Projections for high performance, minimum power CMOS ASIC technologies: 1998-2010

Abstract

Circuit design techniques minimizing total power drain of a static CMOS gate for a prescribed performance and an operating range of temperatures are employed to project supply voltages, power densities, device threshold voltages and critical path device channel widths for CMOS ASIC technology generations listed in the 1994 NTRS (National Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors) up to the year 2010. These projections are consistent with 1994 NTRS technology and cycle time forecasts and use physical and stochastic models that tightly couple together the device, circuit and system levels of the CMOS ASIC design hierarchy. Verified by HSPICE and actual microprocessor implementations, these models project optimal supply voltages for 0.25-0.07 /spl mu/m generations to scale from 900 mV to 500 mV and power densities to increase from 3 W/cm/sup 2/ to 10 W/cm/sup 2/ in wire limited high performance CMOS ASIC systems.