A delay lock loop circuit includes a receiver, a delay line circuit, a clock signal generator and a phase detecting circuit. The receiver receives a clock signal and a reference voltage and generates a reference clock signal according to the clock signal and the reference voltage. The delay line circuit is coupled to the receiver and generates a delayed clock signal by delaying the reference clock signal with a delay indication signal. The clock signal generator generates an output clock signal according to the delayed clock signal. The phase detecting circuit generates a detection result by sampling the reference clock signal with a feedback clock signal generated by the output clock signal, and generates the delay indication signal according to a digital value of the detection result.

A register circuit for which an initial value can be changed without using a flip-flop including both a set terminal and a reset terminal is provided. The register circuit includes an initial value wiring line, a write signal terminal, a clock signal terminal, a first flip-flop, an output control circuit, a second flip-flop, and a selector.

A driver for transmitting multi-level signals on a multi-wire bus is described that includes at least one current source connected to a transmission line, each current source selectively enabled to source current to the transmission line to drive a line voltage above a termination voltage of a termination voltage source connected to the transmission line via a termination impedance element, wherein each of the at least one current sources has an output impedance different than a characteristic impedance of the transmission line, and at least one current sink connected to the transmission line, each current sink selectively enabled to sink current from the transmission line to drive a line voltage below the termination voltage, each of the at least one current sinks having an output impedance different than the characteristic impedance of the transmission line.

An integrated circuit including a first standard cell including, first transistors, the first transistors being first unfolded transistors, a first metal pin, a second metal pin, and a third metal pin on a first layer, the first metal pin and the second metal pin having a first minimum metal center-to-metal center pitch therebetween less than or equal to 80 nm, a fourth metal pin and a fifth metal pin at a second layer, the fourth metal pin and the fifth metal pin extending in a second direction, the second direction being perpendicular to the first direction, a first via between the first metal pin and the fourth metal pin, and a second via between the third metal pin and the fifth metal pin such that a first via center-to-via center space between the first via and the second via is greater than double the first minimum metal center-to-metal center pitch.

Electronic logic gates that operate using N logic state levels, where N is greater than 2, and methods of operating such gates. The electronic logic gates operate according to truth tables. At least two input signals each having a logic state that can range over more than two logic states are provided to the logic gates. The logic gates each provide an output signal that can have one of N logic states. Examples of gates described include NAND/NAND gates having two inputs A and B and NAND/NAND gates having three inputs A, B, and C, where A, B and C can take any of four logic states. Systems using such gates are described, and their operation illustrated. Optical logic gates that operate using N logic state levels are also described.

A transistor (100), including a planar semiconducting substrate (36), a source (42) formed on the substrate, a first drain (102) formed on the substrate, and a second drain (104) formed on the substrate in a location physically separated from the first drain. At least one gate (38, 40) is formed on the substrate and is configured to selectably apply an electrical potential to the substrate in either a first spatial pattern, which causes a first conductive path (62) to be established within the substrate from the source to the first drain, or a second spatial pattern, which causes a second conductive path to be established within the substrate from the source to the second drain.

A bistable cell includes a pair of inverters and multiple pairs of cross-coupled tristate buffers. Each pair of tristate buffers can be individually selected to implement an entropy harvesting state for the bistable cell. Each of the tristate buffers generally has lower strength than the inverters but the inverter-to-buffer strength ratio can be configured through selective use of one or more of the tristate buffer pairs. The resulting entropy harvesting state behavior can be varied based on the inverter-to-buffer strength ratio in terms of greater randomness of the output bits or decreased power consumption.

Tri-state inverter comprising: a n-TFET and a p-TFET, the drain of the n-TFET being connected to the drain of the p-TFET and to an output of the tri-state inverter, the gates of the n-TFET and p-TFET being connected to an input of the tri-state inverter; a control circuit able to apply a first control voltage on the source of the n-TFET and a second control voltage on the source of the p-TFET, the values of the first and second control voltages being positive or zero; and wherein, when the tri-state inverter is intended to work as an inverter, the value of the first control voltage is lower than the value of the second control voltage, and when the tri-state inverter is intended to be tri-stated, the value of the first control voltage is higher than the value of the second control voltage.

Methods and apparatus relating to an adaptive multibit bus for energy optimization are described. In an embodiment, a 1-bit interconnect of a processor is caused to select between a plurality of operational modes. The plurality of operational modes comprises a first mode and a second mode. The first mode causes transmission of a single bit over the 1-bit interconnect at a first frequency and the second mode causes transmission of a plurality of bits over the 1-bit interconnect at a second frequency based at least in part on a determination that an operating voltage of the 1-bit interconnect is at a high voltage level and that the second frequency is lower than the first frequency. Other embodiments are also disclosed and claimed.

A PAM (Pulse Amplitude Modulation) modulator driver is configured to receive a PAM input signal having N input amplitude levels and provide a PAM output signal having N output amplitude levels, where N is an integer. The PAM modulator driver circuit configured to electrically adjust amplitude levels in the PAM output signal.