Adaptive power control using timing canonicals

US9157956B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• GlobalFoundries Inc. · KY

Inventors

• Jeanne P. Bickford · South Burlington, US
• Eric A. Foreman · Saint Albans, US
• Peter A. Habitz · South Burlington, US
• Jeffrey G. Hemmett · South Burlington, US
• Clarence R. Ogilvie · Waterbury, US
• Tad J. Wilder · South Hero, US
• Vladimir Zolotov · Putnam Valley, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 13, 2012
• Grant date: Oct 13, 2015
• Expiry date: May 29, 2034

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01R31/3008
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A plurality of digital circuits are manufactured from an identical circuit design. A power controller is operatively connected to the digital circuits, and a non-transitory storage medium is operatively connected to the power controller. The digital circuits are classified into different voltage bins, and each of the voltage bins has a current leakage limit. Each of the digital circuits has been previously tested to operate within a corresponding current leakage limit of a corresponding voltage bin into which each of the digital circuits has been classified. The non-transitory storage medium stores boundaries of the voltage bins as speed-binning test data. The power controller controls power-supply signals applied differently for each of the digital circuits based on which bin each of the digital circuit has been classified and the speed-binning test data.