Error recovery within integrated circuit

• US 20110107166A1
• Filed: 10/25/2010
• Published: 05/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arm Limited (SoftBank Group Corp.), Board of Regents of the University of Michigan (University of Michigan)
• Original Assignee: Arm Limited (SoftBank Group Corp.), Board of Regents of the University of Michigan (University of Michigan)
• Inventors: Bull, David, Flautner, Krisztian, Blaauw, David Theodore, Mudge, Trevor Nigel, Austin, Todd Michael
• Granted Patent: US 8,650,470 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/746
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/00 Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring error detection, correction or monitoring in information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B20/18; monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing G11B27/36; in static stores G11C29/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0706 the processing taking place on a specific hardware platform or in a specific software environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0736 in functional embedded systems, i.e. in a data processing system designed as a combination of hardware and software dedicated to performing a certain function testing or monitoring of automated control systems G05B23/02
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0754 by exceeding limits
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0757 by exceeding a time limit, i.e. time-out, e.g. watchdogs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/079 Root cause analysis, i.e. error or fault diagnosis in a hardware test environment G06F11/22; in a software test environment G06F11/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0793 Remedial or corrective actions recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1402 Saving, restoring, recovering or retrying
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1604 where the fault affects the clock signals of a processing unit and the redundancy is at or within the level of clock signal generation hardware

Abstract

An integrated circuit includes one or more portions having error detection and error correction circuits and which is operated with operating parameters giving finite non-zero error rate as well as one or more portions formed and operated to provide a zero error rate.

Claims

1. An integrated circuit for performing data processing, said integrated circuit comprising:

an error detector configured detect errors in operation of said integrated circuit; and

error-repair circuitry configured to repair errors in operation of said integrated circuit;

wherein

at least one portion of said integrated circuit is configured to operate with one or more operational parameters controlled to produce a finite non-zero error rate within said at least one portion; and

at least one other portion of said integrated circuit is configured to operate with a zero error rate within said at least one other portion.

2. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one portion comprising a processing pipeline including a plurality of non-delayed latches clocked by a non-delayed clock signal with a frequency producing a finite non-zero rate of errors in signal value capture and said at least one other portion comprises a plurality of delayed latches each associated with a non-delayed latch and clocked by a delayed clock signal to prevent errors in signal value capture within said error-correcting latches.

3. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one other portion includes said error detector and said error-repair circuitry.

4. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one other portion includes communication circuitry configured to communicate outside said integrated circuit.

5. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one other portion includes storage circuitry configured to store data values used by said error-repair circuitry to repair said errors in operation.

6. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one other portion includes storage circuitry configured to store data values not stored elsewhere and assessable to said integrated circuit.

7. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one other portion includes a translation lookaside buffer.

8. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one other portion includes an instruction cache.

9. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one other portion includes a clock gating circuit configured to gate a clock signal used by said at least one other portion.

10. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one portion includes adder circuitry.

11. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one portion includes multiplier circuitry.

12. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one portion includes logic circuitry configured to perform logical operations upon data values.

13. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one portion includes an instruction decoder configured to decode program instructions.

14. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one other portion operates with at least one different value of said one or more operational parameters.

15. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said one or more operational parameters include a power supply voltage applied to said at least one portion.

16. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said one or more operational parameters include a clock frequency of a clock signal applied to said at least one portion.

17. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said one or more operational parameters include a body bias voltage applied to said at least one portion.

19. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein said errors detector detects errors by double-sampling data signal values within said integrated circuit, a difference between sampled values being indicative of an error.

20. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 19, wherein said double-sampling is detecting a signal value at a sampling point at respective different times.

21. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1 comprising:

a plurality of processing stages, a processing stage output signal from at least one processing stage being supplied as a processing stage input signal to a following processing stage, wherein said at least one processing stage comprises;

processing logic operable to perform a processing operation upon at least one processing stage input value to generate a processing logic output signal;

a non-delayed latch operable to capture a non-delayed value of said processing logic output signal at a non-delayed capture time, said non-delayed value being supplied to said following processing stage as said processing stage output signal following said non-delayed capture time; and

a delayed latch operable to capture a delayed value of said processing logic output signal at a delayed capture time later than said non-delayed capture time;

wherein said error detector comprises a comparator operable to compare said non-delayed value and said delayed value to detect a change in said processing logic output signal following said non-delayed capture time indicative of said processing logic not having finished said processing operation at said non-delayed capture time; and

said error-repair logic is operable when said comparator detects said change to perform an error-repair operation suppressing use of said non-delayed value by said following processing stage.

22. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 21, comprising a meta-stability detector operable to detect meta-stability in said non-delayed value and trigger said error-repair logic to suppress use of said non-delayed value if found to be meta-stable.

23. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 21, wherein when said comparator detects said change, said error-repair logic is operable to replace said non-delayed value with said delayed value as said processing stage output signal.

24. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 23, wherein supply of said delayed value to said following processing stage forces forward progress through processing operations.

25. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 21, wherein when said comparator detects said change said error-repair logic is operable to force said delayed value to be stored in said non-delayed latch in place of said non-delayed value.

26. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 21, wherein processing operations within said processing stage and said following processing stage are driven by a non-delayed clock signal.

27. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 26, wherein when said comparator detects said change said error-repair logic is operable to gate said non-delayed clock signal to provide time for said following processing stage to recover from input of said non-delayed value and instead use said delayed value.

28. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 27, wherein said non-delayed capture time is derived from a predetermined phase point of said non-delayed clock signal, a phased delayed version of said non-delayed clock signal is used as a delayed clock signal and said delayed capture time is derived from a predetermined phase point of said delayed clock signal.

29. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 21, wherein said plurality of processing stages are respective pipeline stages within a synchronous pipeline.

30. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 21, wherein a minimum processing time taken for said processing operation is greater than a time separating said delayed capture time from said non-delayed capture time such that said delayed value is not influenced by a processing operation performed upon different input values.

31. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 30, wherein said processing logic includes one or more delay elements to ensure said minimum processing time is exceeded.

32. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 21, wherein a maximum processing time taken for said processing operation is less than a sum of a time separating said delayed capture time from said non-delayed capture time and a time between non-delayed capture times such that said processing logic will have completed said processing operation by said delayed capture time.

33. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 21, wherein said processing stages are part of a data processor.

34. An integrated circuit as claimed in claim 21, comprising an error counter circuit operable to store a count of detection of errors corresponding to said change.

36. A method as claimed in claim 19, wherein said at least one portion comprising a processing pipeline including a plurality of non-delayed latches clocked by a non-delayed clock signal with a frequency producing a finite non-zero rate of errors in signal value capture and said at least one other portion comprises a plurality of delayed latches each associated with a pipeline latch and clocked by a delayed clock signal to prevent errors in signal value capture within said error-correcting latches.

18. An integrated circuit for performing data processing, said integrated circuit comprising:

error detector means for detecting errors in operation of said integrated circuit; and

error-repair means for repairing errors in operation of said integrated circuit;

wherein

at least one portion of said integrated circuit is configured to operate with one or more operational parameters controlled to produce a finite non-zero error rate within said at least one portion; and

at least one other portion of said integrated circuit is configured to operate with a zero error rate within said at least one other portion.

35. A method of operating an integrated circuit for performing data processing, said method comprising the steps of:

detecting errors in operation of said integrated circuit; and

repairing errors in operation of said integrated circuit;

wherein

at least one portion of said integrated circuit is configured to operate with one or more operational parameters controlled to produce a finite non-zero error rate within said at least one portion; and

at least one other portion of said integrated circuit is configured to operate with a zero error rate within said at least one other portion.

37. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein said at least one other portion includes said error detector and said error-repair circuitry.

38. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein said at least one other portion includes communication circuitry configured to communicate outside said integrated circuit.

39. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein said at least one other portion includes storage circuitry configured to store data values used by said error-repair circuitry to repair said errors in operation.

40. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein said at least one other portion includes storage circuitry configured to store data values not stored elsewhere and assessable to said integrated circuit.

41. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein said at least one other portion includes a translation lookaside buffer.

42. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein said at least one other portion includes an instruction cache.

43. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein said at least one other portion includes a clock gating circuit configured to gate a clock signal used by said at least one other portion.

44. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein said at least one portion includes adder circuitry.

45. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein said at least one portion includes multiplier circuitry.

46. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein said at least one portion includes logic circuitry configured to perform logical operations upon data values.

47. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein said at least one portion includes an instruction decoder configured to decode program instructions.

48. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein said at least one other portion operates with at least one different value of said one or more operational parameters.

49. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein said one or more operational parameters include a power supply voltage applied to said at least one portion.

50. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein said one or more operational parameters include a clock frequency of a clock signal applied to said at least one portion.

51. A method as claimed in claim 35, wherein said one or more operational parameters include a body bias voltage applied to said at least one portion.