Floating Terminal Level Shifter Spare Cells
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Solution Overview
Problem
In integrated circuits with multiple power domains, the existing level shifter spare cells occupy significant space due to their large size and high density, requiring numerous cells for all possible paths between power domains, leading to inefficient use of critical areas.
Innovation Solution
Configuring level shifter spare cells with first and second terminals that are floating with respect to power rails, allowing for flexible coupling with power rails as needed, reducing the number of spare cells required and optimizing space usage by only connecting cells to paths that necessitate signal level shifting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple level shifter spare cells are provided for all possible paths between power domains, then reliability is improved, but area occupied increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The level shifter spare cell is designed with universal terminals that can be connected to any power domain through selective coupling. The first and second terminals can be configured to interface with different power domains as needed, allowing a single spare cell design to serve multiple paths between different power domains, thereby reducing the total number of spare cells required while maintaining coverage for all possible failure paths.
2Ease of operation
If level shifter spare cells are distributed along boundaries of power domains, then ease of operation is improved, but area occupied increases due to high density
Solution Approach 1:
The invention applies local quality by selectively coupling level shifter spare cells only to those power domain boundaries where actual signal transitions are required. Instead of uniformly distributing spare cells along all power domain boundaries, the coupling is localized to specific paths that necessitate level shifting, thereby reducing overall area occupancy while maintaining operational effectiveness at critical locations.
3Reliability
If more than one level shifter is used for normal operation in one path, then reliability is improved, but area occupied increases due to multiple spare cells required
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the spare cell resources by allowing a single level shifter spare cell to serve multiple paths through selective coupling. Instead of dedicating separate spare cells to each path, the universal terminals enable one spare cell to be dynamically assigned to different paths as needed, consolidating the spare cell function and reducing the total area required for spare cells while maintaining reliability across multiple paths.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for configuring level shifter spare cells includes providing a power rail connectable to a corresponding power domain, and providing a spare cell including a level shifter circuit. The level shifter circuit has first and second terminals that are connectable to the power rail, and the first and second terminals are floating with respect to the power rail.