Hold-Bias Free MEM Power Gate for Zero Standby Energy Dissipation in CMOS ICS

We propose a doubly stable microelectromechanical (MEM) cell for power gating in CMOS integrated circuits (ICs). The MEM power gate as a sleep transistor consumes zero power in holding the states (on/off). In any of the stable state, the state hold bias is zero, and the gate bias is required only to toggle into states. The MEM power gate toggle energy is ~0.3 pJ. The MEM gate doesn't get fuse even at the current density of ~ 0.5mA/μm
²
and is capable of driving large area CMOS circuit blocks. The prototype doubly stable MEM power gate is fabricated with CMOS compatible process and tested for no state hold bias requirement.