Very low-voltage operation capability of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor ring oscillators and logic gates

Operation of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic gates at low supply voltages down to 100mV and ring oscillators down to 67mV is experimentally investigated. The measured voltage transfer characteristics of CMOS inverters and logic gates are explained using the subthreshold operation of MOS transistors. Robust control of ring oscillators allows for a tuning range of six decades in frequency with excellent sensitivity as low as …