A sub-threshold to super-threshold Level Conversion Flip Flop for sub/near-threshold dual-supply operation

Abstract

This paper presents a novel Current-Mirror (CM) based Master-Slave Level Conversion Flip Flop (MS-LCFF) to perform data latching and level shifting from sub-threshold voltage, to near-threshold voltage, and up to super-threshold voltage. The CM-based MS-LCFF enables energy-efficient ultra-low-voltage operation by applying dual-supply and multi-supply designs into sub/near-threshold regions. Simulation results show that with a 0.18-μm technology the proposed LCFF is able to conduct data latching and level shifting from 0.3 V to 0.5 V, and up to 1.8 V, with performance improved by 8×, power consumption decreased by 3×, and silicon area reduced by 13.3% over the conventional method, when performing conversion from 0.3 V to 0.5 V. The measurement results of applying the proposed LCFF-based dual-supply operation to a sub-threshold FIR filter operating at 300 kHz demonstrate that a 21.8% power reduction can be achieved without performance loss by dual-supply operation at 0.3V and 0.5V, compared to the single-supply operation at 0.5V.