Fault tolerant data processing system fabricated on a monolithic substrate

• US 6,038,682 A
• Filed: 03/19/1997
• Issued: 03/14/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hyperchip Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Hyperchip Incorporated
• Inventors: Norman, Richard S.
• Primary Examiner(s): WRIGHT, NORMAN M
• Application Number:
  US08/821,672
• Time in Patent Office: 1,091 Days
• Field of Search: 395/182.02, 395/182.01, 395/800.38, 395/800.29, 395/800.1, 395/800.11, 395/800.15, 395/800.16, 395/280, 395/182.08, 364/822, 364/713, 345/55, 345/104, 345/31, 345/81, 345/90, 345/98, 345/202, 345/205, 345/206, 345/207, 345/169, 345/170, 345/173, 345/175, 382/321, 349/17, 714/10, 3/96, 3/98
• US Class Current: 714/10
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13318 Circuits comprising a photodetector
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/135 Liquid crystal cells structurally associated with a photoconducting or a ferro-electric layer, the properties of which can be optically or electrically varied G02F1/133348 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/20 using active fault-masking, e.g. by switching out faulty elements or by switching in spare elements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2041 with more than one idle spare processing component
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2051 in regular structures
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/8007 single instruction multiple data [SIMD] multiprocessors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/8023 Two dimensional arrays, e.g. mesh, torus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/041 Digitisers, e.g. for touch screens or touch pads, characterised by the transducing means
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/043 using propagating acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0809 Several active elements per pixel in active matrix panels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0842 forming a memory circuit, e.g. a dynamic memory with one capacitor
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/08 Fault-tolerant or redundant circuits, or circuits in which repair of defects is prepared
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2330/10 Dealing with defective pixels
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/20 for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix no fixed position being assigned to or needed to be assigned to the individual characters or partial characters
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2085 Special arrangements for addressing the individual elements of the matrix, other than by driving respective rows and columns in combination
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/2088 with use of a plurality of processors, each processor controlling a number of individual elements of the matrix
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/148 Charge coupled imagers individual charge coupled devices H01L29/765
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14831 Area CCD imagers

Abstract

A data processing system containing a monolithic network of cells with sufficient redundancy provided through direct logical replacement of defective cells by spare cells to allow a large monolithic array of cells without uncorrectable defects to be organized, where the cells have a variety of useful properties. The data processing system according to the present invention overcomes the chip-size limit and off-chip connection bottlenecks of chip-based architectures, the von Neumann bottleneck of uniprocessor architectures, the memory and I/O bottlenecks of parallel processing architectures, and the input bandwidth bottleneck of high-resolution displays, and supports integration of up to an entire massively parallel data processing system into a single monolithic entity.

Claims

1. A complete data processing system comprising integrated circuits, with all said integrated circuits within said complete data processing system being fabricated on a single monolithic substrate, said complete data processing system including means for input directly from a source external to the system without said input being relayed through a physical connection between the monolithic data processing system and the source processing means, memory means, and means for generating an output to a receiver external to the system without that output being relayed through a physical connection between the monolithic data processing system and the receiver,

wherein said means for generating an output include means to send human comprehensible output directly to a human operator without said output being processed by or passing through any separately fabricated device;

and

wherein the input means include means to receive input directly from a human operator without that input being relayed through or processed by any separately fabricated device.

2. A complete data processing system as defined in claim 1, wherein said complete data processing system is lithographically fabricated on a single substrate.

3. A complete data processing system as defined in claim 1, wherein the system also has power absorption and/or power storage means within said substrate.

4. A complete data processing system comprising integrated circuits, with all said integrated circuits within said complete data processing system being fabricated on a single monolithic substrate, said complete data processing system including means for input directly from a source external to the system without said input being relayed through a physical connection between the monolithic data processing system and the source, processing means, memory means, and means for generating an output to a receiver external to the system without that output being relayed through a physical connection between the monolithic data processing system and the receiver,

wherein said means for generating an output include means to said human comprehensible output directly to a human operator without said output being processed by or passing through any separately fabricated device,

wherein the input means include means to receive input directly from a human operator without that input being relayed through or processed by any separately fabricated device,

wherein said complete data processing system is lithographically fabricated on a single substrate, and

wherein the system also has means for power absorption and/or power storage fabricated on the monolithic substrate.

5. A complete data processing system comprising a monolithic array of cells or a monolithic network of cells from which an array of cells can be organized, with each said array cell having direct output mean to send an output directly to a cells, through a physical carrier common to that cell and other array cells or through an output device fabricated as a separate physical entity from the cell array and, each said cell having processing means and memory means that are sifficient to extract a datum from a compresed data stream prior to transmitting that datum through the cell'"'"'s direct output means,

wherein each said array cell has direct input means to receive an input directly from a device external to the system without that input being related through another cell, through a physical carrier common to that cell and other cells or through an input device fabricated as a separate physical entity from the cell array, and

wherein the cells include means for individually or cooperatively focusing the cells'"'"' direct input means on an external source whose distance and/or direction are not predetermined.

6. A complete data processing system comprising integrated circuits, with all said integrated circuits within said complete data processing system being fabricated on a single monolithic substrate, said complete data processing system including means for input directly from a source external to the system without said input being relayed through a physical connection between the monolithic data processing system and the source, processing means, memory means, and means for generating an output to a receiver external to the system without that output being relayed through a physical connection between the monolithic data processing system and the receiver;

wherein the input means include means to receive input directly from a human operator without that input being relayed through or processed by any separately fabricated device.