Voltage-Island Redundant Logic Verification by Selective Disabling
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity of integrated circuit designs, particularly those incorporating voltage islands and redundant logic blocks, leads to increased time and effort in both design and verification processes, with conventional verification methods being excessively time-consuming and impractical.
Innovation Solution
The integration of selection logic and interface logic blocks allows for the selective disabling of redundant logic blocks, enabling segmented verification and reducing the effort required in designing and verifying integrated circuits by using predesigned elements and predefined interconnections, which simplifies the process of disconnecting redundant blocks from power and data paths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If redundant logic blocks are individually controllable via selection logic and interface logic blocks, then verification effort is reduced significantly, but device complexity increases due to additional selection logic and interface logic blocks
Solution Approach 1:
The circuit is divided into functional blocks with redundant logic blocks grouped together and controlled by shared selection logic. Interface logic blocks create boundaries that allow selective disabling of redundant blocks, enabling segmented verification where only one representative permutation needs to be verified rather than all possible combinations.
Solution Approach 2:
The selection logic and interface logic blocks serve multiple functions: they control power delivery to redundant logic blocks, enable selective disabling for verification, and allow the same structural pattern to be applied across multiple redundant blocks, reducing overall verification complexity despite added control infrastructure.
2Use of energy by moving object
If voltage islands are used to individually control power regions, then power consumption is reduced, but design complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Power delivery is segmented into voltage islands that can be independently controlled. Each voltage island contains specific logic blocks and can be powered on or off separately, allowing power consumption to be reduced by deactivating voltage islands containing redundant or non-critical logic blocks.
Solution Approach 2:
Interface logic blocks act as intermediaries between the selection logic and the redundant logic blocks, controlling power delivery to specific voltage islands. This intermediary layer enables fine-grained power management without requiring complex direct control of each individual logic block.
3Reliability
If redundant structures are implemented for yield improvement, then manufacturing yield increases, but verification effort triples compared to design effort
Solution Approach 1:
Redundant logic blocks are segmented into groups controlled by shared selection logic, allowing verification to focus on one representative configuration rather than exhaustively verifying all possible redundant block combinations. This segmentation reduces verification effort while maintaining yield benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The verification approach changes from exhaustive verification of all redundant block configurations to verifying a single representative permutation. This parameter change in verification strategy maintains reliability while dramatically reducing verification effort compared to design effort.
Data Source
AI summary
Structures, methods, and systems for designing and verifying integrated circuits including redundant logic blocks are provided. An integrated circuit includes selection logic and selectable logic blocks that are individually controllable by the selection logic. The selectable logic blocks include respective instances of a redundant logic block, and respective instances of an interface logic block that selectively disable the redundant logic blocks in the integrated circuit.