Holistic approach to low-power system design

In the past few years, we have witnessed the energy crisis and the financial tsunami that played an unwanted duo, changing the world in many aspects that affect most of us. While companies are working hard in getting out of the slump, many research organizations are rethinking how their R&D budget should be invested. We consider advanced research activities stressing ultra-low power and energy-efficient circuits and systems a top-priority direction. Among our list of R&D topics are ultra-low voltage circuits and systems, energy-harvesting circuits and systems, 3D integration based on the Through-Silicon-Via (TSV) technology, and normally-off computing technologies. To be successful in integrating the basic technologies developed, a holistic approach should be considered. Therefore, in addition to introduction and discussion of the above research topics at ITRI, I will also discuss a system-level modeling and evaluation platform, emphasizing power/energy efficiency.