A comparison of CMOS implementations of an asynchronous circuits primitive: the C-element

Abstract

One of the most frequently used primitives in asynchronous control circuits is the C-element. The three most popular CMOS implementations of the C-element are compared with respect to energy-efficiency, delay, and area, with an emphasis on energy. The three implementations have been introduced by Sutherland, Martin, and Van Berkel. We show that in a typical environment, Van Berkel's implementation is superior to the other implementations with respect to energy consumption and area, for the same delay.