Low Power Circuit Design
Kretskonstruktion för låg effekt

EIT095F, 7.5 credits

Valid from: Spring 2014
Decided by: FN1/Anders Gustafsson
Date of establishment: 2013-11-19

General Information

Division: Electrical and Information Technology
Course type: Third-cycle course
Teaching language: English

Aim

The course aims to give a thorough understanding of Low power circuit design. Increasing complexity, high requirements on performance in the form of throughput and low power consumption will increase the expectations from future designers. To have a solid base in this subject is one of the skills that are important for both circuit designers as well as system designers.

Goals

Knowledge and Understanding

For a passing grade the doctoral student must be able to describe simple and more advanced power consuming effects on digital circuitry implemented in a CMOS technology.

Competences and Skills

For a passing grade the doctoral student must

• be able to identify and analyze common different types of power consumption.
• be able to communicate the content described in the textbook orally.
• be able to communicate the content described in scientific papers, orally
• have acquired knowledge enough to be able to discuss low power problems and solutions with competent digital designers

Judgement and Approach

For a passing grade the doctoral student must be able to sort out important information independently, from an extensive material, such as a textbook.

Course Contents

Nanometer Transistors and their Models.- Power and Energy Basics.- Optimizing Power at Design Time: Circuit-Level Techniques.- Optimizing Power at Design Time: Architecture, Algorithms and Systems.- Optimizing Power at Design Time: Interconnect and Clocks.- Optimizing Power at Design Time: Memory.- Optimizing Power at Standby: Circuits and Systems.- Optimizing Power at Standby: Memory.- Optimizing Power at Runtime.- Ultra Low Power/Voltage Design.- Methodologies and Flows.- Summary and Perspectives, and more based on some scientific papers, mainly journal papers.

Course Literature

• Scientific papers.
• Rabaey, J.: Low Power Design Essentials. 2009.

This book contains all the topics of importance to the low power designer. It first lays the foundation and then goes on to detail the design process. The book also discusses such special topics as power management and modal design, ultra low power, and low power design methodology and flows. In addition, coverage includes projections of the future and case studies.

Instruction Details

Types of instruction: Seminars, exercises. Seminars given by participants.

Examination Details

Examination formats: Written assignments, seminars given by participants, miscellaneous. Seminars based on the textbook material and seminars based on scientific papers, where the students will give seminars. Black-board exercises, which are given by the students. At least 80% attendance on the seminars is demanded. The students will be offered a number of hand-in exercises to choose among. Certain flexibility is needed in the examination form depending on the number of students. Rules for reexamination: By agreement with the examiner.
Grading scale: Failed, pass
Examiner:

Admission Details

Further Information

Examinor: Peter Nilsson peter.nilsson@eit.lth.se

Course Occasion Information

Contact and Other Information

Course coordinators: