Substrate Noise Reduction Based On Noise Aware Cell Design

A substrate biasing methodology is introduced based on modifying standard cells by inserting dedicated substrate contacts in those cells behaving as aggressive digital noise generators. These contacts are connected to a dedicated ground network. The proposed approach reduces two primary noise injection mechanisms: ground coupling and source/drain junction coupling. Limitations of the Kelvin biasing scheme are removed while achieving more than a 60% (9 dB) reduction in substrate noise at the cost of a 12% increase in area.