Patent · US Expired

Method for minimizing the time skew of electrical signals in very large scale integrated circuits

US5507029A · kind A · utility

41Cited by
10References
16Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJan 11, 1995
Grant dateApr 9, 1996
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 11, 2015

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
  • CPC primaryF02B2075/027
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method for minimizing the time skew between signals traveling through various multi-cycle path nets linking one or several VLSI packages that includes a plurality of IC chips interconnected to each other. The method includes equalizing differences between the early and the late mode slack for each of the multi-cycle nets to decrease the joint probability of failure; maximizing the time balance between the early and the late mode slack; balancing over all the nets the difference between the early and the late mode slack, minimizing in the process statistical variations within the mode slack pair; and compensating for asymmetries between rising and falling switching times using the mode slack pair. The method allows multi-cycle path nets have their transmission line length confined between a maximum and a minimum length, which in turn minimizes the skew between signals in each of the nets, decreases cycle time and .improves the overall performance of the system.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.