Digital Sensor Network for IC Hotspot and PVT Speed Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional analog sensors for monitoring temperature and voltage on integrated circuits are large, require separate power supplies, and are often placed far from critical areas, leading to inaccurate and slow responses that cannot pinpoint heat or voltage drops, necessitating pessimistic adjustments for the entire component.
Innovation Solution
A network of smaller, digital sensors distributed uniformly or quasi-uniformly on the integrated circuit, coupled with a sensor network control unit, allows for precise, fast measurement of temperature and voltage variations, enabling localized adjustments to critical areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional analog sensors are used for temperature and voltage monitoring, then measurement accuracy is improved, but device size increases and power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional analog sensor circuits with digital sensors that measure environmental conditions by detecting changes in digital signal characteristics (such as frequency, period, or timing) of existing circuit signals. This substitution eliminates the need for separate analog sensor hardware, reducing device size and power consumption while maintaining measurement capability through software-based processing of the digital signals.
2Measurement precision
If analog sensors are placed close to critical circuits for direct measurement, then measurement accuracy is improved, but device size and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes existing circuit signals serve multiple functions: they both perform the primary circuit function and simultaneously serve as sensing signals for temperature and voltage measurement. By using the natural signals already present in the circuit (such as clock signals or data signals) and analyzing their characteristics, the system eliminates the need for separate powered sensor circuits, thereby reducing overall power consumption while enabling local measurement.
3Device complexity
If digital sensors are used instead of analog sensors, then device size and power consumption are reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the system continuously monitors the digital signals, analyzes their characteristics to infer environmental conditions, and uses this information to adjust or compensate measurements. The control unit processes the digital signal variations and applies calibration data to maintain measurement accuracy, effectively compensating for the inherent limitations of digital sensing while maintaining the advantages of reduced size and power consumption.
4Device complexity
If sensors are placed far from critical areas to reduce complexity, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses existing circuit signals as intermediaries to transfer information about local environmental conditions from the critical areas to the sensing points. These signals act as carriers that encode temperature and voltage information through their characteristics (frequency, period, timing), allowing remote sensing of local conditions without requiring direct physical contact or complex sensor placement in the critical areas.
Data Source
AI summary
A digital sensor network is overlaid on an integrated circuit for identifying and mapping hotspots in the integrated circuit. The digital sensor network may include a plurality of digital sensors distributed within an area of an integrated circuit component of an integrated circuit. Each of the plurality of digital sensors may include a ring oscillator and may be configured to output a counter value of a ring oscillator counted over a designated period. A sensor network control unit may be provided that is communicatively connected to the plurality of digital sensors via a communication circuit. The sensor network control unit may be configured to receive a plurality of counter values including the counter value from each of the plurality of digital sensors and identify a hotspot within the area of the integrated circuit.