Anthony Correale

Overview of the power minimization techniques employed in the IBM PowerPC 4xx embedded controllers

The need for power efficient embedded controllers became obvious when the explosion in portable communications and consumer segments began. While the IBM PowerPC TM 4xx 1 embedded controller family addresses a wide variety of market segments, its low power consumption makes it particularly attractive for the consumer electronics and portable communications market segments. While low power consumption is most often thought of as being important to extend battery life, there are other advantages of using a power-efficient embedded controller:

Watts the matter: power reduction issues

Technology continues to shrink lithographic images producing smaller chips which require lower voltages. The lower voltage has helped the overall power dissipation per device, but the number of devices that can be integrated has increased by a faster rate. The result is often power-constrained designs. To help alleviate the explosion in power, designers have been faced with many design challenges. Clock power management is now the norm with multiple operation modes. On-board dynamic frequency adjustment and temperature detectors are now employed to ensure that the product does not exceed its maximum thermal limits. Another aspect of power management is the use of multiple voltages. The author discusses power management from a packaging perspective and concludes that power efficiency has become a mandate for success.

Design considerations of a static LSSD polarity hold latch pair

There are many considerations relating to the design of a static LSSD polarity hold latch pair. High performance, low power dissipation, small size, and stability are some of the major requirements for a good design. The engineering trade-offs needed to ensure that all goals are met are discussed.