A 3-stage Pseudo Single-phase Flip-flop family

Abstract

This paper presents an energy-efficient 3-stage Pseudo Single-phase family of Flip-flops (PSPFF) targeted for use in a 3GHz microprocessor in a 40nm, 0.9V CMOS technology. With latencies in line with the fast pulsed-latch and an average switching energy comparable to the master-slave flip-flop, PSPFF achieves an energy-delay product (EDP) which is 42% and 24% lower than the pulsed-latch and the master-slave flip-flop respectively. Measurement results confirm an improvement of at least 300MHz in operating frequency when using the PSPFF in place of the master-slave flip-flop.