Method and system for monitoring and profiling an integrated circuit die temperature
First Claim
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1. A system to monitor a temperature of an integrated circuit, comprising:
- an active thermal sensor located on a die of said integrated circuit to measure said temperature of said integrated circuit and assert a value representative of one of an over-temperature condition, an under-temperature condition, and a temperature condition between said over-temperature condition and said under-temperature condition; and
a controller located on the die of said integrated circuit and coupled to said active thermal sensor to interpret said value asserted by said active thermal sensor to monitor said temperature of said integrated circuit, the controller having an interface to a microprocessor for communication with said microprocessor to control the temperature of said integrated circuit.
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Abstract
A system and method are provided for sensing a physical stimulus of an integrated circuit. The system and method operate with one or more active thermal sensors embedded in the die of an integrated circuit to provide highly accurate die temperature measurements. The system and method are able to monitor and control the die temperature of the integrated circuit to avoid an integrated circuit malfunction due to an undesirable temperature condition.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A system to monitor a temperature of an integrated circuit, comprising:
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an active thermal sensor located on a die of said integrated circuit to measure said temperature of said integrated circuit and assert a value representative of one of an over-temperature condition, an under-temperature condition, and a temperature condition between said over-temperature condition and said under-temperature condition; and a controller located on the die of said integrated circuit and coupled to said active thermal sensor to interpret said value asserted by said active thermal sensor to monitor said temperature of said integrated circuit, the controller having an interface to a microprocessor for communication with said microprocessor to control the temperature of said integrated circuit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for monitoring a die temperature of an integrated circuit, said method comprising the steps of:
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sensing said die temperature of said integrated circuit with an active thermal sensor at a die location of the integrated circuit; asserting from said active thermal sensor a value representative of said die temperature at the die location of said active thermal sensor; determining if said value from said active thermal sensor exceeds a threshold value for said active thermal sensor to detect an undesirable temperature condition of said integrated circuit; and determining said threshold value with a calibration thermal sensor that operates independently of said active thermal sensor when said integrated circuit is not clocked. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A temperature management system for an integrated circuit, comprising:
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one or more thermal sensors to sense and report one or more temperature measurements from one or more locations located across a die area of the integrated circuit; a control unit to determine from a reported temperature measurement one of at least three thermal states of the integrated circuit, and to manage the temperature of the integrated circuit if the control unit detects a temperature event from the one or more thermal sensors; and a calibration thermal sensor that operates independently of the one or more thermal sensors to provide one or more temperature calibration values of the one or more thermal sensors, wherein the one or more temperature calibration values are for use in determination of the temperature event for each of the reported one or more temperature measurements from the one or more thermal sensors. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29)
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Specification