MICROWIND APPLICATION NOTE

Leakage

Leakage Power Consumption Evaluation in

Microwind31
Etienne SICARD
Professor
INSA-Dgei, 135 Av de Rangueil
31077 Toulouse France
email: Etienne.sicard@insa-toulouse.fr
This paper describes the leakage current effect appearing in MOS devices, presents low-leakage
device options, and gives a rapid overview of the current leakage modeling in LEVEL1, LEVEL3 and
BSIM4. The recent trends in leakage current reduction are also recalled for 45-nm technology. Finally,
a case study serves as an illustration of the low-leakage MOS device benefits versus high-speed MOS
devices.

1. Leakage Current in MOS devices

The leakage current is the current that flows between Drain and Source when no channel is present.
The expected behavior of the n-channel MOS device is summarized in figure 1. The 0 on the gate
should leave the drain floating. No current is expected to flow between drain and source. Howevere, a
leakage current enables nA range current to flow although the gate voltage is 0. In contrats, the 1 on
the gate should link the drain to the source, via a resistive path and enable mA range current to flow
between drain and source.

Drain floating

Drain connected to
source

Leakage
current

Pass 0

Pass 1

Figure 1: Ioff current when the channel is off (nMOS)

For the pMOS device, the 1 on the gate should leave the drain floating. In that situation again, a nArange current called leakage current may flow between source and drai.
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Leakage current

Figure 2: Ioff current when the channel is off (pMOS)

2. Low-Leakage vs. High-Speed Mos

The main objective of the low leakage MOS is to reduce the Ioff current significantly, that is the small
current that flows between drain and source with a zero gate voltage. The price to pay is a reduced Ion
current. The designer has the possibility to use high speed MOS devices, which have high Ioff
leakages but large Ion drive currents. The symbols of the low leakage MOS and the high speed MOS
are given in figure 3. The size correspond to the 0.12m technology.

Figure 3: The low leakage MOS symbol (left) and the high speed MOS symbol (right)

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Ion=550A

Ion=800A

Ioff around 100nA

Ioff around 1nA

Fig. 4: The low leakage MOS offers a low Ioff current (1nA) but a reduced Ion current (550A)
as compared to the high speed MOS, in 0.12m technology [Sicard2005a]
In figure 4, the low leakage MOS device (left side) has an Ioff current reduced nearly by a factor 100,
thanks to a higher threshold voltage (0.4V rather than 0.3V) and larger effective channel length
(120nm) compared to the high speed MOS (100nm, see figure 5). By default, the MOS device is in
low leakage option, to encourage low power design. The Ion difference is around 30%. This means
that an high speed MOS device is 30% faster than the low leakage MOS. Its use is justified in circuits
where speed is critical.

20
gate
oxide

N+
diffusion

High substrate
doping
Effective channel
0.10m

High speed MOS

20
gate
oxide

N+
diffusion

Low substrate
doping
Effective channel
0.12m
Low leakage MOS

Fig. 5: Process section of the high speed (left) and low leakage (right) MOS devices
High speed MOS devices may be found in clock trees, data bus interfaces, central processing units,
while low leakage MOS are used whenever possible, for all nodes where a maximum switching speed
is not mandatory.

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3. Ioff Current Modelling

Ioff Modelling using LEVEL1
Using LEVEL1, the Ioff current is always 0 below the threshold voltage VTO. If Vgs<VTO, the device
is in cut-off mode.

Ids = 0
Ioff Modelling using LEVEL3
In sub-threshold mode (gate voltage less than the threshold voltage VTO), an exponential dependence
of the current with Vgs is introduced by using the equation 1. See [Weste] for a detailed analysis of
MOS LEVEL3. Notice the temperature effect introduced in the denominator nkT. Without any voltage
applied to the gate, the current is not equal to zero. The current of Ids for Vgs=0 is called the Ioff
current (Figure 6). Its value in 0.12m is around 10-10 A. In contrast, for Vgs=VDD, the maximum
current Ion is of the order of several mA (10-3 A).

Ids = Ids(Von,Vds)exp(

q(Vgs - Von)
)
nkT

(Equ. 1)

Ids (log)

10-3

-5

10

Subthreshold
(Vgs<VTO)

Von

model 3,
BSIM do this

Above threshold
(Vgs>VTO)

Model 1 would do this

10-7

10-9

Ion

Vgs

Ioff

VTO

VDD

Figure 6: An exponential law is introduced to the MOS device model to account for the subthreshold behavior of the current

Mos Model 3 parameters

Parameter
Definition
NSS

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Substhreshold factor

Typical Value 0.12m

NMOS
pMOS
0.07 V-1
0.07 V-1

MICROWIND APPLICATION NOTE

Leakage

Ioff Modelling using BSIM4

Amoung many other effects, the Ioff modeling in BSIM4 has been handled with care. The parameter
Vgsteff is a mathematical smoothing function [Liu 2001] to ensure continuity between the subthreshold
region and the linear region.

(Vgs Vth)
)
n.vt
) (Equ. 2)
Vgst eff = max( VOFF,
(Vgs Vth)
1 + n.exp(
)
n.vt
n = 1 + NFACTOR
(Equ. 3)
n.vt.ln(1 + exp(

A specific parameter VOFF is introduced to account for a specific effect appearing in short-channel
device when Vgs is negative. Conventional models predict that the current decrease with an
exponential law down to zero with decreasing Vgs. For Vgs<0, Ids is supposed to be 0. In
Microwind31, both VOFF and NFACTOR are user-accessible.
Ids (Log)

Measurements

10-3

Ids above VTO

Ids below
VTO

10-6
With VOFF,
current keeps
above a limit

10-9
VOFF

VTO

Vgs

Without VOFF, the

current would continue
to decrease

Figure 7: Illustration of the subthreshold current for Vgs below the threshold voltage VTO

In real-case measurements, Ids stops decreasing near zero Vgs, and then tends to increase with
negative Vgs (Figure 7). This effect is called gate-induced drain leakage (GIDL). Consequently, the
leakage current Ioff can be significant when Vgs is negative (Quite frequent in logic cells). The VOFF
parameter stops the Ids at a certain value, a simplified version of the BSIM4 modeling of the so-called
gate-induced leakage current (More info may be found in [Liu]).

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MICROWIND APPLICATION NOTE

IOFF stops the

current decrease

Leakage

NFACTOR acts on
the slope

Figure 8: Illustration of the effects of IOFF and NFACTOR in sub-threshold mode

The parameter NFACTOR is usually close to 1, meaning that n is close from 2 (Equation 3). The effect
on NFACTOR is illustrated in the display mode Id. vs. Vg, in logarithmic scale, as illustrated in figure
8.
Parameter
NFACTOR

VOFF

Description

NMOS value NMOS value

in 0.12m
in 0.12m
1
Sub-threshold turn-on swing 1
factor. Controls the exponential
increase of current with Vgs.
Offset voltage in subthreshold -0.08V
-0.08V
region.

Name in RUL
file
B4NFACTOR

B4VOFF

Table 1: List of user-accessible parameters in the BSIM4 implementation in Microwind.

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4. Trends in Ioff Current

Limiting the Leakage Current
The recent introduction of metal gate (See application note on 45-nm technology [Sicard07]) has
induced a drastic reduction of the parasitic leakage current Ioff, while increasing the Ion current, as
shown in Fig. 9.
Drain current (A/m)
Ion current
increase

Traditionnal
process
10-3
10-4
10-5
Metal-gate
process

10-6
10-7

Ioff current
decrease

10-8
10-9
10-10
0.0

0.5

1.0

Gate voltage (V)

Figure 9: The metal gate combined with High-K oxide material enhances the Ion current and drastically reduces
the Ioff current.

Leakage Current in 45-nm Technology

Parameter
Drawn length (nm)
Effective length (nm)
Threshold voltage (V)
Ion (mA/m) at VDD=1.0V
Ioff (nA/m)

NMOS
Low leakage
40
35
0.20
0.9
7

NMOS
High speed
40
30
0.18
1.2
200

Table 2: nMOS parameters featured in the CMOS 45-nm technology provided in Microwind31

The device I/V characteristics of the low-leakage and high-speed MOS in 45-nm technology devices
are obtained using the MOS model BSIM4 (See [Sicard2005a] for more information about this
model). Concerning the low-leakage MOS, the I/V characteristics reported in Fig. 10 demonstrate a
drive current capability of around 0.9 mA/m for W=1.0m at a voltage supply of 1.0 V. For the high
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speed MOS, the effective channel length is slightly reduced as well as the threshold voltage, to achieve
a drive current around 1.2 mA/m.
High-speed Ion

25% increase of the

maximum current

Imax=0.9 mA

Low-leakage Ion

(a) Low leakage W=1m, Leff= 35nm

(b) High speed W=1m, Leff= 30nm

Figure 10: Id/Vd characteristics of the low leakage and high speed nMOS devices
Id/Vg for Vb=0, Vds=1 V

Ioff=7 nA

Vt=0.2 V

(a) low leakage MOS (Leff=35 nm)

Ioff=200 nA

Vt=0.2 V

(b) high speed MOS (W=1 m, Leff=30 nm)

Figure 11: Id/Vg characteristics (log scale) of the low leakage and high-speed nMOS devices

The drawback of the high-speed MOS current drive is the leakage current which rises from 7 nA/m
(low leakage) to 200 nA/m (high speed), as seen in the Id/Vg curve at the X axis location
corresponding to Vg= 0 V (Fig. 11-b).

Temperature effects
Note that in the sub-threshold region, the impact of temperature is extremely important, as
demonstrated in figure 12. At low temperature the current Ids decreased rapidly down to 10nA,
corresponding to a small off leakage current. In contrast, at high temperature, not only the threshold
voltage is reduced but the sub-threshold slope is flattened, which means an exponential increase of the
Ioff leakage current (figure 12).

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100C

27C

-20C

Figure 12: The effect of temperature on the MOS characteristics.

Leakage effects not handled by Microwind31

Note that several other leakage current effects exist in nano-scale MOS devices, such as the drain/gate
and source/gate leakage. More information about these effects may be found in [Liu].
The diode leakage is modelized in Microwind31 under specific conditions, such as presented in the
I/O structures.

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5. Simulation of Leakage Current

Let us consider the ring oscillator with an enable circuit, where one inverter has been replaced by a
NAND gate to enable or disable oscillation (Inv5Enable.MSK). The schematic diagram of the
oscillator and its layout implementation are shown in Fig. 13. We analyze its switching performances,
in the high speed and low leakage modes.

Figure 13: The schematic diagram and layout of the ring oscillator used to compare the analog performances in
high speed and low leakage mode (INV5Enable.MSK)

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Leakage
Reduced
consumption
(100 A max)

Strong consumption
(170 A max)

Low standby
current

High standby
current

Fast oscillation
(37 GHz)

Slower
oscillation
(28 GHz)

Figure 14: Simulation of the ring oscillator in high speed mode (left) and low leakage mode (right). The
oscillating frequency is faster in the case of high-speed mode but the standby current is high (Inv5Enable.MSK)

The tick in front of "Scale I in log" must be asserted to display the current in logarithmic scale. The
option layer which surrounds all the oscillator devices is set to high speed mode first by a double click
inside that box, and by selecting high speed (Fig. 14). The analog performances of both options are
summarized in Fig. 14. In the high speed mode, the circuit works fast (37 GHz) but consumes a
significant standby current when off (around 200 nA).
(1) Double click in
the option box

(2) Modify the MOS

option as low
leakage

Figure 15: Changing the MOS option into low leakage mode

Once the option layer is set to low leakage (Fig. 15), the simulation is performed again. The lowleakage mode features a little slower oscillation (29 GHz that is approximately a 30 % speed
reduction) and more than one decade less standby current when off (5 nA). In summary, low leakage
MOS devices should be used as default devices whenever possible. High speed MOS should be used
only when switching speed is critical.

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6. Modifying Microwind31 Leakage Parameters

The easiest way to modify the leakage parameters is to change directly the RUL file.

Mos Level3
The parameter l3nss may be changed to modify the subthreshold slope and therefore the Ioff current.
PARAMETER

KEYWORD

DEFINITION

NSS

l3nss

Sub-threshold factor

TYPICAL VALUE 0.25m

NMOS
pMOS
0.07 V-1
0.07 V-1

In the RUL file, the parameters l3nss in the NMOS section and l3nss in the PMOS section may be
modified. The following NSS values are provided for CMOS 45-nm technology.
* Nmos Model 3 parameters
*
NMOS
l3vto = 0.34

l3nss = 0.045
*
* Pmos Model 3
*
PMOS
l3vto = -0.32

l3nss = 0.045

Mos BSMI4
The parameters Nfactor and Voff may be changed to modify the sub threshold slope and minimum
value, with direct impact on the Ioff current.
Parameter Keyword

Description

NFACTOR B4nf

Sub-threshold turn-on swing factor.

Controls the exponential increase of
current with Vgs.
Offset voltage in subthreshold region.

VOFF

b4voff

NMOS
value in
0.12m
1

PMOS
value in
0.12m
1

-0.08V

-0.08V

In the RUL file, the parameters b4nfact and b4voff in the NMOS and PMOS sections may
be modified. The following b4nfact and b4voff values are provided for CMOS 45-nm
technology.
* BSIM4 parameters
*
NMOS
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b4vtho = 0.35

b4nfact = 1.02
b4voff = 0.01
*
PMOS
b4vtho = 0.36

b4nfact = 1.05
b4voff = 0.01

7. Conclusions
This application note has detailed the leakage current effect and its modeling, with illustration of the
MOS options, the different available models in Microwind31 and one illustration in the case of a ring
oscillator.

References
[Bsim4] BSIM4 web site www-device.eecs.berkeley.edu
[Weste] N. Weste, K. Eshraghian "Principles of CMOS VLSI design", Addison Wesley, ISBN 0-20153376-6, 1993
[Liu] W. Liu "Mosfet Models for SPICE simulation including Bsim3v3 and BSIM4", Wiley & Sons,
2001, ISBN 0-471-39697-4
[Sicard2005a] E. Sicard, S. Ben Dhia Basic CMOS cell design, McGraw Hill India, 450 pages,
ISBN 0-07-0599335, June 2005, international edition 2007.
[Sicard2005b] E. Sicard Introducing 90-nm technology in Microwind3, application note, July 2005,
www.microwind.org
[Sicard2006a] E. Sicard Microwind Users Manual, lite version 3.1, www.microwind.org, INSA
editor, 2006
[Sicard2006b] E. Sicard Introducing 65-nm technology in Microwind3, application note, July 2006,
www.microwind.org
[Sicard2007] E. Sicard Introducing 45-nm technology in Microwind3, application note, July 2007,
www.microwind.org

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