Leakage Power
Definition: Leakage power is the power consumed by a circuit when it is in standby mode, primarily due to leakage currents.
Key Points:
- Component of static power consumption
- Significant in nanometer technologies
- Increases exponentially as transistor size decreases
- Major concern in battery-operated and always-on devices
Sources:
- Subthreshold leakage
- Gate oxide leakage
- Reverse-biased junction leakage
Reduction Techniques:
- Power gating
- Multi-threshold voltage design
- Substrate biasing
- Use of high-k gate dielectrics
Importance:
- Can dominate total power consumption in advanced process nodes
- Critical factor in battery life and thermal management
Minimizing leakage power is a key challenge in modern low-power VLSI design.