SBIR Phase I: Ultra-Low Power Microcontroller Design

Cyclos Semiconductor, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will investigate novel integrated circuit design technologies for the realization of ultra-low-power microcontrollers. The project will focus on the exploration of charge recovery circuit design technologies for the substantial reduction of power dissipation in digital electronic chips. In conventional circuit design, capacitors are switched abruptly between supply and ground, dissipating all their stored energy as heat across resistive devices. In charge recovery design, on the other hand, capacitors are switched gradually, returning any energy that remains un-dissipated back to the power supply. The significant potential of charge recovery to reduce power consumption has so far remained untapped in the commercial world, primarily due to the lack of support for such a new design style that deviates from established design practices. The results of the proposed research are commercially applicable to the realization of a broad class of computer systems and consumer electronic devices that are subject to power efficiency requirements. Microcontrollers are essential elements of every System-on-Chip (SOC) and typically account for a substantial fraction of overall chip power, since they remain on most of the time. Embedded microcontrollers are key components of semiconductor chips for mobile devices such as cell phones and personal digital assistants.