Semiconductor integrated circuit apparatus, measurement result management system, and management server

• US 7,786,746 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2007
• Issued: 08/31/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Takamiya, Makoto, Mizuno, Masayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Ha Tran T
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen; Tung X
• Application Number:
  US11/847,712
• Publication Number:
  US 20070296440A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,097 Days
• Field of Search: 324/765, 324/763, 324/72.5, 324/158.1, 714/724, 714/733, 714/30, 702/65, 702/755, 340/572.7, 340/10.1
• US Class Current: 324/762.02
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/31709 Jitter measurements; Jitter generators measuring jitter, noise figure or signal-to-noise ratio per se G01R29/26; analysis of tester signals G01R31/31901

Abstract

A semiconductor integrated circuit apparatus, and more particularly a technology for measuring and managing a physical amount of factors that exert an influence upon an operation of a semiconductor integrated circuit is provided; more particularly, a semiconductor integrated circuit that is an object of measurement, and a measurement circuit which measures a physical factor that exerts an influence upon the actual operation of the semiconductor integrated circuit, such as jitter or noise jitter, and noise of this semiconductor integrated circuit are provided on an identical chip; also, a measurement result of the measurement circuit of the present invention is analyzed, and is fed back to a circuit for adjusting the semiconductor integrated circuit that is the object of measurement.

Claims

1. A measurement result management system having:

a semiconductor integrated circuit apparatus having;

a main frame circuit, arranged on a chip, that is an object of measurement;

a measurement circuit, arranged on the chip on which said main frame circuit is arranged, said measurement circuit measuring a physical amount of said main frame circuit at the time of an actual operation of said main frame circuit; and

transmission means for transmitting said measurement result of said measurement circuit and an identification information for uniquely identifying said main frame circuit; and

a management server having;

reception means for receiving said transmitted measurement result and identification information; and

management means for managing said received measurement result according to the received identification information,

wherein the measuring circuit continuously measures the physical amount of said main frame circuit and periodically calibrates the measuring of the physical amount.

2. The measurement result management system according to claim 1, wherein said transmission means have encryption means for encrypting the measurement result and the identification information for uniquely identifying said main frame circuit.

3. The measurement result management system according to claim 2, wherein said reception means have decoding means for decoding the transmitted measurement result and identification information.

4. The measurement result management system according to claim 1, wherein said management server has monitor means for giving a fault warning regarding said main frame circuit, based upon the measurement result that said management means manage.

5. The measurement result management system according to claim 1, wherein the physical amount that said measurement circuit measures is at least one of jitter information, noise information, temperature information, power source information, power information, stress information, and information of device performance during the actual operation of said main frame circuit.

6. The measurement result management system according to claim 1, wherein the physical amount is a physical characteristic of the operation of the main frame circuit which exerts an influence upon the operation of the main frame circuit.

7. The measurement result management system according to claim 1, wherein the actual operation of the main frame circuit includes operations performed for an end user of the main frame circuit.

8. A measurement result management method performed by a measurement result management system, said system comprising:

a semiconductor integrated circuit apparatus comprising;

a main frame circuit, arranged on a chip, that is an object of measurement;

a measurement circuit, arranged on the chip on which said main frame circuit is arranged; and

transmission means; and

a management server comprising;

reception means; and

management means;

the method comprising;

measuring, by said measurement circuit, a physical amount of said main frame circuit during the actual operation of said main frame circuit;

transmitting, by said transmission means to said reception means, said measurement result of said measurement circuit and an identification information that uniquely identifies said main frame circuit;

receiving, by said reception means, said transmitted measurement result and identification information; and

managing, by said management means, said received measurement result and identification information according to the received identification information, wherein the measuring circuit continuously measures the physical amount of said main frame circuit and periodically calibrates the measuring of the physical amount.

9. The measurement result management method according to claim 8, wherein the physical amount that said measurement circuit measures is at least one of jitter information, noise information, temperature information, power source information, power information, stress information, and information of device performance during the actual operation of said main frame circuit.

10. The measurement result management method according to claim 8, wherein the physical amount is a physical characteristic of the operation of the main frame circuit which exerts an influence upon the operation of the main frame circuit.

11. The measurement result management method according to claim 8, wherein the actual operation of the main frame circuit includes operations performed for an end user of the main frame circuit.

12. A measurement result management system including

a semiconductor integrated circuit apparatus comprising:

a main frame circuit that is an object of measurement;

a measurement circuit measuring a physical amount of said main frame circuit at the time of an actual operation of said main frame circuit; and

transmission means for transmitting said measurement result of said measurement circuit and an identification information for uniquely identifying said main frame circuit; and

a management server having;

reception means for receiving said transmitted measurement result and identification information; and

management means for managing said received measurement result according to the received identification information, wherein said measurement circuit includes;

a delay generator for delaying an input clock signal and outputting a plurality of delayed clock signals which are each delayed by a different delay period;

a phase comparator for comparing the input clock signal with the delayed clock signals and outputting a high or low signal based on a comparison between the rising edge of the delayed clock signals and the input clock signal; and

a calibrator that calibrates the delay period introduced by the delay generator

wherein the clock signal input to the delay generator is a clock signal supplied to the main frame circuit.