Safe and low-power-consumption working method of millimeter-wave radar chip and millimeter-wave radar chip
By introducing LBIST testing system and power-up control into millimeter wave radar chips, the problems of low safety and high power consumption are solved, and the effect of meeting functional safety standards and improving battery life is achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202411249024.0
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-09-06
- Publication Date
- 2024-12-20
AI Technical Summary
Consumer millimeter-wave radar chips lack safety mechanisms, resulting in low safety, inability to meet functional safety standards, and high power consumption, affecting the endurance of new energy vehicles.
The LBIST test system was introduced, which self-tested the digital logic circuit inside the chip and introduced up-down power control in the workflow to reduce power consumption and improve safety.
The LBIST test improves the safety of millimeter-wave radar chips, reduces power consumption, meets functional safety standards, and improves the battery life of the car.
Smart Images
Figure CN119165337A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The present invention relates to the field of millimeter wave chips, and in particular to a safe and low-power consumption operating method for a millimeter wave radar chip and a millimeter wave radar chip. Background Art
[0002] Automotive-grade chips have very high requirements for safety, and there is a special ISO26262 functional safety standard to guide the design, development, verification, and testing of automotive-grade chips. Ordinary consumer millimeter-wave radar chips do not have a designed safety mechanism for self-checking, resulting in low safety and failure to meet the requirements of functional safety standards.
[0003] As the intelligence level of new energy vehicles continues to improve, the power consumption of on-board electronic equipment is also increasing. However, the battery pack capacity of new energy vehicles is limited. Excessive power consumption of on-board electronic equipment will inevitably affect the endurance of new energy vehicles. Summary of the invention
[0004] The present invention aims to solve at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, the present invention proposes a safe and low-power operation method for a millimeter-wave radar chip and a millimeter-wave radar chip, which implants a test system into the chip through LBIST, thereby improving the safety of the millimeter-wave radar chip during application and reducing the working power consumption of the millimeter-wave radar chip.
[0005] The millimeter-wave radar chip safe and low-power operation method according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises the following steps: S100, the power management module controls the millimeter-wave radar chip to power on, and after the power-on is completed, sends a signal to the LBIST test control module, so that the LBIST test control module starts the LBIST test, and performs the LBIST test on all digital logic circuits in the data area of the millimeter-wave radar chip; S200, after the LBIST test is completed, the LBIST test control module sends a test completion signal to the chip main control system, and the chip main control system reads the test result register in the LBIST test control module; if the test result is marked as successful, execute step S300; S300, the millimeter-wave radar chip The radar power domain in the data area starts working, completes the sending, receiving, storing and processing flow of a frame of radar signal, and calculates the target information; S400, the power management module controls the radar power domain to power off, and starts the timer of the power management module at the same time, and the timing duration is the radar signal frame interval time; S500, the power management module powers on the radar power domain again after the timer triggers the timing completion signal; the LBIST test control module performs the LBIST test on the radar power domain; S600, after the chip main control system receives the test completion signal sent by the LBIST test control module, it reads the test result identification register in the LBIST test control module; if the test result is marked as successful, return to step S300.
[0006] The safe and low-power operation method of the millimeter-wave radar chip according to the embodiment of the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects: the embodiment of the present invention introduces the LBIST test as a safety mechanism into the millimeter-wave radar chip workflow and introduces the power-on and power-off control into the workflow, thereby greatly reducing the failure impact of the millimeter-wave radar chip due to random hardware failures and improving the safety of the millimeter-wave radar chip during application; and reduces the working power consumption of the millimeter-wave radar chip. When it is applied in the automotive field, it can improve the energy consumption ratio of the automobile or related application platform and increase its endurance.
[0007] According to some embodiments of the present invention, step S200 also includes: if the test result is marked as failure, step S300 is not executed, and the chip main control system outputs the test failure result signal to the outside of the chip through the signal circuit; if the test result is marked as success, the chip main control system outputs the test success result signal to the outside of the chip through the signal circuit.
[0008] According to some embodiments of the present invention, step S600 also includes: if the test result is marked as failure, the chip main control system outputs the test failure result signal to the outside of the chip through the signal circuit; if the test result is marked as success, the chip main control system outputs the test success result signal to the outside of the chip through the signal circuit.
[0009] According to the millimeter-wave radar chip of the second aspect embodiment of the present invention, the millimeter-wave radar chip executes the above-mentioned millimeter-wave radar chip safe and low-power working method, including: a power management module, used to control the power on or off of the radar power domain and the main control power domain in the chip digital domain through a power switch; an LBIST test control module, used to perform LBIST testing.
[0010] The millimeter-wave radar chip according to the embodiment of the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects: since the chip according to the embodiment of the present invention executes the above-mentioned millimeter-wave radar chip safe and low-power working method, the millimeter-wave radar chip according to the embodiment of the present invention has all the beneficial effects of the millimeter-wave radar chip safe and low-power working method of the first aspect embodiment.
[0011] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the radar power domain includes: a radar signal processing and calculation unit, which is used to process millimeter-wave radar signals and calculate target information; and a data storage submodule, which is used to store relevant data calculated by the radar signal processing and calculation unit.
[0012] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the master power domain includes: a chip master control system, including a central processing unit, for controlling the overall workflow of the chip; a chip peripheral sub-module, including a peripheral interface, for interacting with other electronic devices.
[0013] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the power management module includes: a timer submodule, used to calculate the timing time; and a control register, used to power on and off the radar power domain and the main control power domain.
[0014] According to some embodiments of the present invention, the LBIST test control module includes: a test control state machine submodule, which is used to control the generation and end of the LBIST test; a test result identification register, which is used to record the LBIST test result and output the test result to the outside of the chip through a signal circuit.
[0015] Additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will be given in part in the following description and in part will be obvious from the following description, or will be learned through practice of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and easily understood from the description of the embodiments in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:
[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic block diagram of the structure of a millimeter wave radar chip according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0018] Figure 2 The figure is a flowchart of a working method according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.
[0020] In the description of the present invention, "several" means one or more, "more" means two or more, "greater than", "less than", "exceed" etc. are understood as not including the number itself, and "above", "below", "within" etc. are understood as including the number itself. If there is a description of "first" or "second", it is only used for the purpose of distinguishing the technical features, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying the relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features or implicitly indicating the order of the indicated technical features.
[0021] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly defined, terms such as setting, installing, connecting, etc. should be understood in a broad sense, and technicians in the relevant technical field can reasonably determine the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on the specific content of the technical solution.
[0022] In the description of the present invention, the step numbers are merely identifications made for the convenience of description or reference, and should not be understood as a limitation on the operating sequence of the steps.
[0023] LBIST (Logic Built-In Self-Test): Implanting the test system inside the chip not only simplifies the test process, reduces test costs, shortens test time, but also has the advantages of on-site testing.
[0024] The millimeter-wave radar chip in the embodiment of the present invention implants a test system into the chip, introduces the LBIST test as a safety mechanism into the millimeter-wave radar chip workflow, and introduces power-on and power-off control into the workflow, thereby solving the functional safety problem of millimeter-wave radar when used in the automotive field and the problem of high power consumption of millimeter-wave radar chips.
[0025] Reference Figure 1 , an embodiment of the present invention proposes a millimeter wave radar chip, including: a power management module, a millimeter wave radar signal processing and data storage module, a chip main control system and peripheral subsystem module, and an LBIST test control module. Among them, the power management module contains a timer submodule and a control register, and its main function is to control the opening or closing of the power switch through the timing time or the control register, and then power on or off the radar signal processing and data storage power domain (hereinafter referred to as the radar power domain) or the chip main control system and peripheral subsystem power domain (hereinafter referred to as the main control power domain). The millimeter wave radar signal processing and data storage power domain contains a radar signal processing calculation unit and a data storage submodule, and its main function is to process the millimeter wave radar signal, calculate the target information, and store the relevant data generated in the calculation. The chip main control system and peripheral subsystem power domain contains a central processing unit and a chip peripheral submodule, and its main function is to control the overall workflow of the chip and interact with other electronic devices through the peripheral interface. The LBIST test control module contains a test control state machine submodule (FSM) and a test result identification register. Its main function is to control the generation and termination of the LBIST test, record the LBIST test results, and output the test results to the outside of the chip through a signal circuit so that other devices outside the chip can receive the signal and perform corresponding operations.
[0026] Reference Figure 2 The embodiment of the present invention provides a safe and low-power operation method for a millimeter-wave radar chip, comprising the following steps:
[0027] S1, the whole chip is powered on, and all digital domain circuits of the chip are subjected to LBIST test;
[0028] S2, after the LBIST test is completed, the corresponding functional safety operation is performed according to the test results;
[0029] S3, sends and receives a frame of radar signal and calculates the target information;
[0030] S4, power off the radar signal calculation and storage power domain and enter the inter-frame sleep state;
[0031] S5, the radar signal calculation and storage power domain is powered on again, and the LBIST test is performed on the power domain;
[0032] S6, after the LBIST test is completed, the corresponding functional safety operation is performed according to the test results;
[0033] S7, repeat the above steps S3 to S6, and continuously send and receive the calculated radar signal.
[0034] In certain embodiments, in step S1, after the power management module controls the full chip to power on, the LBIST test control module will be notified, and the LBIST test module will start the LBIST test, and all digital logic circuits in the chip digital area will be tested by the LBIST test. This LBIST test has a higher diagnostic coverage, and the purpose of its test is to determine whether there is a fault point that affects the normal logic function in the chip, and if there is a fault point, the test result flag register will record the test failure state. The test result signal circuit will also output the test failure information to the outside of the chip simultaneously. The present embodiment can eliminate the failure that may violate the chip safety target by carrying out the LBIST self-test after the power-on of S1, and meet the requirement of the functional safety standard.
[0035] In some embodiments, in step S2, after the chip main control system receives the test completion signal sent by the LBIST test control module, it will read the test result identification register inside the LBIST test control module. If the test result is identified as failure, the main control system will not control the chip to jump to the S3 state, and output the test failure result signal to the outside of the chip through the signal circuit; if the test result is identified as success, the main control system will control the chip to jump to the S3 state, and output the test success result signal to the outside of the chip through the signal circuit.
[0036] In some embodiments, in step S3, the millimeter wave radar signal processing and data storage power domain starts working, completes the sending, receiving, storing, and processing process of a frame of radar signal, and calculates the target information.
[0037] In some embodiments, in step S4, the power management module controls the millimeter wave radar signal processing and data storage power domain to power off, and starts a timer at the same time, and the timing duration is the radar signal frame interval time T1. During the T1 time period, the millimeter wave radar signal processing and data storage power domain remains in a power-off state, and at this time, the static and dynamic power consumption of the power domain is close to 0, thereby reducing power consumption.
[0038] In some embodiments, in step S5, the internal timer of the power management module triggers a timing completion signal. After receiving the signal, the power management module re-powers on the millimeter wave radar signal processing and data storage power domain. Next, the LBIST test control module performs an LBIST test on the power domain. The purpose of the test is to eliminate failures that may violate chip safety goals and meet the requirements of functional safety standards.
[0039] In some embodiments, in step S6, after the chip main control system receives the test completion signal sent by the LBIST test control module, it will read the test result identification register inside the LBIST test control module. If the test result is identified as failure, the main control system will not control the chip to jump to the S7 state, and output the test failure result signal to the outside of the chip through the signal circuit; if the test result is identified as success, the main control system will control the chip to jump to the S7 state, and output the test success result signal to the outside of the chip through the signal circuit.
[0040] In step S7, the above steps S3 to S6 are repeated to continuously send and receive the calculated radar signal.
[0041] Although specific embodiments are described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many other modifications or alternative embodiments are also within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, any of the functions and / or processing capabilities described in conjunction with a particular device or component may be performed by any other device or component. In addition, although various exemplary implementations and architectures have been described according to embodiments of the present disclosure, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many other modifications to the exemplary implementations and architectures described herein are also within the scope of the present disclosure.
[0042] Some aspects of the present disclosure are described above with reference to the block diagram and flow chart of the system, method, system and / or computer program product according to the exemplary embodiments.It should be understood that the combination of one or more blocks in the block diagram and the flow chart and the blocks in the block diagram and the flow chart can be realized by executing computer executable program instructions respectively.Equally, according to some embodiments, some blocks in the block diagram and the flow chart may not need to be executed in the order shown, or may not need to be executed in full.In addition, additional components and / or operations beyond those components and / or operations shown in the blocks in the block diagram and the flow chart may be present in certain embodiments.
[0043] Therefore, the blocks in the block diagrams and flow charts support the combination of devices for performing the specified functions, the combination of elements or steps for performing the specified functions, and the program instruction devices for performing the specified functions. It should also be understood that each block in the block diagrams and flow charts and the combination of blocks in the block diagrams and flow charts can be implemented by a special-purpose hardware computer system or a combination of special-purpose hardware and computer instructions that performs a specific function, element or step.
[0044] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes can be made within the knowledge scope of ordinary technicians in the relevant technical field without departing from the purpose of the present invention.
Claims
1. A safe and low-power operation method for a millimeter-wave radar chip. It is characterized in that The following steps are involved: S100, the power management module controls the millimeter wave radar chip to power on, and after the power-on is completed, sends a signal to the LBIST test control module, so that the LBIST test control module starts the LBIST test and performs the LBIST test on all digital logic circuits in the data area of the millimeter wave radar chip; S200, after the LBIST test control module completes the LBIST test, it sends a test completion signal to the chip main control system, and the chip main control system reads the test result register in the LBIST test control module; if the test result is marked as successful, execute step S300; S300: The radar power domain in the data area of the millimeter-wave radar chip starts to work, completes the sending, receiving, storing and processing process of a frame of radar signal, and calculates the target information; S400, the power management module controls the radar power domain to power off, and at the same time starts the timer of the power management module, and the timing duration is the radar signal frame interval; S500, after the timer triggers the timing completion signal, the power management module powers on the radar power domain again; the LBIST test control module performs an LBIST test on the radar power domain; S600, after receiving the test completion signal sent by the LBIST test control module, the chip main control system reads the test result identification register in the LBIST test control module; if the test result is identified as success, return to step S300.
2. The safe and low-power operation method of the millimeter-wave radar chip according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The step S200 further includes: If the test result is marked as failure, step S300 is not performed, and the chip main control system outputs the test failure result signal to the outside of the chip through the signal circuit; If the test result is marked as successful, the chip main control system outputs a test success result signal to the outside of the chip through the signal circuit.
3. The safe and low-power operation method of the millimeter-wave radar chip according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The step S600 further includes: If the test result is marked as failure, the chip main control system outputs the test failure result signal to the outside of the chip through the signal circuit; If the test result is marked as successful, the chip main control system outputs a test success result signal to the outside of the chip through the signal circuit.
4. A millimeter wave radar chip, the millimeter wave radar chip executing the millimeter wave radar chip safe and low power consumption operation method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, It is characterized in that include: The power management module is used to control the power on or off of the radar power domain and the main control power domain in the digital domain of the chip through the power switch; The LBIST test control module is used to perform LBIST test.
5. The millimeter wave radar chip according to claim 4, It is characterized in that The radar power domain includes: A radar signal processing and calculation unit is used to process millimeter wave radar signals and calculate target information; The data storage submodule is used to store the relevant data calculated by the radar signal processing calculation unit.
6. The millimeter wave radar chip according to claim 4, It is characterized in that The master power domain includes: The chip master control system, including the central processing unit, is used to control the overall workflow of the chip; The chip peripheral submodule includes a peripheral interface for interacting with other electronic devices.
7. The millimeter wave radar chip according to claim 4, It is characterized in that The power management module comprises: The timer submodule is used to calculate the timing time; Control register, used to power on and off the radar power domain and the main control power domain.
8. The millimeter wave radar chip according to claim 4, It is characterized in that The LBIST test control module comprises: The test control state machine submodule is used to control the generation and termination of the LBIST test; The test result identification register is used to record the LBIST test results and output the test results to the outside of the chip through the signal circuit.