Semiconductor having reduced configuration pins and method thereof

• US 20040059528A1
• Filed: 09/19/2002
• Published: 03/25/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Marvell Asia Pte Limited (Marvell Technology Group Limited)
• Original Assignee: Marvell Semiconductor (Marvell Technology Group Limited)
• Inventors: Sutardja, Sehat
• Granted Patent: US 6,970,794 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/65
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/26 Power supply means, e.g. regulation thereof for memories G11C
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2223/5444 for electrical read out
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/66 High-frequency adaptations
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2200/261 Amplifier which being suitable for instrumentation applications
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 2203/45138 Two or more differential amplifiers in IC-block form are combined, e.g. measuring amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H03F 3/45475 using IC blocks as the active amplifying circuit
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 11/1291 Current or voltage controlled filters
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 11/30 Automatic matching of source impedance to load impedance
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 7/0153 Electrical filters; Controlling thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 7/40 Automatic matching of load impedance to source impedance

Abstract

A configurable semiconductor having a device characteristic that is controllable as a function of at least one external impedance. The configurable semiconductor including a measurement circuit to measure an electrical characteristic of the at least one external impedance and to determine a digital value corresponding to the measured electrical characteristic. An address generator to convert the digital value to a first digital address having contents. A controller to set a variable as a function of the first digital address contents.

Claims

17. A method of configuring a configurable semiconductor having a device characteristic that is controllable as a function of at least one external impedance, comprising:

measuring an electrical characteristic of the at least one external impedance;

determining a digital value corresponding to the measured electrical characteristic; and

setting the device characteristic as a function of the digital value.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising supplying energy to the external impedance.

19. The method of claim 17 further comprising converting the digital value to a first digital address corresponding to a memory location having contents;

and

setting the device characteristic as a function of the contents of the memory location corresponding to the first digital address.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the at least one external impedance is selected from a group consisting of a resistor, a capacitor, and combinations thereof.

21. The method of claim 17 wherein the at least one external impedance has a value;

the electrical characteristic is selected from a group consisting of voltage and current; and

the electrical characteristic is a function of the value.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the at least one external impedance value is selected from a predetermined group of values comprising at least three values.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the group of values has a spacing characteristic selected from a group consisting of exponential, linear, and logarithmic.

25. The method of claim 17 further comprising using a first one of at least two external impedances to select an electrical characteristic of the configurable semiconductor;

and

using a second one of the at least two external impedances to select a tolerance associated with the configurable semiconductor electrical characteristic.

26. The method of claim 17 wherein the electrical characteristic is selected from a group consisting of output voltage, reference voltage, output current, reference current, output frequency, reference frequency, and temperature level.

27. The method of claim 17 further comprising enclosing the configurable semiconductor within a package having pins;

and

interfacing the at least one external impedance to the configurable semiconductor through the package pins.

28. The method of claim 27 further comprising providing another circuit having a circuit function;

associating each external impedance to one of the package pins such that there is a one-to-one correspondence; and

at least one package pin corresponding to one external impedance to connect to the other circuit of the configurable semiconductor, the at least one package pin to provide at least a selection function and a circuit function.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein the circuit function of the other circuit includes an additional operation such that the at least one package pin provides at least a selection function and an additional operation function.

30. The method of claim 17 further comprising generating a device output selected from the group consisting of a regulated output voltage, a regulated output current, a clock signal, and a temperature sense signal.

31. A configurable semiconductor having a device characteristic that is controllable as a function of at least one external impedance, comprising:

means for measuring an electrical characteristic of the at least one external impedance;

means for storing information in a memory location corresponding to a memory address; and

means for controlling the device characteristic as a function of the memory location contents.

32. The configurable semiconductor of claim 31 further comprising means for supplying energy to the external impedance.

33. The configurable semiconductor of claim 31 further comprising means for determining a digital value corresponding to the measured electrical characteristic;

and

means for converting the digital value to a first digital address corresponding to a memory location having contents.

34. The configurable semiconductor of claim 31 wherein the means for measuring is selected from a group consisting of timing circuits, Digital to Analog Converters, and Analog to Digital Converters.

35. The configurable semiconductor of claim 31 wherein the at least one external impedance is selected from a group consisting of a resistor, a capacitor, and combinations thereof.

36. The configurable semiconductor of claim 31 wherein the at least one external impedance has a value;

the electrical characteristic is selected from a group consisting of voltage and current; and

the electrical characteristic is a function of the value.

37. The configurable semiconductor of claim 36 wherein the at least one external impedance value is selected from a predetermined group of values comprising at least three values.

38. The configurable semiconductor of claim 37 wherein the group of values has a spacing characteristic selected from a group consisting of exponential, linear, and logarithmic.

39. The configurable semiconductor of claim 37 wherein the at least three values are each nominal values;

and

wherein the at least three nominal values are spaced apart based on tolerances associated with at least the measurement circuit.

40. The configurable semiconductor of claim 31 being adapted to connect to at least two external impedances;

a first one of the at least two external impedances to be used to select an electrical characteristic of the configurable semiconductor; and

a second one of the at least two external impedances to be used to select a tolerance associated with the configurable semiconductor electrical characteristic.

41. The configurable semiconductor of claim 40 wherein the configurable semiconductor electrical characteristic is selected from a group consisting of output voltage, reference voltage, output current, reference current, output frequency, reference frequency, and temperature level.

42. The configurable semiconductor of claim 31 further comprising means for enclosing the configurable semiconductor, the enclosing means having pins;

and

the at least one external impedance to interface to the configurable semiconductor through the enclosing means pins.

43. The configurable semiconductor of claim 42 further including another circuit to provide a circuit function;

each external impedance corresponding to one of the enclosing means pins; and

at least one enclosing means pin corresponding to one external impedance to connect to the other circuit, the at least one enclosing means pin to provide at least a selection function and a circuit function.

44. The configurable semiconductor of claim 43 wherein the circuit function of the other circuit includes an additional operation such that the at least one enclosing means pin provides at least a selection function and an additional operation function.

45. The configurable semiconductor of claim 31 included in a functional device selected from a group consisting of a voltage regulator, a current regulator, a clock circuit, and a temperature sensing circuit.

46. A method of selecting a group of values for an external impedance used to configure a semiconductor, the external impedance having a tolerance and the group of values including a quantity, comprising:

providing a measurement circuit as a portion of the semiconductor;

determining tolerances associated with the measurement circuit;

selecting one of the external impedance tolerance and the quantity of the group of values;

computing the other of the external impedance tolerance and the quantity of the group of values, as a function of the measurement circuit tolerances and the selected one of the external impedance tolerance and the quantity of the group of values; and

selecting discrete values for the group of values of the external impedance as a function of the computing.

47. The method of claim 46 wherein the tolerances associated with the measurement circuit include variations selected from a group consisting of process, temperature, and power.

48. The method of claim 46 wherein selecting includes selecting the external impedance tolerance;

and

computing includes computing the quantity of the group of values as a function of the measurement circuit tolerances and the external impedance tolerance.

49. The method of claim 46 further comprising computing a measurement error quantity including measurement circuit tolerances;

and

wherein computing includes using the measurement error quantity.

50. The method of claim 49 wherein the measurement error quantity is selected from a group consisting of RSS error and maximum error.

51. The method of claim 46 wherein the measurement circuit is selected from a group consisting of timing circuits and analog-to-digital conversion circuits.

52. The method of claim 46 wherein the group of values includes value types selected from a group consisting of nominal values, means values, average values, starting value, and ending value.

53. A voltage regulator having a device characteristic that is controllable as a function of at least one external impedance, comprising:

a measurement circuit to measure an electrical characteristic of the at least one external impedance and to determine a digital value corresponding to the measured electrical characteristic;

an address generator to convert the digital value to a first digital address corresponding to a memory location having contents; and

a controller to set a variable as a function of the contents of the memory location corresponding to the first digital address.

54. The voltage regulator of claim 53 further comprising a generator to supply energy to the external impedance.

55. The voltage regulator of claim 53 further comprising a circuit to generate an output as a function of the variable.

56. The voltage regulator of claim 53 wherein the measurement circuit is selected from a group consisting of timing circuits, Digital to Analog Converters, and Analog to Digital Converters.

57. The voltage regulator of claim 53 further comprising a value determiner to determine the digital value corresponding to the measured electrical characteristic.

58. The voltage regulator of claim 53 wherein the at least one external impedance is selected from a group consisting of a resistor, a capacitor, and combinations thereof.

59. The voltage regulator of claim 53 wherein the at least one external impedance has a value;

the electrical characteristic is an output voltage; and

the electrical characteristic is a function of the at least one external impedance value.

60. The voltage regulator of claim 59 wherein the at least one external impedance value is selected from a predetermined group of values comprising at least three values.

61. The voltage regulator of claim 60 wherein the group of values has a spacing characteristic selected from a group consisting of exponential, linear, and logarithmic.

62. The voltage regulator of claim 60 wherein the at least three values are each nominal values;

and

wherein the at least three nominal values are spaced apart based on tolerances associated with at least the measurement circuit.

63. The voltage regulator of claim 53 being adapted to connect to at least two external impedances;

a first one of the at least two external impedances to be used to select an electrical characteristic of the voltage regulator; and

a second one of the at least two external impedances to be used to select a tolerance associated with the voltage regulator electrical characteristic.

64. The voltage regulator of claim 63 wherein the voltage regulator electrical characteristic is output voltage.

65. The voltage regulator of claim 53 further comprising a package having pins, to enclose the voltage regulator;

and

the at least one external impedance to interface to the voltage regulator through the package pins.

66. The voltage regulator of claim 65 further including another circuit to provide a circuit function;

each external impedance corresponding to one of the package pins; and

at least one package pin corresponding to one external impedance to connect to the other circuit, the at least one package pin to provide at least a selection function and a circuit function.

67. The voltage regulator of claim 66 wherein the circuit function of the other circuit includes an additional operation such that the at least one package pin provides at least a selection function and an additional operation function.

68. A voltage regulator having a device characteristic that is controllable as a function of at least one external impedance, comprising:

means for measuring an electrical characteristic of the at least one external impedance;

means for determining a digital value corresponding to the measured electrical characteristic;

means for converting the digital value to a first digital address corresponding to a memory location having contents; and

means for setting a variable as a function of the contents of the memory location corresponding to the first digital address.

69. The voltage regulator of claim 68 further comprising means for supplying energy to the external impedance.

70. The voltage regulator of claim 68 further comprising means for generating an output as a function of the variable.

71. The voltage regulator of claim 68 wherein the means for measuring is selected from a group consisting of timing circuits, Digital to Analog Converters, and Analog to Digital Converters.

72. The voltage regulator of claim 68 wherein the at least one external impedance is selected from a group consisting of a resistor, a capacitor, and combinations thereof.

73. The voltage regulator of claim 68 wherein the at least one external impedance has a value;

the electrical characteristic is selected from a group consisting of voltage and current; and

the electrical characteristic is a function of the value.

74. The voltage regulator of claim 73 wherein the at least one external impedance value is selected from a predetermined group of values comprising at least three values.

75. The voltage regulator of claim 74 wherein the group of values has a spacing characteristic selected from a group consisting of exponential, linear, and logarithmic.

76. The voltage regulator of claim 74 wherein the at least three values are each nominal values;

and

wherein the at least three nominal values are spaced apart based on tolerances associated with at least the measurement circuit.

77. The voltage regulator of claim 68 being adapted to connect to at least two external impedances;

a first one of the at least two external impedances to be used to select an electrical characteristic of the voltage regulator; and

a second one of the at least two external impedances to be used to select a tolerance associated with the voltage regulator electrical characteristic.

78. The voltage regulator of claim 77 wherein the voltage regulator electrical characteristic is output voltage.

79. The voltage regulator of claim 68 further comprising means for enclosing the voltage regulator, the enclosing means having pins;

and

the at least one external impedance to interface to the voltage regulator through the enclosing means pins.

80. The voltage regulator of claim 79 further including another circuit to provide a circuit function;

each external impedance corresponding to one of the enclosing means pins; and

at least one enclosing means pin corresponding to one external impedance to connect to the other circuit, the at least one enclosing means pin to provide at least a selection function and a circuit function.

81. The voltage regulator of claim 80 wherein the circuit function of the other circuit includes an additional operation such that the at least one enclosing means pin provides at least a selection function and an additional operation function.

82. A configurable semiconductor having a device characteristic that is controllable as a function of at least one external impedance, comprising:

a measurement circuit to measure an electrical characteristic of the at least one external impedance and to determine a select value corresponding to the measured electrical characteristic; and

a first circuit to control the device characteristic as a function of the select value.

83. The configurable semiconductor of claim 82 wherein the select value is one of at least three predetermined select values.

84. The configurable semiconductor of claim 83 further comprising an address generator to convert the select value to a first digital address corresponding to a memory location having contents;

and

a controller to control the device characteristic as a function of the contents of the memory location corresponding to the first digital address.

85. The configurable semiconductor of claim 82 further comprising a generator to supply energy to the external impedance.

86. The configurable semiconductor of claim 82 wherein the measurement circuit is selected from a group consisting of timing circuits, Digital to Analog Converters, and Analog to Digital Converters.

87. The configurable semiconductor of claim 82 further comprising a value determiner to determine a digital value corresponding to the measured electrical characteristic.

88. The configurable semiconductor of claim 82 wherein the at least one external impedance is selected from a group consisting of a resistor, a capacitor, and combinations thereof.

89. The configurable semiconductor of claim 82 wherein the at least one external impedance has a value;

the electrical characteristic is selected from a group consisting of voltage and current; and

the electrical characteristic is a function of the external impedance value.

90. The configurable semiconductor of claim 89 wherein the at least one external impedance value is selected from a predetermined group of values comprising at least three values.

91. The configurable semiconductor of claim 90 wherein the group of values has a spacing characteristic selected from a group consisting of geometric progression, exponential, linear, and logarithmic.

92. The configurable semiconductor of claim 90 wherein the at least three values are each nominal values;

and

wherein the at least three nominal values are spaced apart based on tolerances associated with at least the measurement circuit.

93. The configurable semiconductor of claim 82 being adapted to connect to at least two external impedances;

a first one of the at least two external impedances to be used to select an electrical characteristic of the configurable semiconductor; and

a second one of the at least two external impedances to be used to select a tolerance associated with the configurable semiconductor electrical characteristic.

94. The configurable semiconductor of claim 93 wherein the configurable semiconductor electrical characteristic is selected from a group consisting of output voltage, reference voltage, output current, reference current, output frequency, reference frequency, and temperature level.

95. The configurable semiconductor of claim 82 further comprising a package having pins, to enclose the configurable semiconductor;

and

the at least one external impedance to interface to the configurable semiconductor through the package pins.

96. The configurable semiconductor of claim 95 further including another circuit to provide a circuit function;

each external impedance corresponding to one of the package pins; and

at least one package pin corresponding to one external impedance to connect to the other circuit, the at least one package pin to provide at least a selection function and a circuit function.

97. The configurable semiconductor of claim 96 wherein the circuit function of the other circuit includes an additional operation such that the at least one package pin provides at least a selection function and an additional operation function.

98. The configurable semiconductor of claim 82 included in a functional device selected from a group consisting of a voltage regulator, a current regulator, a clock circuit, and a temperature sensing circuit.

99. A configurable semiconductor having a device characteristic that is controllable as a function of at least one external impedance, comprising:

means for measuring an electrical characteristic of the at least one external impedance and to determine a select value corresponding to the measured electrical characteristic; and

means for controlling the device characteristic as a function of the select value.

100. The configurable semiconductor of claim 99 wherein the select value is one of at least three predetermined select values.

101. The configurable semiconductor of claim 100 further comprising means for generating an address to convert the select value to a first digital address corresponding to a memory location having contents.

102. The configurable semiconductor of claim 99 further comprising means for generating to supply energy to the external impedance.

103. The configurable semiconductor of claim 99 wherein the means for measuring is selected from a group consisting of timing circuits, Digital to Analog Converters, and Analog to Digital Converters.

104. The configurable semiconductor of claim 99 further comprising means for determining a digital value corresponding to the measured electrical characteristic.

105. The configurable semiconductor of claim 99 wherein the at least one external impedance is selected from a group consisting of a resistor, a capacitor, and combinations thereof.

106. The configurable semiconductor of claim 99 wherein the at least one external impedance has a value;

the electrical characteristic is selected from a group consisting of voltage and current; and

the electrical characteristic is a function of the external impedance value.

107. The configurable semiconductor of claim 106 wherein the at least one external impedance value is selected from a predetermined group of values comprising at least three values.

108. The configurable semiconductor of claim 107 wherein the group of values has a spacing characteristic selected from a group consisting of geometric progression, exponential, linear, and logarithmic.

109. The configurable semiconductor of claim 107 wherein the at least three values are each nominal values;

and

wherein the at least three nominal values are spaced apart based on tolerances associated with at least the measurement circuit.

110. The configurable semiconductor of claim 99 being adapted to connect to at least two external impedances;

a first one of the at least two external impedances to be used to select an electrical characteristic of the configurable semiconductor; and

a second one of the at least two external impedances to be used to select a tolerance associated with the configurable semiconductor electrical characteristic.

111. The configurable semiconductor of claim 110 wherein the configurable semiconductor electrical characteristic is selected from a group consisting of output voltage, reference voltage, output current, reference current, output frequency, reference frequency, and temperature level.

112. The configurable semiconductor of claim 99 further comprising a package having pins, to enclose the configurable semiconductor;

and

the at least one external impedance to interface to the configurable semiconductor through the package pins.

113. The configurable semiconductor of claim 112 further including another circuit to provide a circuit function;

each external impedance corresponding to one of the package pins; and

at least one package pin corresponding to one external impedance to connect to the other circuit, the at least one package pin to provide at least a selection function and a circuit function.

114. The configurable semiconductor of claim 113 wherein the circuit function of the other circuit includes an additional operation such that the at least one package pin provides at least a selection function and an additional operation function.

115. The configurable semiconductor of claim 99 included in a functional device selected from a group consisting of a voltage regulator, a current regulator, a clock circuit, and a temperature sensing circuit.

116. A method of configuring a configurable semiconductor having a device characteristic that is controllable as a function of at least one external impedance, comprising:

measuring an electrical characteristic of the at least one external impedance;

determining a select value corresponding to the measured electrical characteristic; and

controlling the device characteristic as a function of the select value.

117. The method of claim 116 wherein the select value is one of at least three predetermined select values.

118. The method of claim 117 further comprising generating an address to convert the select value to a first digital address corresponding to a memory location having contents.

119. The method of claim 116 further comprising supplying energy to the external impedance.

120. The method of claim 116 wherein measuring includes providing a measuring circuit selected from a group consisting of timing circuits, Digital to Analog Converters, and Analog to Digital Converters.

121. The method of claim 116 further comprising determining a digital value corresponding to the measured electrical characteristic.

122. The method of claim 116 wherein the at least one external impedance is selected from a group consisting of a resistor, a capacitor, and combinations thereof.

123. The method of claim 116 wherein the at least one external impedance has a value;

the electrical characteristic is selected from a group consisting of voltage and current; and

the electrical characteristic is a function of the external impedance value.

124. The method of claim 123 further comprising selecting the at least one external impedance value from a predetermined group of values comprising at least three values.

125. The method of claim 124 wherein the group of values has a spacing characteristic selected from a group consisting of geometric progression, exponential, linear, and logarithmic.

126. The method of claim 124 wherein the at least three values are each nominal values;

and

spacing apart the at least three nominal values based on tolerances associated with at least the measurement circuit.

127. The method of claim 116 being adapted to connect to at least two external impedances;

using a first one of the at least two external impedances to select an electrical characteristic of the configurable semiconductor; and

using a second one of the at least two external impedances to select a tolerance associated with the configurable semiconductor electrical characteristic.

128. The method of claim 127 wherein the configurable semiconductor electrical characteristic is selected from a group consisting of output voltage, reference voltage, output current, reference current, output frequency, reference frequency, and temperature level.

129. The method of claim 116 further comprising a package having pins, to enclose the configurable semiconductor;

and

interfacing the at least one external impedance to the configurable semiconductor through the package pins.

130. The method of claim 129 further including another circuit to provide a circuit function;

each external impedance corresponding to one of the package pins; and

at least one package pin corresponding to one external impedance to connect to the other circuit, the at least one package pin to provide at least a selection function and a circuit function.

131. The method of claim 130 wherein the circuit function of the other circuit includes an additional operation such that the at least one package pin provides at least a selection function and an additional operation function.

132. The method of claim 116 included in a functional device selected from a group consisting of a voltage regulator, a current regulator, a clock circuit, and a temperature sensing circuit.

133. A voltage regulator having a device characteristic, comprising:

a first terminal connectable to a first external impedance;

a measurement circuit in communication with the first terminal to measure the first external impedance; and

a control circuit to control the device characteristic as a function of the measured first external impedance.

134. The voltage regulator of claim 133 further comprising an address generator to convert the measured first external impedance to a first address corresponding to a memory location having contents;

and

wherein said control circuit controls the device characteristic as a function of the contents of the memory location corresponding to the first address.

135. The voltage regulator of claim 133 further comprising a generator in communication with the first terminal to supply energy to the first external impedance.

136. The voltage regulator of claim 133 wherein the measurement circuit is selected from a group consisting of timing circuits, Digital to Analog Converters, and Analog to Digital Converters.

137. The voltage regulator of claim 133 further comprising a value determiner to determine a digital value corresponding to the measured device characteristic.

138. The voltage regulator of claim 133 wherein the first external impedance is selected from a group consisting of a resistor, a capacitor, and combinations thereof.

139. The voltage regulator of claim 133 further comprising a second terminal connectable to a second external impedance;

wherein the measurement circuit is in communication with the second terminal and measures the second external impedance,

wherein the measured first external impedance corresponds to a nominal output voltage and the measured second external impedance corresponds to the an output voltage offset, and

wherein the output voltage is a function of the nominal output voltage and the output voltage offset.

140. The voltage regulator of claim 133 wherein the first external impedance value is selected from a predetermined group of values comprising at least three values.

141. The voltage regulator of claim 140 wherein the group of values has a spacing characteristic selected from a group consisting of geometric progression, exponential, linear, and logarithmic.

142. The voltage regulator of claim 140 wherein the at least three values are each nominal values;

and

wherein the at least three nominal values are spaced apart based on tolerances associated with at least the measurement circuit.

143. The voltage regulator of claim 140 wherein the device characteristic is selected from a group consisting of output voltage, reference voltage, output current, reference current, output frequency, reference frequency, and temperature level.

144. A voltage regulator having a device characteristic, comprising:

a first input means for communicating with a first external impedance;

measurement means for measuring the first external impedance; and

control means for controlling the device characteristic as a function of the measured first external impedance.

145. The voltage regulator of claim 144 further comprising an address generator means for converting the measured first external impedance to a first address corresponding to a memory location having contents;

and

wherein said controller controls the device characteristic as a function of the contents of the memory location corresponding to the first address.

146. The voltage regulator of claim 144 further comprising generator means in communication with the first input means for supplying energy to the first external impedance.

147. The voltage regulator of claim 144 wherein the measurement means is selected from a group consisting of timing circuits, Digital to Analog Converters, and Analog to Digital Converters.

148. The voltage regulator of claim 144 further comprising value determiner means for determining a digital value corresponding to the measured device characteristic.

149. The voltage regulator of claim 144 wherein the first external impedance is selected from a group consisting of a resistor, a capacitor, and combinations thereof.

150-1. The voltage regulator of claim 155 further comprising a second input means for communicating with a second external impedance;

wherein the measurement means measures the second external impedance,

wherein the measured first external impedance corresponds to a nominal output voltage and the measured second external impedance corresponds to the an output voltage offset, and

wherein the output voltage is a function of the nominal output voltage and the output voltage offset.

151-2. The voltage regulator of claim 155 wherein the first external impedance value is selected from a predetermined group of values comprising at least three values.

152-3. The voltage regulator of claim 151 wherein the group of values has a spacing characteristic selected from a group consisting of geometric progression, exponential, linear, and logarithmic.

153-4. The voltage regulator of claim 151 wherein the at least three values are each nominal values;

and

wherein the at least three nominal values are spaced apart based on tolerances associated with at least the measurement means.

154-5. The voltage regulator of claim 151 wherein the device characteristic is selected from a group consisting of output voltage, reference voltage, output current, reference current, output frequency, reference frequency, and temperature level.

155. A method of selecting a device characteristic of a voltage regulator, comprising the steps of:

communicating with a first external impedance;

measuring the first external impedance; and

controlling the device characteristic as a function of the measured first external impedance.

1. A configurable semiconductor having a device characteristic that is controllable as a function of at least one external impedance, comprising:

a measurement circuit to measure an electrical characteristic of the at least one external impedance and to determine a digital value corresponding to the measured electrical characteristic;

a storage circuit including memory locations having contents, the contents accessible as a function of the digital value; and

a controller to control the device characteristic as a function of the contents of the memory locations.

2. The configurable semiconductor of claim 1 further comprising a generator to supply energy to the external impedance.

3. The configurable semiconductor of claim 1 wherein the storage circuit includes memory devices selected from a group consisting of content addressable memory, static memory, dynamic memory, and look-up tables.

4. The configurable semiconductor of claim 1 wherein the measurement circuit is selected from a group consisting of timing circuits, Digital to Analog Converters, and Analog to Digital Converters.

5. The configurable semiconductor of claim 1 further comprising a value determiner to determine the digital value corresponding to the measured electrical characteristic;

and

an address generator to convert the digital value to a first digital address corresponding to one of the memory locations.

6. The configurable semiconductor of claim 1 wherein the at least one external impedance is selected from a group consisting of a resistor, a capacitor, and combinations thereof.

7. The configurable semiconductor of claim 1 wherein the at least one external impedance has a value;

the electrical characteristic is selected from a group consisting of voltage and current; and

the electrical characteristic is a function of the value.

8. The configurable semiconductor of claim 7 wherein the at least one external impedance value is selected from a predetermined group of values comprising at least three values.

9. The configurable semiconductor of claim 8 wherein the group of values has a spacing characteristic selected from a group consisting of exponential, linear, and logarithmic.

10. The configurable semiconductor of claim 8 wherein the at least three values are each nominal values;

and

wherein the at least three nominal values are spaced apart based on tolerances associated with at least the measurement circuit.

11. The configurable semiconductor of claim 1 being adapted to connect to at least two external impedances;

a first one of the at least two external impedances to be used to select an electrical characteristic of the configurable semiconductor; and

a second one of the at least two external impedances to be used to select a tolerance associated with the configurable semiconductor electrical characteristic.

12. The configurable semiconductor of claim 11 wherein the configurable semiconductor electrical characteristic is selected from a group consisting of output voltage, reference voltage, output current, reference current, output frequency, reference frequency, and temperature level.

13. The configurable semiconductor of claim 1 further comprising a package having pins, to enclose the configurable semiconductor;

and

the at least one external impedance to interface to the configurable semiconductor through the package pins.

14. The configurable semiconductor of claim 13 further including another circuit to provide a circuit function;

each external impedance corresponding to one of the package pins; and

at least one package pin corresponding to one external impedance to connect to the other circuit, the at least one package pin to provide at least a selection function and a circuit function.

15. The configurable semiconductor of claim 14 wherein the circuit function of the other circuit includes an additional operation such that the at least one package pin provides at least a selection function and an additional operation function.

16. The configurable semiconductor of claim 1 included in a functional device selected from a group consisting of a voltage regulator, a current regulator, a clock circuit, and a temperature sensing circuit.

150. The voltage regulator of claim 144 further comprising a second input means for communicating with a second external impedance;

wherein the measurement means measures the second external impedance,

wherein the measured first external impedance corresponds to a nominal output voltage and the measured second external impedance corresponds to the an output voltage offset, and

wherein the output voltage is a function of the nominal output voltage and the output voltage offset.

151. The voltage regulator of claim 144 wherein the first external impedance value is selected from a predetermined group of values comprising at least three values.

152. The voltage regulator of claim 151 wherein the group of values has a spacing characteristic selected from a group consisting of geometric progression, exponential, linear, and logarithmic.

153. The voltage regulator of claim 151 wherein the at least three values are each nominal values;

and

wherein the at least three nominal values are spaced apart based on tolerances associated with at least the measurement means.

154. The voltage regulator of claim 151 wherein the device characteristic is selected from a group consisting of output voltage, reference voltage, output current, reference current, output frequency, reference frequency, and temperature level.

156. The voltage regulator of claim 157 further comprising the step of converting the measured first external impedance to a first address corresponding to a memory location having contents;

and

controlling the device characteristic as a function of the contents of the memory location corresponding to the first address.

157. The voltage regulator of claim 155 further comprising the step of supplying energy to the first external impedance.

158. The voltage regulator of claim 155 wherein the measuring set is selected from a group consisting of generating a timing signal, converting a digital signal to an analog signal, and converting an analog signal to a digital signal.

159. The voltage regulator of claim 155 further comprising the step of determining a digital value corresponding to the measured device characteristic.

160. The voltage regulator of claim 155 wherein the first external impedance is selected from a group consisting of a resistor, a capacitor, and combinations thereof.