Scaling transistors into the nanometer regime has resulted in a dramatic increase in MOS leakage (i.e., off-state) current. Threshold voltages of transistors have scaled to maintain performance at reduced power supply voltages. Leakage current has become a major portion of the total power consumption, and in many scaled technologies leakage contributes 30-50% of the overall power consumption under nominal operating conditions. Leakage is important in a variety of different contexts. For example, in desktop applications, active leakage power (i.e., leakage power when the processor is...

Scaling transistors into the nanometer regime has resulted in a dramatic increase in MOS leakage (i.e., off-state) current. Threshold voltages of transistors have scaled to maintain performance at reduced power supply voltages. Leakage current has become a major portion of the total power consumption, and in many scaled technologies leakage contributes 30-50% of the overall power consumption under nominal operating conditions. Leakage is important in a variety of different contexts. For example, in desktop applications, active leakage power (i.e., leakage power when the processor is...