ECC Bus Bridge Diagnosis for Mixed-Width Semiconductor Data
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing semiconductor systems face a decrease in fault detection rate due to the need to change Error Correction Code (ECC) bit width during data transportation between buses of different widths, which requires ECC replacement, making it impossible to perform error detection, and are further hindered by the enlargement of circuit size when using duplicated interface circuits.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor device with an ECC decoder, encoder, and diagnosis circuit that divides data into parts, generates error detection codes for each part, and compares them only when no error is detected in the original data, allowing for improved fault detection without enlarging circuit size by eliminating the need for duplicated bus bridges.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If duplicated interface circuits are employed to improve fault detection rate, then fault detection rate is improved, but circuit size is enlarged
Solution Approach 1:
The data is divided into multiple divided pieces, and error detection codes are generated for each divided piece separately. This segmentation allows error detection to be performed on individual pieces without requiring complete duplication of the interface circuit, thereby improving fault detection rate while controlling circuit size.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of duplicating the entire interface circuit, the invention applies error detection only to specific divided pieces of data that are suspected to contain errors. This partial action approach achieves adequate fault detection without the overhead of complete circuit duplication.
2Adaptability or versatility
If ECC replacement is performed during data transportation, then bit width compatibility is achieved, but error detection capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
Error detection codes are generated for divided pieces of data before the ECC replacement operation is performed. This preliminary action ensures that error detection capability is preserved even though ECC replacement is necessary for bit width compatibility during data transportation.
Solution Approach 2:
Error detection codes serve as an intermediary mechanism that bridges the gap between ECC replacement (needed for bit width compatibility) and error detection capability. By attaching error detection codes to divided data pieces, the system maintains error detection even during ECC replacement operations.
Data Source
AI summary
According to one embodiment, a semiconductor device includes an ECC decoder which performs diagnosis on data using an error detection code for the data, an ECC encoder which generates an error detection code for a first data piece equivalent to a bit range accounting for a part of plural bits configuring the data and generates an error detection code for a second data piece equivalent to a bit range accounting for a remaining part of the bits, and a diagnosis circuit which, when no error in the data has been detected by the ECC decoder, compares a part of the data corresponding to the first data piece with the first data piece used in generating the first error detection code and compares a part of the data corresponding to the second data piece with the second data piece used in generating the second error detection code.