Minimizing energy-per-bit for on-board LC transmission lines

Abstract

Tuning down the signal voltage swing can be used to save energy for on-board interconnects. In this paper, we demonstrate that energy-per-bit, the energy to transfer a signal bit of data, could be minimized by selecting an optimum signal swing voltage for a given noise condition. The maximum energy saving and area overhead for this technique are derived. By using a proper power supply scheme, the energy-per-bit can be decreased by 2.5/spl times/ while consuming about 1.5/spl times/ more on-board wiring area.