摘要:
Processor overhead is reduced and processor performance, particularly processing speed and power savings, is improved, allowing real-time processor restarts, by skipping operational codes (opcodes) singly or in groups in accordance with one or more execution bits set during post-processing in opcodes preceding opcodes to be skipped. Thus portions of an application program which consume excessive power or are unsupported in particular operating environments can be easily and selectively de-activate while maintaining the integrity of the applications program. Local or cache memory is also effectively expanded and processor performance improved by eliminating opcodes from local or cache memory which will not be called.
摘要:
A capacitor structure having a re-oxide layer on a nitride layer, wherein an interface between the nitride layer and the re-oxide layer includes electron traps. Characteristics of the carrier traps control a voltage output of the device. The thickness of the nitride layer and the re-oxide layer also control the voltage output. The nitride layer and a re-oxide layer form a dielectric capacitor. The dielectric capacitor undergoes a trap filled limit voltage, wherein a consistent voltage is output for a plurality of currents.
摘要:
A system and method for determining the operational state of a logic device having a plurality of shadow registers, each associated with one of a plurality of functional registers. Data stored in a functional register is, under selected conditions, also stored in an associated shadow register. These conditions include without limitation receipt by the functional register of predetermined event information such as an opcode, memory address or other information. Data in a given set of functional registers, e.g., registers making up pipeline stages in a microprocessor, may be stored in shadow registers simultaneously or sequentially when given data reaches a given register in the set. Additionally, data is stored in the shadow registers without interrupting execution cycles of the logic device.
摘要:
The present invention provides a receiver device having multiple voltage supplies that allows the output stage of the receiver device to go to a safe state whenever its voltage is disconnected or powered-down, independent of any of its normal control circuits. Furthermore, the isolation of the multiple voltage supplies provides a low skew at the output of the receiver device.
摘要:
A system and method are described for separating the bulk connections for FETs on a semiconductor wafer from the supply rails, testing the wafer to determine if a shift in the threshold voltage, VT, of certain devices within the wafer, as defined by the bulk-wells, can remove an AC defect in the IC circuit, and tailoring the voltage or voltages applied to the bulk nodes, post-manufacture, such that the integrated circuit meets its performance targets or is sorted to a more valuable performance level. The method requires generating a gate level netlist of the IC's circuitry and performing timing calculations on these circuit netlists using static timing analyses, functional delay simulations, circuit activity analyses, and functional performance testing. The failures are then correlated to respective IC circuits, worst case slack circuits are investigated, and proposed changes to the threshold voltages are employed in the hardware.
摘要:
A method for preventing illicit copying of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The ASIC is defined by a net list which includes a timer circuit for disabling the ASIC. The timer circuit includes a plurality of stages which are distributed in different cores of the ASIC to inhibit detection and removal of the circuit. The timer times out after a period which is set to permit evaluation of the ASIC design. Following the time out period, further use of the ASIC design is inhibited.
摘要:
A matrix of thermal sensors is provided for accurately evaluating the thermal characteristics of an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit is evenly divided into a plurality of sectors in which a thermal comparison to a known thermal mass will be performed. Each sector includes at least one dual cell comprising a local thermal sensor for providing an output corresponding to a local temperature of the integrated circuit in that sector, and a background thermal sensor. The outputs of selective ones of the background thermal sensors are combined to provide a signal corresponding to a background temperature of the integrated circuit. A decoder/enabler arrangement is used to selectively gate the output of a specific local thermal sensor in a sector to a difference circuit where it is compared to the collective output of selected ones of the background sensors to generate a thermal measurement of the sector under test.
摘要:
Method and apparatus for providing a microprocessor with a divide by one frequency generator, while permitting the external clock driving the generator to vary in frequency without interruption of the operations of the microprocessor. A divide by two clock generator is also provided on the microprocessor chip. When a change in the frequency of the external clock is desired a request signal is provided to the chip. After a period of time has elapsed that permits the microprocessor to achieve a "safe" mode in which processing integrity is maintained even if the clock signal is interrupted, the divide by two clock generator is switched into operation. The external clock is then allowed to change frequency after which the divide by one clock generator is reactivated, following a period of time sufficient to allow the divide by one clock generator to stabilize.
摘要:
Disclosed are an object locator system, a method and a program storage device. In the embodiments, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are on objects within a defined area and each RFID tag can be activated by an RF activation signal. When a request (e.g., a verbal or keyed-in request) to locate a specific object is received from a specific user, the required permission to locate the object is verified and, optionally, the identity of the specific user is authenticated. Once the required permission is verified and the identity of the specific user is authenticated, one of three RFID readers transmits an RF activation signal. RF response signals received back at the three RFID readers from the specific object's RFID tag are used to triangulate the position of the specific object. Once determined, the position is communicated (e.g., by map display, verbal message, or text message) to the specific user.
摘要:
Localized logic regions of a circuit include a local comparator electrically connected to a local resistive voltage circuit, to a local resistive ground circuit, and to a local register structure. The local comparator supplies a clock pulse to the local register structures when the local reference voltage is below a local voltage threshold. Activity in the local combinatorial logic structure causes the local reference voltage to drop below the local reference voltage independently of changes in the global reference voltage causing the comparator to output the clock pulse (with sufficient delay to allow the logic results to be stored in the registers only after setup times have been met in the local logic devices). This eliminates the need for a clock distribution tree, thereby saving power when there is no activity in the local combinatorial logic structure.