Chapter 16: Problem 41
A particular IC chip can dissipate \(3 \mathrm{~W}\) and contains 10 million CMOS inverters. Each inverter is being switched at a frequency \(f\). (a) Determine the average power that each inverter can dissipate without exceeding the totalallowed power. (b) If the switching frequency is \(f=5 \mathrm{MHz}\), what is the maximum capacitive load on each inverter if (i) \(V_{D D}=5 \mathrm{~V}\), (ii) \(V_{D D}=3.3 \mathrm{~V}\), and (iii) \(V_{D D}=1.5 \mathrm{~V}\).
Short Answer
Step by step solution
Calculate the Average Power per Inverter
Use Power Formula for a CMOS Inverter
Calculate Maximum Capacitive Load for Case (i) \(V_{DD} = 5 \text{ V}\)
Calculate Maximum Capacitive Load for Case (ii) \(V_{DD} = 3.3 \text{ V}\)
Calculate Maximum Capacitive Load for Case (iii) \(V_{DD} = 1.5 \text{ V}\)
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Key Concepts
These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.
Average Power Calculation
For example, if an IC chip can dissipate 3 watts and contains 10 million CMOS inverters, the average power per inverter can be calculated using the formula:
- Divide the total power dissipation by the number of inverters.
- So, in this case, it is \(3 \text{ W} \div 10^7 = 3 \times 10^{-7} \text{ W} \).
- This means each inverter can handle an average of \(0.3 \text{ µW}\).
Capacitive Load Calculation
The capacitive load calculation relies on understanding the impact of the given switching frequency and supply voltage. The power formula used is:
- \(P = \frac{1}{2} \cdot C_L \cdot V_{DD}^2 \cdot f\)
- Where \(C_L\) is the capacitive load, \(V_{DD}\) is the supply voltage, and \(f\) is the frequency.
Power Dissipation Formula
The formula is as follows:
- \(P = \frac{1}{2} \cdot C_L \cdot V_{DD}^2 \cdot f\)
- The capacitive load \(C_L\).
- The square of the supply voltage \(V_{DD}\).
- The frequency \(f\), or how often the inverter switches states.
CMOS Technology
The abbreviation CMOS stands for Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor. This technology is favored mainly because:
- It provides low static power consumption.
- Only consumes significant power when switching states.
- It includes both NMOS and PMOS transistors, which help in canceling out power-consuming leakage currents.
Supply Voltage Impact
Understanding the impact of supply voltage reveals crucial insights:
- Higher supply voltages result in higher power dissipation since the power is proportional to the square of the voltage \(V_{DD}^2\).
- Reducing the voltage helps minimize power usage, beneficial for battery-powered devices.
- However, decreasing \(V_{DD}\) too much may lead to slower circuit performance and reduced noise margins.