Adaptive Voltage Binning for IC Leakage and Speed Variation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manufacturing variations in integrated circuit production lead to performance differences, causing some chips to consume excessive power or fail to meet performance specifications, as conventional selective voltage binning assumes a fixed performance/leakage relationship, which may not always be accurate.
Innovation Solution
The method involves sorting integrated circuit devices into different voltage bins based on manufacturing variations, establishing bin-specific current leakage limits, and testing devices to ensure they operate within these limits, thereby removing defective devices and optimizing power usage by adjusting voltage requirements for each bin.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If conventional selective voltage binning is used to sort integrated circuit devices into voltage bins based on manufacturing variations, then power consumption can be reduced by running faster parts at lower voltage, but the fixed performance/leakage relationship assumption may cause some devices to exceed bin-specific current leakage limits and fail performance specifications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by transitioning from fixed voltage binning to adaptive voltage binning, where the voltage bin assignment is dynamically adjusted based on measured current leakage characteristics. Each device is initially assigned to a voltage bin based on speed classification, then measured for current leakage, and reassigned to an appropriate voltage bin that ensures compliance with power consumption specifications while maintaining optimal performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by measuring the actual current leakage of each integrated circuit device after initial voltage bin assignment, comparing it against bin-specific current leakage limits, and using this measurement feedback to reassign devices to appropriate voltage bins. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures that devices are operated within their safe power consumption boundaries while maximizing performance.
2Ease of manufacture
If a fixed cutpoint is used during the design phase to divide fast and slow portions of the process distribution, then the binning process is simple to implement, but it cannot adapt to actual manufacturing variations and may misclassify devices leading to excessive power consumption or performance failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing speed-based classification and initial voltage bin assignment during the manufacturing test process before final deployment. Devices are quickly sorted into preliminary voltage bins based on their switching speed characteristics, then undergo current leakage measurement and reassessment. This preliminary classification enables efficient processing while allowing subsequent refinement based on actual electrical characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements parameter changes by transitioning from static voltage bin definitions to dynamic voltage bin assignments based on measured device parameters. The voltage bin for each device is determined by multiple parameters including switching speed, current leakage characteristics, and bin-specific power consumption limits. This multi-parameter approach replaces the simple fixed cutpoint method with a more sophisticated classification system that adapts to actual device variations.
3Reliability
If all integrated circuit devices are operated at the same voltage level to ensure uniform performance, then performance specifications are met, but power consumption increases because faster devices cannot run at lower voltage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by assigning different voltage levels to different devices based on their individual characteristics rather than using a uniform voltage level for all devices. Each device receives a customized voltage bin assignment considering its specific speed capability, current leakage characteristics, and power consumption profile. This localized approach enables faster devices to operate at lower voltages while slower devices operate at higher voltages, optimizing overall system power consumption while maintaining performance specifications.
Data Source
AI summary
A plurality of digital circuits are manufactured from an identical circuit design. A power controller is operatively connect to the digital circuits, and a non-volatile 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-volatile 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.