COMPUTER SYSTEM WITH INTEGRATED ELECTROMAGNETIC-INTERFERENCE DETECTORS

• US 20090306920A1
• Filed: 06/04/2008
• Published: 12/10/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/04/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oracle America, Inc. (Oracle Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sun Microsystems Incorporated (Oracle Corporation)
• Inventors: Gross, Kenny C., Urmanov, Aleksey M., Zwinger, Steven F.
• Granted Patent: US 8,457,913 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/77
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/2884 using dedicated test connectors, test elements or test circuits on the IC under test G01R31/2855 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3025 Wireless interface with the DUT
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/552 involving long-term monitoring or reporting

Abstract

Embodiments of a system that determines a condition associated with an integrated circuit disposed on a circuit board are described. During operation, the system receives electromagnetic-interference (EMI) signals from one or more antennas while the integrated circuit is operating, where the one or more antennas are disposed on the circuit board. Then, the system analyzes the received EMI signals to determine the condition.

Claims

1. A method for determining a condition associated with an integrated circuit disposed on a circuit board, comprising:

receiving electromagnetic-interference (EMI) signals from one or more antennas while the integrated circuit on the circuit board is operating, wherein the one or more antennas are disposed on the circuit board; and

analyzing the received EMI signals to determine the condition.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the analysis involves:

using a fast Fourier transform (FFT) to convert the received EMI signals to the frequency domain;

converting the output of the FFT into time-series frequency signals for different frequencies; and

analyzing the time-series frequency signals to determine the condition.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the condition is determined by performing pattern-recognition analysis on the time-series frequency signals using a non-linear, non-parametric regression technique.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the condition is determined by performing pattern-recognition analysis on the time-series frequency signals using a multivariate state estimation technique (MSET).

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the condition facilitates proactively detecting tampering or degradation anomalies during operation of the integrated circuit.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the tampering or degradation anomalies are detected by comparing the received EMI signals with an inferential model that provides estimates of EMI signals during normal operation of the integrated circuit.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising executing a sequence of operations on a processor disposed on the integrated circuit prior to receiving the EMI signals, wherein the condition includes an EMI fingerprint associated with the sequence of operations for the integrated circuit.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising using the EMI fingerprint to determine whether the integrated circuit has been tampered with.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving telemetry signals for a physical variable which are collected by one or more physical sensors disposed on the integrated circuit;

building an inferential model for the physical variable by correlating the received EMI signals with the telemetry signals, wherein the received EMI signals are associated with the integrated circuit; and

using the inferential model to determine the condition based on the received EMI signals, wherein the condition includes values of the physical variable.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the physical variable is a local temperature on the integrated circuit;

and

wherein the one or more physical sensors are temperature sensors.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the condition includes the onset of metal whisker growth in a target area of the integrated circuit that is proximate to at least one of the antennas.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, prior to receiving the EMI signals, the method further comprises:

collecting reference EMI signals using another one of the antennas which is positioned in the vicinity of a reference area of the integrated circuit that is free of metal whiskers;

generating a reference EMI fingerprint from the reference EMI signals; and

building an inferential model based on the reference EMI fingerprint which facilitates determining of the condition.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the condition includes an EMI fingerprint for the integrated circuit that can be compared to a reference EMI fingerprint to determine whether the integrated circuit includes a counterfeit component.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the reference EMI fingerprint is associated with a certified authentic reference integrated circuit of the same type as the integrated circuit.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the received EMI signals from a given antenna in the one or more antennas are received using a detector.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein a multiplexer facilitates selectively coupling the detector to the given antenna.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein a given antenna in the one or more antennas includes a metal trace having a length that is different than that for other antennas.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the EMI signals are associated with a set of predetermined wavelengths.

19. A circuit board, comprising:

an integrated circuit; and

one or more antennas which are configured to receive electromagnetic-interference (EMI) signals associated with the integrated circuit while the integrated circuit is operating, wherein an electronic component on the circuit board is configured to analyze the received EMI signals to determine a condition associated with the integrated circuit.

20. A computer system, comprising:

a circuit board including one or more antennas and an integrated circuit;

memory;

a program module, wherein the program module is stored in the memory and configured to be executed by a processor to determine a condition associated with the integrated circuit, the program module including;

instructions for receiving electromagnetic-interference (EMI) signals from the one or more antennas while the integrated circuit on the circuit board is operating; and

instructions for analyzing the received EMI signals to determine the condition.