereby reducing the performance penalty associated with traditional drowsy caches. In fact, the proposed aggressive drowsy mode can reduce the total power consumption of the traditional drowsy mode by 13% or even more, depending on the cache access rate, access frequency and the CMOS technology used.

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