Low-consumption and high-density D flip-flop circuit implementation, particularly for standard cell libraries

Abstract: A low-consumption and high-density D flip-flop circuit implementation, particularly for standard cell libraries, which comprises a master section (100) and a slave section (200); the master section comprises a master latch structure (5) and the slave section comprises a slave latch structure (6); the master structure (100) and the slave structure (100) are interposed between a power supply line (V DD ) and a ground line (7), and each structure is constituted by a first pair of transistors (8, 9; 12, 13) and by a second pair of transistors (10, 11; 14, 15). The particularity of the invention is that in the master latch structure (5) the transistors (8, 9) the source terminals whereof are connected to the power supply line (V DD ) and constitute a first one of the two pairs of transistors (8, 9; 10, 11) are P-channel MOS transistors, the source terminals of the second pair of transistors (10, 11) of the master latch structure (5) are connected to the respective drain terminals of an additional pair of transistors (24, 25), the source terminals whereof are connected to the ground line (7); same-phase clock signals (CK) are fed both to the master section (100) and to the slave section (200).

Description: The present invention relates to the circuit implementation of a low-consumption and high-density D flip-flop, particularly for standard cell libraries. It is known that integrated circuits are currently designed by means of appropriate programs (tools) for automatic circuit configuration that take the individual circuit elements from libraries containing predefined elements. It is thus evident that the optimization of the circuit to be produced depends both on the individual skill of the designer and on the optimization of the individual elements that make up the library. In every device produced by means of automatic configuration programs, over 35-50% of the entire area of the device is assigned to the sequential part, which is advantageously provided by virtue of D-type registers, commonly known as D flip-flops. The D flip-flop is a memory element that stores the data item acquired on the rising or falling edge of the clock signal. Therefore, optimization of the implementation of the bistable element and of all its derivatives allows an improvement that is decisive for the entire device. Optimization of a D-type bistable device must also affect the aspect of minimizing power loss to reduce the consumption of the overall circuit. In this regard, since the registers are driven by a sampling signal that is normally constituted by the clock signal of the portion of the system having the highest switching frequency, use of two phases of the clock signal, with regeneration of said signal inside the cell, entails an increase in the area of the device, due to the presence of two inverters for generating the "normal" and "inverted" clock signal, and an increase in consumption, in addition to the possibility of "skew" phenomena affecting the clock signal. Local regeneration of the clock signal in fact entails a consumption that is independent of the situation of the data item, that is to say, even when the data item stored in the bistable device must be confirmed. JP-05347554 discloses a flip-flop with clock-signal activated input branches. The principal aim of the present invention is therefore to provide a low-consumption and high-density D flip-flop circuit implementation, particularly for standard cell libraries. Within the scope of this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide a low-consumption and high-density D flip-flop circuit implementation that minimizes the number of active components. Another object of the present invention is to provide a D flip-flop circuit implementation that allows to minimize the silicon area required for implementation. Another object of the present invention is to provide a D flip-flop circuit implementation that allows to use a single-phase clock signal. Another object of the present invention is to provide a D flip-flop circuit implementation that allows to have zero consumption if a stable data item occurs at the input of the flip-flop. Another object of the present invention is to provide a D flip-flop circuit implementation that is highly reliable, relatively easy to manufacture, and at competitive costs. This aim, these objects, and others which will become apparent hereinafter are achieved by a low-consumption and high-density D flip-flop circuit implementation, particularly for standard cell libraries, as defined in claim 1. Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the D flip-flop circuit implementation according to the invention, illustrated only by way of non-limitative example in the accompanying drawings, wherein: figure 1 is a circuit diagram of a first embodiment of a conventional D flip-flop; figure 2 is a circuit diagram of a D flip-flop according to the present invention; figure 3 is a circuit diagram of an application of a D flip-flop according to the present invention; figure 4 is a chart comparing the consumption of a synchronous counter with N stages according to the known art and according to the present invention; figure 5 is a circuit diagram of a second embodiment of a D flip-flop according to the present invention; figure 6 is a chart comparing current consumption for a synchronous counter executed according to the known art and according to the first and second embodiments of the D flip-flop according to the invention; figure 7 is a circuit diagram of a third embodiment of a D flip-flop according to the invention; and figure 8 is a chart comparing the current consumption of a synchronous counter executed according to the known art, according to the first embodiment of the invention, and according to the configuration shown in figure 7. With reference to figure 1, the typical execution of a D flip-flop in CMOS technology is shown. The illustrated circuit configuration can be divided into a master section 1 and into a slave section 2 of the D flip-flop. The two inverters 3 and 4 have the purpose of internally regenerating the clock signal CK and also of generating the inverted clock signal CKN; these two signals, CK and CKN, are fed both to the master section 1 and to the slave section 2. Figure 2 is a view of a circuit implementation of a D flip-flop according to the present invention. The circuit configuration of this figure can again be divided into a master section 100 and a slave section 200. The master section 100 comprises a master latch structure 5 and the slave section 200 comprises a slave latch structure 6, both connected between a power supply line V DD and a ground line 7. Advantageously, each latch structure 5 and 6 comprises two pairs of MOS transistors. For the master latch structure 5, the first pair of transistors is constituted by first and second MOS transistors of the P-channel type 8 and 9, the respective source terminals whereof are connected to V DD . The second pair of transistors of the latch structure 5 is constituted by a third and a fourth transistors of the N-channel type 10 and 11, the respective source terminals whereof are connected respectively to the source terminals of the transistors 8 and 9. The source terminals of the transistors 10 and 11 are instead connected to the ground line 7 through the N-channel MOS transistors 24 and 25, to the gate terminals whereof the clock signal CK is connected (the connections of the terminals of these last two MOS devices 24 and 25 are described later). The gate terminal of the transistor 8 is connected to the drain terminal of the transistor 9 and the gate terminal of the transistor 9 is connected to the drain terminal of the transistor 8. For the second pair of transistors 10 and 11, the gate terminal of the transistor 10 is connected to the line that connects the drain terminal of the transistor 9 and the drain terminal of the transistor 11. Likewise, the gate terminal of the transistor 11 is connected to the line that connects the drain terminal of the transistor 8 and the drain terminal of the transistor 10. The slave latch structure 6 has a configuration that is similar to that of the structure 5. Therefore, for this structure 6 there is a first pair of P-channel MOS transistors that is constituted by a fifth transistor 12 and by a sixth transistor 13, the respective source terminals whereof are connected to the power supply line V DD and the respective drain terminals whereof are connected respectively to the drain terminals of seventh and eighth MOS N-channel transistors 14 and 15 that constitute the second pair of transistors of the structure 6. Conveniently, the P-channel transistors 12 and 13 are "resistive", that is to say, their gate terminal has a non-minimal length. The source terminals of the transistors 14 and 15 are connected to the ground line. The gate terminals of the transistors 12 and 14 are connected to the line that connects the drain terminal of the transistor 13 and the drain terminal of the transistor 15. Likewise, the gate terminals of the transistors 13 and 15 are connected to the line that connects the drain terminal of the transistor 12 and the drain terminal of the transistor 14. Two additional pairs of P-channel MOS transistors 16-17 and 18-19 are connected respectively between the power supply line V DD and the nodes A and B. More particularly, a ninth transistor 16 and a tenth transistor 18 have source terminals that are connected to V DD and source terminals that are respectively connected to the drain terminals of an eleventh transistor 17 and of a twelfth transistor 19, the source terminals whereof are respectively connected to the nodes A and B. Likewise, for the latch structure 6, two additional pairs of transistors, formed respectively by a thirteenth transistor 20 and a fourteenth transistor 21, and by a fifteenth transistor 22 and a sixteenth transistor 23, are interposed respectively between the drain terminals of the transistors 12-14 and 13-15. More particularly, the drain terminals of the transistors 20 and 22 are connected respectively between the drain terminals of the transistors 12-14 and 13-15. The source terminals of the transistors 21 and 23 are instead connected to the ground line 7 and the gate terminals of the transistors 20 and 22 are respectively connected to the node B and to the node A. Finally, a seventeenth MOS N-channel transistor 24 and an eighteenth MOS N-channel transistor 25, as mentioned earlier, are connected, by virtue of their drain terminals, respectively to the source terminals of transistors 10 and 11 and, by virtue of their source terminals, to the ground line 7. The gate terminals of the transistors 24 and 25 are connected to one another. A clock signal CK of the same phase is fed to the gate terminals of the transistors 16, 18, 21, 23, and 24-25. An inverter 26 allows to obtain in output an inverted data item DN starting from a data item D. The data item D and the inverted data item DN are fed respectively to the gate terminals of the transistors 17 and 19. Finally, an inverter 27 is connected to the gate terminal of the transistor 16 and produces, in output, the signal Q, which constitutes the output of the D flip-flop circuit implementation according to the present invention. Figure 3 is a view of an application of the D flip-flop circuit implementation according to the invention if SET and CLEAR signals are present. In figure 3 and in all subsequent figures, the same reference numerals have been used to designate elements that are identical to those of figure 2. In the interest of easy comprehension, it has been thought appropriate to designate with reference numerals in particular the elements that differentiate the circuit solution of figure 3 with respect to that of figure 2. Therefore, a nineteenth N-channel MOS device 34 is connected, by virtue of its drain terminal, to the node A of the master latch structure 5 and, by virtue of its source terminal, to the ground line 7. A pair of N-channel MOS transistors, constituted by a twentieth transistor 35 and by a twenty-first transistor 36 the respective gate terminals whereof are common-connected, are connected to the ground line 7 by virtue of their source terminals. The drain terminal of the transistor 35 is connected to the node B. The drain terminal of the transistor 36 is instead connected to the line that connects the drain terminal of the transistor 13 to the drain terminal of the transistor 15 of the slave structure 6. Finally, a twenty-second transistor 37 is connected to the ground line 7 by virtue of its source terminal and, by virtue of its drain terminal, to the line that connects the drain terminal of the transistor 12 to the drain terminal of the transistor 14. The inverter 27 that produces the signal Q in output is connected to the drain terminal of the transistor 37. Two NAND gates with two inputs 30 and 31 are connected in series. The inputs of the NAND gate 30 are the D and CLEAR signals, and its output is the DCN signal, which thus constitutes one of the two inputs of the second NAND gate 31; the other input is the SET signal. The output of the second NAND gate 31 is the DCS signal. Therefore, the cascade connection of the two NAND gates 30 and 31 produces an AND operation of the signals D, CLEAR, and SET. An inverter 32 has the SET signal as input and the inverted SET signal, that is to say, SETN, as output. Another inverter 33 has the CLEAR signal as input and outputs the inverted CLEAR signal, that is to say, CLEARN. The DCS signal is fed to the gate terminal of the transistor 17, differently from the case of figure 2, in which the D signal was fed to this transistor. The SETN signal is connected to the gate terminals of the transistors 34 and 37, whereas the CLEARN signal biases the gate terminals of the transistors 35 and 36. Finally, the DCN signal is connected to the gate terminal of the transistor 19. Figure 4 is a chart comparing the current consumption of a binary counter with N stages in a standard configuration and of a counter produced according to the circuit configuration shown in figure 2. In this chart, the axis of the abscissae plots the number of stages of the binary counter, whereas the axis of the ordinates plots the consumption, expressed as µA/MHz. In the chart, the line 40 plots the current consumption of the counter according to the standard circuit solution; it is evident that consumption is proportional to the number N of stages. The line 50 instead plots current consumption if the D flip-flop circuit implementation according to the invention is applied. Here, consumption has a limited growth as the number N of stages of the counter increases. Figure 5 is a view of a second embodiment of the D flip-flop according to the invention, shown in figure 2, used if the noise sensitivity of the device is important. An additional MOS transistor 70 of the P-channel type is introduced in this second embodiment and is interposed between the source terminals of the transistors 17 and 19 that belong to the master latch structure 5. The clock signal CK is fed to the gate terminal of the transistor 70. Figure 6 is a chart comparing the current consumption performance of a standard D flip-flop circuit implementation and of one according to the first and second embodiments. As in the chart of figure 4, the abscissas plot the number N of stages, whereas the ordinates plot current consumption (in µA/MHz). The difference between these two charts is the presence, in the chart of figure 6, of an additional curve 80 that plots the current consumption of the second embodiment of the circuit implementation according to the invention. Figure 7 is a circuit diagram of a third embodiment of the D flip-flop circuit implementation, again in the case in which noise sensitivity is a factor to be taken into account. With this problem in mind, the circuit solution of figure 2 has been modified as shown in figure 7, by adding two N-channel MOS transistors 85 and 86 at the master latch structure 5. More particularly, in the transistor 85 the drain terminal is connected to the line that connects the source terminal of the transistor 10 and the drain terminal of the transistor 24. Likewise, in the transistor 86 the drain terminal is connected to the line that connects the source terminal of the transistor 11 and the drain terminal of the transistor 25. The gate terminals of the transistors 85 and 86 are respectively driven by the DCS and DCN signals, which are obtained by means of the NAND gates 30 and 31 shown in figure 3. Figure 8 is a chart, similar to the charts of figures 4 and 6, illustrating a comparison of current consumptions in the standard D flip-flop configuration, in the configuration according to the first embodiment shown in figure 2, and in the circuit solution of figure 2, modified as shown in figure 7. In this chart, the curve 40 again plots the standard solution, the curve 50 plots the solution according to the invention shown in figure 2, and the curve 90 plots the modified solution shown in figure 8. In this case it is evident that the curve 90 practically overlaps the curve 50. With reference to figure 2, the operation of the D flip-flop circuit implementation according to the present invention is as follows. In the master section 100, the low phase of the clock signal CK disables connection to the ground, by means of the transistors 24 and 25, of the master latch 5, whereas the data item D (and DN) that is present on the gate terminals of the transistors 17 and 19 is stored in the master latch structure 5 only during the rising edge of said clock signal CK. These transistors 17 and 19 therefore allow to carry the stored data item to the gate terminals of the transistors 20 and 22. The slave section 6 then stores the data item of the master section 200 during the rising phase of the clock signal CK by virtue of the transistors 20, 21, 22, and 23. In order to allow to use a single phase of the clock signal CK, the data item in the master section 5 is stored by means of the two P-channel MOS transistors 8 and 9 and simultaneously, by virtue of the two N-channel transistors 24 and 25, the slave section 200 is locked to the master section 100, thus allowing the slave section 200 to remain locked until the next transition of the clock signal CK. Therefore, at the instant of transition of the clock signal CK from low to high, the master latch structure 5 is "closed" so as to retain the last data item that is present; the resistance opposed by the branch in which both transistors are on (therefore either the branch with the transistors 16 and 17 or the branch with the transistors 18 and 19) forces stabilization of the main latch structure 5 in a manner that matches the data item D that is present at the gate terminals of the transistors 17 and 19. Even if a very fast transition of the clock signal CK occurs, the capacitive charge that is present on said branch in which both transistors are on causes the master latch structure 5 to store the data item D correctly. For this to occur, the clock signal CK must be fed to the gate terminals of the transistors 16 and 18 to avoid unwanted couplings of the transitions of said signal CK with the output nodes of the master latch structure 5. As mentioned earlier, the slave section 200 thus has the data item stored in the master latch structure 5 at the gate terminals of the transistors 20 and 22 and transfers said data item to the slave latch structure 6, which holds the data item, because it is stable, throughout the low phase of the clock signal CK. During the low phase of the clock signal CK, the slave section 200 is uncoupled from the master section 100 by switching off the transistors 21 and 23. Therefore, it is evident that it is possible to use a single clock signal CK both for the master section 100 and for the slave section 200, avoiding the need for local clock regeneration, which entails consumption independently of the switching or not of the data item D. Advantageously, for optimum operation of the D flip-flop circuit implementation according to the invention, the source areas of the transistors 17 and 19 are appropriately provided with large dimensions. Figure 3 illustrates the application of the D flip-flop circuit implementation to a flip-flop with SET and CLEAR setting and resetting signals. In this case, the structure of figure 2 is maintained, with the addition of a few transistors (that is to say, 34, 35, 36, and 37). The low active CLEAR signal has the purpose of resetting the output Q of the D flip-flop to zero. The low active SET signal has the purpose of raising the output Q of the flip-flop to a high level. Figure 4 shows that the current consumption of a counter with N stages is proportional to the number N of the stages for a conventional D flip-flop circuit embodiment, whereas for the implementation according to the invention, consumption is limited as the number N of stages increases. If there are leakage problems, or if the D flip-flops are used for frequencies that are very different from one another, it is necessary to consider the noise sensitivity of the circuit implementation. Noise sensitivity is due to the fact that one of the two nodes A and B of the circuit floats, during the low phase of the clock signal CK, due to the switching-off of the corresponding transistor 17 or 19. In fact, during the low phase of the clock signal CK, the two P-channel MOS transistors 16 and 18 are short circuits. However, there is a node (A or B) that is certainly at the supply voltage V DD , whereas the other node is not forced to V DD or to the ground by any resistive path. In fact, the transistor 17 is on and the transistor 19 is open. Likewise, the same is true for the ground path, and therefore one of the two nodes remains floating, that is to say, it is not set to any level, and this makes it sensitive to potential noise. In order to obviate this drawback, if it is essential to control the noise sensitivity of the device, it is possible to follow two alternatives, which are provided by modifying the circuit implementation of figure 2. In a first alternative embodiment, shown in figure 5, a transistor 70 is added which has the purpose of bringing the nodes A and B to the same level. Said transistor 70 is advantageously a P-channel MOS transistor, which is interposed between the source terminals of the transistors 17 and 19 and in which the clock signal CK is fed to its gate terminal. In this manner, the two nodes A and B are set to the same value just before evaluation of the data item, and this prevents unwanted bootstrapping effects caused by noise of adjacent signals or by the switching-off of one of the two transistors 17 or 19. However, as a consequence thereof, even in the presence of a constant data item, at each transition of the clock signal CK, both nodes A and B are charged at the supply voltage V DD and then, during the evaluation that occurs on the rising edge of the signal CK, one of the two nodes (always the same one, if the data item does not change) is discharged to the ground. In terms of current consumption, this modification is more expensive than the circuit embodiment of figure 2. The curve 40 in the chart of figure 6 in fact plots the current consumption of the conventional D flip-flop circuit embodiment, the curve 50 plots consumption for the embodiment according to the invention shown in figure 2, and the curve 80 plots consumption in the case of the solution of figure 5, which is in any case lower than that of the conventional solution. In choosing the most appropriate D flip-flop implementation it is therefore necessary to evaluate whether the noise sensitivity of the device is to be taken into account or whether the greatest importance can be attached to the possibility of obtaining a D flip-flop with minimal consumption. The second solution, which is adopted to take into account the noise sensitivity of the device, entails the addition of two MOS transistors 85 and 86, advantageously of the N-channel type, in the master section 100, with the SET and CLEAR functions. These two transistors 85 and 86 have therefore the purpose of setting and resetting the master section 100 during the low phase of the clock signal CK, thus causing higher consumption than the solution of figure 2. On the rising edge of the clock signal CK, the data item that is present is frozen as in the solution of figure 2, whereof this last embodiment preserves the basic aspect of zero consumption in the presence of a constant data item, differently from the embodiment shown in figure 5. The chart of figure 8 shows the curve 90 of the current consumption of the solution of figure 7, compared with the curve 50 of the current consumption of the solution of figure 2 and with the curve 40 plotting the consumption of the conventional solution. In practice, it has been observed that the D flip-flop circuit implementation according to the invention fully achieves the intended aim, since it allows to optimize the D flip-flop as regards current consumption, thus minimizing the power lost in this element. Furthermore, the circuit implementation according to the invention minimizes the possibility of a "skew" of the clock signal CK inside the circuit, using a single signal phase without requiring its regeneration inside the cell. The lack of local regeneration of the clock signal CK inside the cell allows to have a zero current consumption situation if the data item is confirmed. Finally, the lack of local regeneration entails a reduction in the number of transistors required for the implementation of the D flip-flop according to the invention and therefore a consequent reduction in the area of the device and in the corresponding production costs. The D flip-flop circuit implementation thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications within the scope as defined by the appended claims. In practice, the materials employed, so long as they are compatible with the specific use, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to the requirements and the state of the art. Where technical features mentioned in any claim are followed by reference signs, those reference signs have been included for the sole purpose of increasing the intelligibility of the claims and accordingly such reference signs do not have any limiting effect on the interpretation of each element identified by way of example by such reference signs.

Claims: Low-consumption and high-density D flip-flop circuit implementation, particularly for standard cell libraries, which comprises a master section and a slave section, the master section comprising a master latch structure with two input branches and the slave section comprising a slave latch structure with two input branches, said master and slave structures being interposed between a power supply line and a ground line, each structure being constituted by a first and a second pairs of transistors which constitute two cross-coupled inverters, in said master latch structure the transistors the source terminals whereof are connected to the power supply line and constitute a first one of said two pairs of transistors being P-channel MOS transistors, the drain terminals of said second pair of transistors of said master latch structure being connected to the respective drain terminals of an additional pair of transistors, the source terminals whereof are connected to said ground line, same-phase clock signals being fed both to said master section and to said slave section, said input branches of the master structure being activated when said phase clock signal is low, and said input branches of the slave structure being activated when said clock signal is high, whereby said two cross-coupled inverters of said master structure are activated when said clock signal is high . D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 1, characterized in that the gate terminal of each transistor of said pair of P-channel MOS transistors of said master latch structure is connected to the drain terminal of the other one of said two P-channel MOS transistors. D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 1, characterized in that a clock signal is fed to the gate terminals of said additional pair of transistors that are connected to said master latch structure. D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 1, characterized in that the transistors of said additional pair of transistors of said master latch structure are N-channel MOS transistors. D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 1, characterized in that said two input branches of said master section comprise four transistors that are connected in pairs, with their drain and source terminals common-connected, between said supply line and the drain terminals of said first pair of P-channel MOS transistors of said master latch structure. D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 5, characterized in that said four transistors connected in pairs are P-channel MOS transistors. D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 1, characterized in that the transistors of one of said two pairs of transistors of said slave latch structure the source terminals whereof are connected to the power supply line are P-channel MOS transistors. D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 1, characterized in that said two input branches of the slave section comprise four transistors that are connected in pairs, with common-connected drain and source terminals, between said ground line and the drain terminals of said second pair of transistors of said slave latch structure. D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 8, characterized in that said four additional transistors of said slave section are N-channel MOS transistors. D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a set transistor interposed between the drain terminals of said P-channel MOS transistors of said master latch structure. D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 10, characterized in that said set transistor is a P-channel MOS transistor. D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 11, characterized in that said P-channel MOS transistor that is interposed between said drain terminals of said P-channel MOS transistors of said master structure is fed by the clock signal. D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 1, characterized in that the drain terminals of two additional transistors are respectively connected to the drain terminals of the transistors of said additional pair of transistors in said master section. D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 13, characterized in that the source terminals of said two additional transistors are connected to the ground line. D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 14, characterized in that the gate terminals of said two additional transistors receive, respectively, a first signal, obtained from a logic NAND operation affecting a data item signal and a reset signal, and a second signal, obtained from a logic NAND operation affecting said first signal and a set signal. D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a pair of set transistors respectively connected with their source terminals to the power supply line and with their drain terminals between said first and second pairs of transistors of said master and slave structures. D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 16, characterized in that said two set transistors are supplied with an inverted set signal. D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises two reset transistors, in which the source terminals are connected to the power supply line and the drain terminals are respectively connected to the line for interconnecting said master section and said slave section and to said slave latch structure. D flip-flop circuit implementation according to claim 18, characterized in that the gate terminals of said pair of reset transistors are supplied with an inverted reset signal.

Inventors: ADDUCI FRANCESCO, GAIBOTTI MAURIZIO, ADDUCI, FRANCESCO, GAIBOTTI, MAURIZIO
Applicants: ST MICROELECTRONICS SRL, STMICROELECTRONICS S.R.L.
Application year: 1995
Main classification: H03K3
IPC codes: H03K3