Integrated characterization circuit
US10054618B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 18, 2015 |
| Grant date | Aug 21, 2018 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 29, 2036 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2201/81
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In an embodiment, an integrated circuit includes a first circuit and a characterization circuit to capture a histogram of the supply voltage magnitude to the first circuit (or other characteristics of the first circuit). In various embodiments, the characterization circuit may: be located near the first circuit; include a sample/hold circuit that may sample the supply voltage in a short window of time and an ADC that is configured to converge to the sampled voltage over multiple orders of magnitude longer than the short window; be relatively small and low power; capture multiple histograms, e.g. one for each mode of the first circuit; support a blackout interval during mode changes; support a zoom feature to a subrange of supply voltage disabled with fine-grain histogram buckets; and/or include one or more comparators to detect maximum and/or minimum voltages experienced over a time interval.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.