Patent ID: 6268741
Filing Date: 2001-07-31
Classification: G11C,H03K

Abstract:
A semiconductor integrated circuit operating at an operating voltage of which the absolute value is about 2.5 V or below, comprising:a plurality of circuit blocks to which operation voltage is supplied by a first power line and a second power line; anda first control circuit for each said circuit block;wherein each circuit block includes a first MOS transistor in which a leakage current flows between the drain and the source of said first MOS transistor even under a condition that a gate voltage is equal to a source voltage in said first MOS transistor,wherein each of said first control circuits controls the leakage current flowing through said first MOS transistor of said each circuit block,wherein, while one of said first control circuits is controlled to reduce said leakage current flowing through the circuit block which it is controlling, another one of said first control circuits is controlled to allow current to flow through the circuit block which it is controlling, andwherein said current which is allowed to flow by said another one of said first control circuits is enough to let said circuit block which it is controlling to logically operate.