Claremont: A Solar-Powered Near-Threshold Voltage IA-32 Processor

Aggressive power supply scaling into the near-threshold voltage (NTV) region holds great promise for applications with strict energy budgets. In the NTV region, the supply voltage is at or near the switching voltage (VT) of the transistors. In this region, energy savings on the order of 5X–10X can be realized [1]. This work summarizes results from application of NTV techniques to a 32-bit Intel Architecture (IA) core in an effort to quantify and overcome the barriers that have historically relegated ultralow-voltage operation to niche markets.

[1]  S.-J. Choi,et al.  A 32nm SoC platform technology with 2nd generation high-k/metal gate transistors optimized for ultra low power, high performance, and high density product applications , 2009, 2009 IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM).

[2]  J. Schutz.  A 3.3V 0.6 /spl mu/m BiCMOS superscalar microprocessor , 1994, Proceedings of IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference - ISSCC '94.