Power Supply Voltage Control Circuit for Adaptive LSI Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
The Adaptive Supply Voltage (ASV) technique for semiconductor integrated circuits struggles to control individual LSIs at their optimum voltage, leading to suboptimal power consumption reduction and requiring additional components like temperature sensors, which increase cost, space, and complexity.
Innovation Solution
A power supply voltage control circuit device comprising a power supply control circuit, a memory, and an arithmetic processing circuit that stores and verifies processing results at different voltage levels to determine the optimal voltage for each individual chip, allowing for dynamic voltage adjustment based on actual usage conditions without additional sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If a temperature sensor is installed to control voltage based on temperature, then power consumption reduction is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The LSI performs self-diagnosis of its own operational status and automatically determines optimal voltage settings based on its actual processing results, eliminating the need for external temperature sensors. The system uses its own processing outputs as feedback to control its power supply voltage.
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes a feedback loop where processing results are read and analyzed to determine whether voltage adjustment was effective. This feedback mechanism allows the system to iteratively optimize voltage settings based on actual performance rather than relying on temperature sensor data.
2Use of energy by moving object
If a temperature sensor is installed to control voltage based on temperature, then power consumption reduction is improved, but occupancy area increases
Solution Approach 1:
The LSI uses its own processing results for self-control, eliminating the need for additional temperature sensor components that would occupy valuable chip area. The system achieves temperature-based voltage control functionality without physical temperature sensing hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a physical temperature sensor as an intermediary between the environment and the voltage control circuit, the system uses processing results as an intermediary to infer operational conditions and determine optimal voltage settings.
3Reliability
If a table for controlling voltage is used to guarantee operation, then reliability is improved, but individual LSI optimization is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from static voltage control using fixed tables to dynamic voltage control that adapts to each individual LSI's actual performance characteristics. Voltage settings are adjusted based on real-time processing results rather than predetermined tables, enabling both reliability and individual optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the control parameter from temperature (which requires sensors) to processing results (which are naturally available). This parameter change allows the system to optimize voltage for each individual LSI based on its actual operational characteristics rather than relying on generalized tables.
4Use of energy by moving object
If ASV technique is adopted to reduce power consumption, then energy efficiency is improved, but individual LSI optimum voltage control is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by reading processing results and using them to determine whether voltage adjustments are achieving the desired effect. This closed-loop control enables precise optimization for each individual LSI rather than using coarse ASV tables.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes from controlling voltage based on temperature parameters (which require sensors and generalize across devices) to controlling voltage based on processing result parameters (which are device-specific and directly reflect actual performance). This enables precise individual optimization.
Data Source
AI summary
A power supply voltage control circuit device includes a power supply control circuit, a memory, and an arithmetic processing circuit. The power supply control circuit is configured to control a power supply voltage to be applied to a target circuit, and the memory is configured to store a first processing result when the target circuit is operated by setting the power supply voltage to a first voltage and a second processing result when the target circuit is operated by setting the power supply voltage to a second voltage different from the first voltage. The arithmetic processing circuit is configured to perform verify by reading the first processing result and the second processing result from the memory and output a result of the verify to the power supply control circuit, and wherein the power supply control circuit controls the power supply voltage based on the result of the verify.