Serial Interface Monitor Blocks Using LUT-Based Delay Indices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Debugging errors in serial interface circuits is challenging due to limitations in storage space, making it difficult to accurately measure and analyze high resolution delay time data, which increases hardware area and complicates error detection.
Innovation Solution
A monitor block and interface circuit convert high resolution delay time measurement values into low resolution indices using a look-up table (LUT), enabling efficient error detection and correction by utilizing index history.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If high resolution delay time measurement values are stored and analyzed for debugging, then debugging accuracy is improved, but hardware area and storage space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter representation from high resolution delay time measurement values to low resolution indices. The LUT stores mapping relationships between indices and delay time values, allowing the system to use compact index values (fewer bits) instead of full precision delay time data, thereby reducing storage area while maintaining debugging capability through the index-to-value mapping.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a compressed representation (index) that copies only the essential information needed for debugging. Instead of storing complete delay time measurement values, the system stores index values that reference the LUT, effectively creating a compact copy of the necessary data that preserves debugging accuracy while minimizing hardware area usage.
2Measurement precision
If high resolution delay time measurement values are transmitted for analysis, then debugging accuracy is improved, but data transmission overhead and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the data parameter from high resolution delay time values to low resolution indices before transmission. This parameter change reduces the data width and simplifies the transmission protocol, as indices require fewer bits to represent the same set of measurement outcomes, thereby reducing transmission overhead and processing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The LUT acts as an intermediary between the index values and the actual delay time measurement values. During debugging, the LUT translates the transmitted low resolution indices back into meaningful delay time information, allowing accurate analysis without transmitting the full precision data, thus simplifying the overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A serial interface circuit includes an input/output (I/O) port to receive data and a control circuit configured to load a delay metric for the serial interface circuit, transmit first control information of the delay metric to a monitor circuit to cause the monitor circuit to generate a plurality of delay time measurement values, sort the plurality of delay time measurement values to generate sorted values, generate a look-up table (LUT) by mapping the sorted values to indices and transmit the LUT to the monitor circuit.