Power distribution network design optimization with on-die voltage-dependent leakage path

Leakage current has become a significant source of power consumptions of CMOS circuit, as the technology node continues to shrink. Our study shows that the equivalent on-die leakage resistance monotonically decreases as the supply voltage increases and exceeds MOSFET threshold voltage. We propose a system-level power distribution network (PDN) design optimization with voltage-dependent leakage resistance considered in a standard RLC tank model. Our results show that the voltage-dependent leakage resistance can impact on the PDN noise and affect the optimal value of the circuit parameters to minimize the noise. An equivalent constant leakage resistor is proposed to replace the voltage-dependent model for quick noise prediction.