SELF-CHARACTERIZING HIGH-SPEED COMMUNICATION INTERFACES
First Claim
1. A system-on-chip, comprising:
- a physical layer;
a physical-layer adapter coupled to the physical layer;
logic coupled to the physical-layer adapter wherein the logic is to initiate a self-test on a link interface between the system-on-chip and a remote device; and
a pattern generator coupled to a transmit lane of the physical layer, the pattern generator to generate test-pattern-generating instructions associated with the self-test.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Logic controlling a local link interface enables in-band self-testing of the local link interface, the connected link interface of a remote device, and the link connecting the two. Logic configures a loopback in the remote device using an in-band protocol such as MIPI. The loopback may include all the link lanes or only a selected subset. The logic then isolates the local physical layer from upstream components and causes one or more test patterns to be sent through the local link interface and through the link to the loopback. The signals returning to the local link interface from the loopback are collected and compared with the original test patterns by an on-board checker in the link interface. The results, or a metric such as BER derived from the results, can then be accessed without requiring a custom dedicated test port.
24 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system-on-chip, comprising:
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a physical layer; a physical-layer adapter coupled to the physical layer; logic coupled to the physical-layer adapter wherein the logic is to initiate a self-test on a link interface between the system-on-chip and a remote device; and a pattern generator coupled to a transmit lane of the physical layer, the pattern generator to generate test-pattern-generating instructions associated with the self-test. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A system, comprising:
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a host physical layer associated with a host device; a remote physical layer associated with a remote device; an interface to link the host physical layer and the remote physical layer, wherein the remote device comprises a loopback to direct a signal transmitted from the host device back to the remote device, and wherein the loopback is configurable by the host physical layer. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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11. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium containing instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to:
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trigger a link interface to generate a control signal in an in-band protocol; configure a remote device to a loopback mode using the in-band protocol through one or more lanes of a communication link; send a test pattern to a remote device; and receive a returning pattern from the remote device. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification