Standby power management for a 0.18μm microprocessor

Static power dissipation is a concern for battery powered hand-held devices since it can substantially impact the battery life. Here, the use of reverse body bias to limit IM on the high performance, low power XScale™ microprocessor core is described. The scheme utilized is amenable to implementation on a low-cost (non-triple well) process and has limited regulation requirements. The regulation requirements and circuits are described, as is the performance of the method. A measured current reduction factor of over 25 is achieved with this method of reverse body bias. Implications of the use of body bias leakage control for active power and performance, as well as system level implications are also discussed.