Zipper CMOS

Abstract

A circuit structure called zipper CMOS is described. The major components in a zipper CMOS circuit are the zipper driver circuit and the alternative N- and P-dynamic logic blocks. The zipper driver generates four strobe signals that drive all the subsequent dynamic blocks. In this structure, the triggering threshold is controlled by the zipper driver and is less than conventional value of half the drain voltage. This allows zipper CMOS circuits to operate at least twice as fast as static CMOS circuits. The zipper driver also ensures stability of the circuit and prevents charge-sharing problems without any penalty in performance or silicon area utilization.