This paper discusses the adiabatic switching principle in view of changing the mode of energy transmission in CMOS circuits and analyzes how to realize energy recovery.

Based on the adiabatic switching or energy recovery technique, some master-slave flip-flops including d, SR and JK flip-flops were presented as candidates for low power applications.

Adiabatic charging principle and working characteristics of adiabatic switching is discussed in detail. The computing model of energy dissipation for adiabatic switching is established.