Noise modulation for on-chip noise measurement
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- receiving, by an off-chip noise estimation unit external to a computer chip, a frequency-varying signal produced by the computer chip, the frequency-varying signal representative of an on-chip noise signal determined at an on-chip determination point of the computer chip, wherein the off-chip noise estimation unit comprises at least one member of the group consisting of an integrated circuit and a processor with associated memory;
determining, by the off-chip noise estimation unit, a subset of the frequency-varying signal;
executing, by the off-chip noise estimation unit, time-to-frequency domain conversion operations to convert the subset of the frequency-varying signal to a corresponding frequency domain signal; and
determining, by the off-chip noise estimation unit, a voltage level associated with the on-chip noise signal based, at least in part, on frequency information extracted from the frequency domain signal and a relationship between an input voltage provided to a voltage-controlled oscillator associated with the computer chip and an output frequency generated by the voltage-controlled oscillator.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Functionality for estimating characteristics of an on-chip noise signal can be implemented on a processing module. An on-chip noise signal is determined at an on-chip determination point of a computer chip. The on-chip noise signal is converted to a frequency-varying signal using a voltage-controlled oscillator implemented on the computer chip. The frequency-varying signal is measured at an off-chip measurement point and frequency information is extracted from the frequency-varying signal. The frequency information is converted to a voltage level associated with the on-chip noise signal based on the relationship between an input voltage provided to the voltage-controlled oscillator and an output frequency generated by the voltage-controlled oscillator.
23 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving, by an off-chip noise estimation unit external to a computer chip, a frequency-varying signal produced by the computer chip, the frequency-varying signal representative of an on-chip noise signal determined at an on-chip determination point of the computer chip, wherein the off-chip noise estimation unit comprises at least one member of the group consisting of an integrated circuit and a processor with associated memory; determining, by the off-chip noise estimation unit, a subset of the frequency-varying signal; executing, by the off-chip noise estimation unit, time-to-frequency domain conversion operations to convert the subset of the frequency-varying signal to a corresponding frequency domain signal; and determining, by the off-chip noise estimation unit, a voltage level associated with the on-chip noise signal based, at least in part, on frequency information extracted from the frequency domain signal and a relationship between an input voltage provided to a voltage-controlled oscillator associated with the computer chip and an output frequency generated by the voltage-controlled oscillator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A device for estimating voltage on a computer chip, the device comprising:
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an interface to communicably couple the device to an off-chip measurement point for the computer chip; and a noise estimation unit comprising at least one member of the group consisting of an integrated circuit and a processor with associated memory that is external to the computer chip, the noise estimation unit configured to; receive via the interface a frequency-varying signal produced by the computer chip, the frequency-varying signal representative of an on-chip noise signal; determine a subset of the frequency-varying signal; execute time-to-frequency domain conversion operations to convert the subset of the frequency-varying signal to a corresponding frequency domain signal; and determine a voltage level associated with the on-chip noise signal based, at least in part, on frequency information extracted from the frequency domain signal and a relationship between an input voltage provided to a voltage-controlled oscillator associated with the computer chip and an output frequency generated by the voltage-controlled oscillator. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system comprising:
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a computer chip comprising a voltage-controlled oscillator configured to; convert an on-chip noise signal determined at a determination point on the computer chip to a frequency-varying signal; and provide the frequency-varying signal to an off-chip measurement point for the computer chip; an off-chip noise estimation unit that is external to the computer chip, the off-chip noise estimation unit comprising at least one member of the group consisting of an integrated circuit and a processor with associated memory, the off-chip noise estimation unit configured to; receive the frequency-varying signal via the the off-chip measurement point; determine a subset of the frequency-varying signal; execute time-to-frequency domain conversion operations to convert the subset of the frequency-varying signal to a corresponding frequency domain signal; and determine a voltage level associated with the on-chip noise signal based, at least in part, on frequency information extracted from the frequency domain signal and a relationship between an input voltage provided to the voltage-controlled oscillator and an output frequency generated by the voltage-controlled oscillator. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification