Reducing radiation-hardened digital circuit power consumption

Low-power radiation-hardened sequential digital circuits supporting multiple supply voltages, integrated logic, and a low standby power state are presented. By basing the design on proven radiation hard circuits, single event effects hardness is guaranteed. The circuit is based on differential cascode voltage switch logic, which provides an integral level shift and allows storage at the full supply voltage supported by the process, while allowing the combinatorial logic supply voltage to scale for power savings. When compared to a conventional master-slave flip-flop design, the proposed flip-flop design provides up to 80% energy reduction with logic operating at reduced voltage and speed. Fifty-percent energy reduction is obtained without compromising speed when operating with all circuits at maximum voltage.