Decreased I_Q may also result in increased board area required for larger passives or IC package sizes. Larger external passives such as large-value capacitors for both LDOs and DC/DC converters are common in nanopower devices and typically used to compensate for poorer transient performance. Larger package areas are directly attributable to larger die areas.

Upon visual inspection of die teardowns with an I_Q <1 µA, resistors and capacitors make up more than 20% of the internal non-field-effect-transistor (FET) die area. While there are multiple solutions to solve I_Q-area problems, an easy method to filter out the best solutions on the market is to apply a simple FOM: I_Q multiplied by the smallest package area. You can access the FOM by pulling relevant information from data sheets; looking at the smallest package offered provides clues about smaller die areas.

Choosing the device with both the lowest I_Q and smallest package available usually means good I_Q-area efficiency.