Digital-based mechanism for determining voltage
First Claim
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1. A voltage sensor that measures voltage at a section of an integrated circuit, comprising:
- a voltage controlled oscillator disposed on the integrated circuit;
a first counter stage disposed on the integrated circuit that counts a number of pulses generated by the voltage controlled oscillator; and
a second counter stage disposed on the integrated circuit that counts a number of pulses on a clock signal, wherein a count of the first counter stage relative to an expected count represents an actual voltage at the section of the integrated circuit.
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Abstract
An on-chip voltage sensor that uses a voltage controlled oscillator to determine actual voltage on a section of a computer chip is provided. By knowing an expected voltage controlled oscillator frequency at a specific section of a computer chip, actual voltage may be determined by using an actual voltage controlled oscillator frequency at that specific section. Further, a method for measuring voltage on-chip using a voltage controlled oscillator is provided. Further, an integrated circuit having a voltage sensor that measures a voltage at a section of the integrated circuit is provided.
15 Citations
10 Claims
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1. A voltage sensor that measures voltage at a section of an integrated circuit, comprising:
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a voltage controlled oscillator disposed on the integrated circuit;
a first counter stage disposed on the integrated circuit that counts a number of pulses generated by the voltage controlled oscillator; and
a second counter stage disposed on the integrated circuit that counts a number of pulses on a clock signal, wherein a count of the first counter stage relative to an expected count represents an actual voltage at the section of the integrated circuit. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A method for measuring voltage at a section of an integrated circuit, comprising:
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counting pulses generated by a voltage controlled oscillator;
counting pulses on a clock signal; and
comparing a count of pulses generated by the voltage controlled oscillator and a count of pulses on the clock signal to determine the voltage at the section of the integrated circuit. - View Dependent Claims (4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An integrated circuit having a voltage sensor that measures voltage at a section of the integrated circuit, the voltage sensor comprising:
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a voltage controlled oscillator disposed on the integrated circuit;
a first counter stage disposed on the integrated circuit that counts a number of pulses generated by the voltage controlled oscillator; and
a second counter stage disposed on the integrated circuit that counts a number of pulses on a clock signal, wherein a count of the first counter stage relative to an expected count is used to determine an actual voltage at the section of the integrated circuit. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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Specification