Introduction to Special Issue on Circuit Technology for ULP

The special issue of the proceedings of IEEE focuses on circuit technology for ultralow power (ULP) solutions in chips and emphasizes power management design in commercial CMOS applications for mobile or portable communications and sensor systems. It has been observed that extending operational life of these applications is a demanding requirement. Some applications that have benefited from these requirements, include military applications, security systems, and emergency responder's equipment. Commercial needs provide support for solutions, while fulfilling the requirements that are essential for ULP solutions. Several efforts have been made to reduce chip performance requirements of such ULP solutions that result in degrading its performance. The challenge is to scale the voltage considerably, while minimizing adverse impact on the performance of the intended application.