Clock distribution in a configurable IC

• US 7,420,389 B2
• Filed: 04/09/2007
• Issued: 09/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Altera Corporation (Intel Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Tabula Incorporated
• Inventors: Redgrave, Jason, Schmit, Herman
• Primary Examiner(s): Barnie, Rexford
• Assistant Examiner(s): WHITE, DYLAN C
• Application Number:
  US11/733,158
• Publication Number:
  US 20070241778A1
• Time in Patent Office: 512 Days
• Field of Search: 326 37- 41, 326/47
• US Class Current: 326/38
• 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: H01L 2924/15311 being a ball array, e.g. BGA
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 19/1774 for global signals, e.g. clock, reset
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 19/17748 Structural details of configuration resources

Abstract

Some embodiments of the invention provide a reconfigurable IC that has several reconfigurable circuits. Each reconfigurable circuit for configurably performing a set of operations and for reconfiguring at a first frequency. The reconfigurable IC also has at least one reconfiguration signal generator for receiving a clock signal at a second frequency and producing a set of reconfiguration signals with a third frequency. The reconfiguration signals are supplied to the reconfigurable circuits to direct the reconfiguration of the reconfigurable circuits at the first frequency.

Claims

1. An integrated circuit (IC) comprising:

a) first and second tiles comprising sets of reconfigurable circuits; and

b) a clock for supplying a clock signal to the first and second tiles, the first tile for configurably performing operations at a first rate based on the clock signal, and the second tile for configurably performing operations at a second rate based on the clock signal.

2. The IC of claim 1, wherein the first tile further comprises a local signal generator (1) for receiving the clock signal and (2) for generating a first local signal that causes a first set of reconfigurable circuits of the first tile to operate at the first rate.

3. The IC of claim 2, wherein the first local signal has a lower rate than the first rate.

4. The IC of claim 2, wherein the local signal generator of the first tile generates a second local signal that causes a second set of reconfigurable circuits in the first tile to operate at a third rate.

5. The IC of claim 4, wherein the first set of reconfigurable circuits are logic circuits for performing computations and the second set of reconfigurable circuits are routing circuits for performing routing operations.

6. The IC of claim 2, wherein the second tile further comprises a local signal generator (1) for receiving the clock signal and (2) for generating a second local signal that causes a set of reconfigurable circuits of the second tile to operate at the second rate.

7. The IC of claim 6, wherein the set of reconfigurable circuits of the first tile (1) receive sets of configuration data that specify the operations of the set of reconfigurable circuits at the first rate and (2) reconfigure based on the received sets of configuration data, wherein the first local signal is for retrieving sets of configuration data for the sets of reconfigurable circuits of the first tile.

8. The IC of claim 7, wherein the set of reconfigurable circuits of the second tile (1) receive sets of configuration data that specify the operations of the set of reconfigurable circuits at the second rate and (2) reconfigure based on the received sets of configuration data at the second rate, wherein the second local signal is for retrieving sets of configuration data for the sets of reconfigurable circuits of the second tile.

9. An electronic device comprising:

an integrated circuit (IC) comprising;

a) first and second tiles comprising sets of configurable circuits; and

b) a clock for supplying a clock signal to the first and second tiles, the first tile for configurably performing operations at a first rate based on the clock signal, and the second tile for configurably performing operations at a second rate based on the clock signal.

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the clock is a first clock supplying a first clock signal and the IC further comprises a second clock for supplying a second clock signal to the first and second tiles, wherein the first and second tiles each select between the first and second clock signals to supply to the sets of circuits.

11. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the first tile selects the second clock signal and the second tile selects the first clock signal.

12. The electronic device of claim 10, wherein the first and second tiles select the second clock signal to supply to the sets of circuits.

13. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the clock is generated outside the IC.

14. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the clock is generated outside the first and second tiles.

15. A method for distributing a clock across first and second tiles of an integrated circuit (IC), wherein the first and second tiles comprise sets of reconfigurable circuits, the method comprising:

a) at the first and second tiles, receiving a clock signal;

b) configurably performing operations within the first tile at a first rate based on the clock signal; and

c) configurably performing operations within the second tile at a second rate based on the clock signal.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising generating a first local signal within the first tile based on the received clock signal prior to configurably performing the operations within the first tile, wherein the first local signal causes a first set of circuits of the first tile to operate at the first rate.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first local signal of the first tile has a lower rate than the first rate.

18. The method of claim 16 further comprising generating a second local signal within the first tile based on the received clock signal prior to configurably performing the operations within the first tile, wherein the second local signal causes a second set of circuits in the first tile to operate at a third rate.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein configurably performing the operations within the first tile comprises (1) receiving sets of configuration data that specify the operations of the set of circuits at the first rate, and (2) reconfiguring based on the received sets of configuration data, wherein the first local signal is for retrieving sets of configuration data for the sets of circuits of the first tile.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the clock is a first clock supplying a first clock signal and wherein receiving the first clock at the first and second tiles comprises (1) receiving a second clock signal at the first and second tiles, and (2) at the first and second tiles, selecting between the first and second clock signals to configurably perform the operations.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the first tile selects the second clock signal and the second tile selects the first clock signal.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the first and second tiles select the second clock signal to supply to the sets of circuits.

23. A method comprising:

a) retrieving a plurality of configuration data sets at a first rate, said configuration data sets for reconfiguring at least one reconfigurable circuit of an integrated circuit;

b) selecting a particular configuration data set from the retrieved configuration data sets at a second rate; and

c) supplying the particular selected configuration data set to the at least one reconfigurable circuit, said reconfigurable circuit for configurably performing operations at a third rate based on the selected configuration data set.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein retrieving a plurality of configuration data sets at the first rate comprises retrieving each configuration data set at different phases of the first rate.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein retrieving a plurality of configuration data sets at the first rate comprises a set of reconfiguration signals operating at the first rate for retrieving the configuration data sets from configuration data storage.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the set of reconfiguration signals is a set that includes at least two signals that are never active at the same time.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein the third rate is faster than the first and second rates.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the second rate is faster than the first rate.

29. A system comprising:

a) a set of reconfigurable circuits each for configurably performing a set of operations and for reconfiguring at a first rate;

b) a set of configuration data storage for storing configuration data sets;

c) a set of interconnect circuits for (1) receiving the configuration data sets from the configuration data storage at a second rate and for (2) supplying the retrieved configuration data sets to the reconfigurable circuit at a third rate.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the set of interconnect circuits receive the configuration data sets at the first rate via a set of reconfiguration signals operating at the second rate, said set of reconfiguration is a set that includes at least two signals that are never active at the same time.

31. The system of claim 29, wherein the set of interconnect circuits receive each configuration data set at different phases of the second rate.

32. The system of claim 29, wherein the first rate is faster than the second and third rates.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the third rate is faster than the second rate.