A normally-off microcontroller unit with an 85% power overhead reduction based on crystalline indium gallium zinc oxide field effect transistors

A low-power normally-off microcontroller unit (NMCU) having state-retention flip-flops (SRFFs) using a c-axis aligned crystalline oxide semiconductor (CAAC-OS) such as indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) transistors and employing a distributed backup and recovery method (distributed method) is fabricated. Compared to an NMCU employing a centralized backup and recovery method (centralized method), the NMCU employing the distributed method can be powered off approximately 75 mu s earlier after main processing and can start the main processing approximately 75 mu s earlier after power-on. The NMCU employing the distributed method can reduce power overhead by approximately 85% and power consumption by approximately 18% compared to the NMCU employing the centralized method. The NMCU employing the distributed method can retain data even when it is powered off, can back up data at high speed, and can start effective processing immediately after power-on. The NMCU could be applied to a low-power MCU. (C) 2014 The Japan Society of Applied Physics