VLSI CIRCUIT AND VARIABLE MULTIPLE SUPPLY VOLTAGE SYSTEM FOR LOW-POWER DESIGN PERFORMANCE

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a process for electric circuit design which temporarily analyzes an electric circuit and supplies multiple supply voltages to multiple circuit blocks of the electric circuit according to the temporary analysis. SOLUTION: This method reduces the power consumption of the electric circuit 10 which has a primary supply voltage Vdd, and 1st circuit blocks 16 and 18 and a 2nd circuit block 12. This method includes a stage for determining the operation time of the 1st critical path of the 1st circuit blocks and a stage for determining the operation time of the 2nd critical path of the 2nd circuit block. It is determined from those operation times that the operation time of the 1st critical path is shorter than the operation time of the 2nd critical path. Then a 1st supply voltage lower than the primary supply voltage is generated as to the 1st circuit blocks in response to the decision that the operation time of the 1st critical path is shorter than the operation time of the 2nd critical path.