Aging-based usage metering of components

• US 9,513,329 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2010
• Issued: 12/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC (Allied Inventors Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC (Allied Inventors Management, LLC)
• Inventors: Potkonjak, Miodrag
• Primary Examiner(s): Bhat, Aditya
• Application Number:
  US13/702,267
• Publication Number:
  US 20130080090A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,321 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/2851 Testing of integrated circuits [IC] G01R31/317 takes precedence; testing individual devices G01R31/26; testing printed circuits G01R31/2801
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/2856 Internal circuit aspects, e.g. built-in test features; Test chips; Measuring material aspects, e.g. electro migration [EM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00

Abstract

Embodiments for aging-based usage metering of components of an IC are described herein. In various embodiments, the IC may include various components and an aging-based usage metering circuit for metering usage of the components. The components may include respective associated usage vectors that are different from one another, whereas the usage metering circuit may include circuit elements coupled to each other, forming different processing paths for processing the different usage vectors. Additionally, the components may be configured to respectively transmit their different associated usage vectors to the usage metering circuit whenever the respectively components are used. And the usage metering circuit may be configured to process the usage vectors. Further, the circuit elements of the usage metering circuit may age over time as a result of the processing, enabling usage of the components be determined based on their aging. Other embodiments may be described or claimed.

Claims

1. An apparatus arranged to meter usage of one or more components of an integrated circuit, the apparatus comprising:

one or more storage locations configured to store respective usage vectors, wherein a usage vector of the usage vectors is associated with a particular component of the one or more components of the integrated circuit; and

a metering circuit coupled with the one or more components of the integrated circuit, wherein the metering circuit includes one or more processing paths, a processing path of the one or more processing paths corresponds to the particular component of the integrated circuit, and the processing path includes a set of circuit elements, wherein the processing path is effective to receive and process the usage vector, and wherein an age of the set of circuit elements is based on a number of times the usage vector is received and processed by the processing path, and the age of the set of circuit elements is effective to indicate a usage of the particular component of the integrated circuit.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the set of circuit elements comprises digital circuit elements, analog circuit elements, or interconnects, and wherein delays of the digital circuit elements, the analog circuit elements, and the interconnects increase as the digital circuit elements, the analog circuit elements, and the interconnects age with usage of the one or more components.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the set of circuit elements comprises digital circuit elements including a plurality of gates.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the set of circuit elements comprises analog circuit elements including transistors, capacitors, resistors, comparators, level shifters, or amplifiers.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more storage locations are correspondingly disposed within respective components of the one or more components.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the one or more components are part of the apparatus, and the particular component is configured to transmit the usage vector to the metering circuit in response to usage of the particular component.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the one or more components comprise a floating point unit, a multiplier, an arithmetic logic unit, a fixed point adder, or a cache line.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an extractor configured to transmit one or more input signals to the metering circuit, wherein the metering circuit is configured to generate one or more output signals in response to the receipt of the one or more input signals.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the extractor is further configured to receive the one or more output signals from the metering circuit, and determine usage of the particular component based on delays, leakage current, or switching power of the set of circuit elements of the processing path.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an optimizer configured to generate, based on the usage of the particular component as indicated by the set of circuit elements, an optimization instruction for the particular component, a system service that uses the particular component or an application that uses the particular component.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an optimizer configured to generate, based on the usage of the particular component as indicated by the set of circuit elements, an optimization instruction for a tool employed to design the particular component or a tool employed to generate a system service or an application that uses the particular component.

12. A method to meter usage of one or more components of an integrated circuit, the method comprising:

receiving, by a metering circuit, a usage vector from a particular component of the one or more components of the integrated circuit, wherein the metering circuit includes one or more processing paths, wherein a processing path of the one or more processing paths corresponds to the particular component, and wherein the processing path includes a set of circuit elements;

processing, by the metering circuit, the usage vector, wherein an age of the set of circuit elements is based on a number of times the usage vector is received and processed by the metering circuit, and the age of the set of circuit elements is effective to indicate a usage of the particular component; and

;

determining, by the metering circuit, the usage of the particular component based on the age of the set of circuit elements of the processing path to meter the usage of the one or more components of the integrated circuit.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising:

receiving, by the metering circuit, a plurality of input signals; and

transmitting, by the metering circuit, a plurality of output signals, wherein the output signals are effective to indicate the age of the set of circuit elements.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein determining the usage of the particular component comprises determining the usage of the particular component based on delays, leakage current, or switching power of the set of circuit elements.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving the determined usage of the particular component; and

generating, based on the determined usage of the particular component, an optimization instruction for the one or more components, a system service that uses the one or more components, or an application that uses one or more of the components.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving the determined usage of the particular component; and

generating, based on the determined usage of the particular component, an optimization instruction for a tool employed to design one of the components, or for a tool employed to generate a system service or an application that uses the one or more components.

17. An article of manufacture to meter usage of components of an integrated circuit, comprising:

non-transitory computer-readable storage medium; and

at least one instruction stored in the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, and configured to enable an apparatus, in response to execution of the at least one instruction by the apparatus, to perform operations including;

controlling a transmission of an input signal from an extractor to a metering circuit of the integrated circuit, wherein the metering circuit includes one or more processing paths, wherein a processing path of the one or more processing paths corresponds to a particular component of the components of the integrated circuit, wherein the processing path includes a set of circuit elements, the metering circuit is configured to generate an output signal in response to a receipt of the input signal;

identifying a receipt of the output signal at the extractor, wherein the output signal is generated and transmitted by the metering circuit; and

determining usage of the particular component based on the output signal received at the extractor, wherein the output signal is effective to indicate an age of the set of circuit elements, wherein the age of the set of circuit elements is based on a number of times a usage vector associated with the particular component is received and processed by the metering circuit, the age of the circuit elements is effective to indicate a usage of the particular component, and wherein the usage of the components is determined based on the delays, leakage current or switching power of the set of circuit elements.

18. The article of claim 17, wherein determining the usage of the particular component comprises determining usage of the particular component based on delays of the output signal.

19. The article of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating, based on the determined usage of the particular component, an optimization instruction for one of the components, a system service that uses one or more of the components, or an application that uses the particular component.

20. The article of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise:

generating, based on the determined usage of the particular component, an optimization instruction for a tool employed to design one of the components or a tool employed to generate a system service or an application that uses one or more of the particular component.