digital error correction

Abstract

An error correction circuit comprising: a component, an error detector, a correction generator and an output generator, wherein the component is arranged to generate a first output from a first input and a second input; the error detector is arranged to generate a first output based on said first output, said first input and said second input generate an error flag indicating whether an error has been detected in said first output; said correction generator being adapted to an output, said first input and said second input, to generate a corrected output after a first time period starting from a timing event; said output generator is arranged to follow a second time period starting from a timing event An output of an error correction circuit is produced. If the error flag indicates that an error has been detected in the first output, the second time period may be longer than the first time period, otherwise the second time period may not be longer than the first time period long. If the error flag indicates that an error has been detected in the first output, the output of the error correction circuit may comprise a combination of the first output and the corrected output such that an error detected in the first output The detected error is corrected, otherwise the output of the error correction circuit may correspond directly to the first output.

Description

technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to error correction. Its application is in the design of fault-tolerant circuits, for example in circuits for performing arithmetic operations, but also in other types of circuits. Aspects of the invention also have application in other areas in communications and memory design, such as error correction. Background technique

[0002] Modern digital circuits are becoming larger and more complex, and thus more susceptible to errors for a variety of reasons. For example, the reduced size of circuits, and the reduced voltages used to represent data, often increase the likelihood of errors. Errors can occur, for example, due to energetic particles in the environment where the circuit is used causing bit flips in the circuit, or simply due to manufacturing errors. Furthermore, deliberate attempts to introduce errors into circuits by bombarding circuits with energetic particles are increasingly becoming a source of errors, esp...

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