CIRCUITS AND METHODS TO USE ENERGY HARVESTED FROM TRANSIENT ON-CHIP DATA

Circuits and methods that use harvested electrostatic energy from transient on-chip data are described. In one aspect, a method inverter circuit use harvested electrostatic charge held at any electric potential higher than the common ground reference potential of CMOS circuits in a chip, to partially drive a 0→1 logic transition at the output of the inverter at lower energy drain from the on-chip power grid than a conventional CMOS inverter with similar performance, slew rates at inverter input and output and with similar output driving transistor geometries.