Abstract
This paper discusses the technology limits placed on the clock switching energy in sequential elements. It proposes a novel pulsed latch that uses a single clocked transistor and consumes close to ten times less clock power than a conventional latch using six clocked transistors. It describes how the new circuit enables additional power savings when virtual grounds, instead of a regular clock, are locally distributed to a group of latches. Finally, the paper discusses how to further reduce the dynamic clock power consumption of the new latch without degrading its timing by feeding it a low-swing clock.