Heterogeneous IC Architecture Corner Placement for High-Speed Serial Interface
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Integrated circuits face challenges in supporting higher data rates for high-speed serial interface circuitry due to electrical interference and design limitations, making it difficult to upgrade existing architectures to achieve data rates beyond their initial maximum capabilities.
Innovation Solution
Placing new high-speed serial interface circuitry in corner areas of the integrated circuit architecture, which are relatively quiet and unused, allowing for higher data rates without altering existing circuitry or increasing area requirements, and supporting this with oscillator circuitry between blocks of slower HSSI circuitry.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If new high-speed serial interface circuitry is added to an integrated circuit, then the data rate capability is improved, but the electrical interference from other circuitry increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent places new high-speed serial interface circuitry in corner areas of the integrated circuit, utilizing the two-dimensional layout space more effectively. By positioning circuitry at corners rather than along edges or in the center, the design exploits unused spatial dimensions to achieve higher data rates while minimizing interference from existing circuit blocks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates locally optimized regions by placing new HSSI circuitry in corner areas that have different electrical characteristics compared to other parts of the device. These corner regions naturally have less surrounding circuitry, providing a quieter electrical environment with reduced crosstalk and interference, thereby improving signal integrity at higher data rates.
2Speed
If new high-speed serial interface circuitry is added to an integrated circuit, then the data rate capability is improved, but the device area increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes corner areas of the integrated circuit that are typically unused or underutilized in conventional designs. By placing new HSSI circuitry in these corner regions rather than expanding along the edges or inserting into existing circuit blocks, the design achieves higher data rate capability without proportionally increasing the overall device footprint.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent recovers unused corner areas of the integrated circuit for new functionality. These corner regions, which would otherwise be wasted space or contain minimal circuitry, are repurposed to host new high-speed serial interface blocks, thereby adding capability while minimizing additional area consumption.
3Speed
If new high-speed serial interface circuitry is added to an integrated circuit, then the data rate capability is improved, but the design complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the integrated circuit into distinct functional regions, with new HSSI circuitry isolated in corner areas separate from the main circuit blocks. This segmentation allows independent design, testing, and optimization of the new high-speed interface without affecting existing circuitry, thereby managing design complexity through modular organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces supporting circuitry, such as oscillator blocks, positioned between existing HSSI circuit blocks to serve as intermediaries. These intermediary elements provide necessary functions (clocking, signal conditioning) to the new corner-placed circuitry while maintaining isolation and reducing direct interference with existing blocks, thereby simplifying the overall design integration.
Data Source
AI summary
An integrated circuit device such as a programmable logic device (“PLD”) includes a plurality of blocks of legacy circuitry. These legacy blocks leave at least one corner of the device unoccupied by such legacy circuitry. This at least one corner is used for relatively newly developed circuitry so as to simplify and speed the design of relatively new circuitry, to avoid having to significantly redesign any of the legacy circuitry to give the device the capabilities of the new circuitry, etc. The relatively newly developed circuitry may be high-speed serial data signal interface (“HSSI”) circuitry that is capable of operating at serial data rates faster than any legacy HSSI circuitry on the device.