Configurable IC with interconnect circuits that have select lines driven by user signals

• US 7,310,003 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2005
• Issued: 12/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Altera Corporation (Intel Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Tabula Incorporated
• Inventors: Hutchings, Brad, Schmit, Herman, Teig, Steven
• Primary Examiner(s): Tan, Vibol
• Application Number:
  US11/082,199
• Publication Number:
  US 20070241784A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,008 Days
• Field of Search: 326/39, 326/40
• US Class Current: 326/41
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/32145 the bodies being stacked
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/32225 the item being non-metallic, e.g. insulating substrate with or without metallisation
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48091 Arched
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48227 connecting the wire to a bond pad of the item
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/73265 Layer and wire connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00014 the subject-matter covered by the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group, being disclosed without further technical details
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 19/17736 Structural details of routing resources

Abstract

Some embodiments of the invention provide a configurable integrated circuit (“IC”). The IC includes a first set of circuits and a second set of circuits interspersed among the first set of circuits. Each set of circuits includes at least ten volatile configurable circuits. Several circuits in at least one of the sets are user multiplexers. Each particular user multiplexer has input and output terminals and has a set of select terminals for receiving a set of user-design signals that directs the particular multiplexer to connect a set of the input terminals to a set of the output terminals. The user-design signals are signals generated internally by the IC.

Claims

1. A configurable integrated circuit (“

IC”

) comprising;

a) a first set of a plurality of circuits;

b) a second set of a plurality of circuits interspersed among the first set of circuits, wherein each of the sets of circuits includes at least ten volatile configurable circuits, wherein the volatile configurable circuits comprise volatile configurable interconnect circuits;

c) wherein a plurality of circuits in at least one of the sets are multiplexers, wherein each particular multiplexer has input and output terminals and has a set of select terminals for receiving a set of user-design signals that directs the particular multiplexer to connect a set of the input terminals to a set of the output terminals, wherein a plurality of user-design signals are supplied to a plurality of select terminals through a plurality of volatile configurable interconnect circuits; and

d) wherein said user-design signals are signals generated internally by the IC.

2. The configurable IC of claim 1, wherein said volatile configurable circuits include volatile configurable logic circuits.

3. The configurable IC of claim 2, wherein the user-design signals are signals generated by the volatile configurable logic circuits.

4. The configurable IC of claim 1, wherein a plurality of the circuits are in an array.

5. The configurable IC of claim 4, wherein the first and second sets of circuits form two interspersed arrays.

6. The configurable IC of claim 4, wherein the array has at least fifty circuits.

7. The configurable IC of claim 4, wherein the array has at least three hundred circuits.

8. The configurable IC of claim 4, wherein the multiplexers are part of the array.

9. The configurable IC of claim 4, wherein the multiplexers are interspersed in the array.

10. The configurable IC of claim 4, wherein the array further includes non-configurable circuits.

11. The configurable IC of claim 1, wherein a volatile configurable circuit is a configurable circuit that has configuration data stored in a volatile memory.

12. The configurable IC of claim 1, wherein the user-design signals are not configuration data for configuring the configurable circuits, said configuration data supplied from outside of the IC.

13. The configurable IC of claim 1, wherein a plurality of the configurable volatile circuits are for receiving configuration data, storing the configuration data in a volatile storage, and configurably performing a plurality of operations based on the stored configuration data.

14. The configurable IC of claim 13, wherein the volatile configurable interconnect circuits are for configurably performing a plurality of connection operations based on the stored configuration data.

15. The configurable IC of claim 13, wherein a plurality of the configurable volatile circuits are configurable logic circuits for configurably performing a plurality of functions based on the stored configuration data.

16. A configurable integrated circuit (“

IC”

) comprising;

a) a first plurality of configurable circuits interspersed among a second plurality of configurable circuits, wherein the first and second pluralities of configurable circuits each include at least ten configurable circuits;

b) a plurality of multiplexers interspersed among the configurable circuits, each multiplexer having input and output terminals, and having a set of select terminals for receiving a set of select signals that direct the multiplexer to connect a set of the input terminals to a set of the output terminals;

c) said configurable circuits including a plurality of volatile interconnect circuits for supplying signals generated by the IC to the select terminals of a plurality of the multiplexers.

17. The configurable IC of claim 16, wherein configurable circuits are in an array.

18. The configurable IC of claim 17, wherein the multiplexers are part of the array.

19. The configurable IC of claim 17, wherein the multiplexers are interspersed in the array.

20. The configurable IC of claim 17, wherein the array further includes non-configurable circuits.

21. An electronic device having:

a) a memory for storing configuration data;

b) an integrated circuit (IC) comprising;

a first plurality of configurable circuits interspersed among a second plurality of configurable circuits, wherein the first and second pluralities of configurable circuits each include at least ten configurable circuits;

a plurality of multiplexers interspersed among the configurable circuits, each multiplexer having input and output terminals, and having a set of select terminals for receiving a set of select signals that direct the multiplexer to connect a set of the input terminals to a set of the output terminals;

said configurable circuits including a plurality of volatile interconnect circuits for supplying signals generated by the IC to the select terminals of a plurality of the multiplexers.

22. An electronic device having:

a) a memory for storing configuration data;

b) an integrated circuit (IC) comprising;

i) a first set of a plurality of circuits;

ii) a second set of a plurality of circuits interspersed among the first set of circuits, wherein each of the sets of circuits includes at least ten volatile configurable circuits, wherein the volatile configurable circuits comprise volatile configurable interconnect circuits;

iii) wherein a plurality of circuits in at least one of the sets are multiplexers, wherein each particular multiplexer has input and output terminals and has a set of select terminals for receiving a set of user-design signals that directs the particular multiplexer to connect a set of the input terminals to a set of the output terminals, wherein a plurality of user-design signals are supplied to a plurality of select terminals through a plurality of volatile configurable interconnect circuits; and

iv) wherein said user-design signals are signals generated internally by the IC.

23. A configurable integrated circuit (“

IC”

) comprising;

a) a first set of a plurality of circuits;

b) a second set of a plurality of circuits interspersed among the first set of circuits, wherein each of the sets of circuits includes at least ten volatile configurable circuits;

c) wherein a plurality of circuits in at least one of the sets are multiplexers, wherein each particular multiplexer has input and output terminals and has a set of select terminals for receiving a set of user-design signals that directs the particular multiplexer to connect a set of the input terminals to a set of the output terminals; and

d) wherein said user-design signals are signals generated internally by the IC and are not configuration data for configuring the configurable circuits, said configuration data supplied from outside of the IC.

24. The configurable IC of claim 23, wherein said volatile configurable circuits include volatile configurable logic circuits.

25. The configurable IC of claim 24, wherein the user-design signals are signals generated by the volatile configurable logic circuits.

26. The configurable IC of claim 23 further comprising:

volatile storage elements for receiving and storing the configuration data supplied from outside of the IC,

wherein a volatile configuration circuit is a configurable circuit that receives configuration data from a volatile storage element.

27. An electronic device having:

a) a memory for storing configuration data;

b) an integrated circuit (IC) comprising;

i) a first set of a plurality of circuits;

ii) a second set of a plurality of circuits interspersed among the first set of circuits, wherein each of the sets of circuits includes at least ten volatile configurable circuits;

iii) wherein a plurality of circuits in at least one of the sets are multiplexers, wherein each particular multiplexer has input and output terminals and has a set of select terminals for receiving a set of user-design signals that directs the particular multiplexer to connect a set of the input terminals to a set of the output terminals; and

iv) wherein said user-design signals are signals generated internally by the IC and are not configuration data for configuring the configurable circuits, said configuration data supplied from outside of the IC.

28. The electronic device of claim 27, wherein said volatile configurable circuits include volatile configurable logic circuits.

29. The electronic device of claim 28, wherein the user-design signals are signals generated by the volatile configurable logic circuits.

30. The electronic device of claim 27, wherein the IC further comprises:

volatile storage elements for receiving and storing the configuration data supplied from outside of the IC,

wherein a volatile configuration circuit is a configurable circuit that receives configuration data from a volatile storage element.

31. A configurable integrated circuit (“

IC”

) comprising;

a) a first set of a plurality of circuits;

b) a second set of a plurality of circuits interspersed among the first set of circuits, wherein each of the sets of circuits includes at least ten volatile configurable circuits, wherein a plurality of the configurable volatile circuits are configurable interconnect circuits for receiving configuration data, storing the configuration data in a volatile storage, and configurably performing a plurality of connection operations based on the stored configuration data;

c) wherein a plurality of circuits in at least one of the sets are multiplexers, wherein each particular multiplexer has input and output terminals and has a set of select terminals for receiving a set of user-design signals that directs the particular multiplexer to connect a set of the input terminals to a set of the output terminals; and

d) wherein said user-design signals are signals generated internally by the IC.

32. An electronic device having:

a) a memory for storing configuration data;

b) an integrated circuit (IC) comprising;

i) a first set of a plurality of circuits;

ii) a second set of a plurality of circuits interspersed among the first set of circuits, wherein each of the sets of circuits includes at least ten volatile configurable circuits, wherein a plurality of the configurable volatile circuits are configurable interconnect circuits for receiving configuration data, storing the configuration data in a volatile storage, and configurably performing a plurality of connection operations based on the stored configuration data;

iii) wherein a plurality of circuits in at least one of the sets are multiplexers, wherein each particular multiplexer has input and output terminals and has a set of select terminals for receiving a set of user-design signals that directs the particular multiplexer to connect a set of the input terminals to a set of the output terminals; and

iv) wherein said user-design signals are signals generated internally by the IC.