Synthesis of Multi-Bit Flip-Flops for Clock Power Reduction

Abstract

Power optimization has always been an important issue for modern IC design. In this paper, we present a power optimization technique for clock tree by applying multi-bit flip-flops and reducing total wire length. Through merging flip-flops into MBFFs, we effectively reduce power consumption caused by clock buffers. Moreover, by judiciously merging and placing the MBFFs, the total wire length is also significantly reduced. The combined effect of both techniques leads to a strong reduction in total power consumption of the clock network.