Digital measuring system and method for integrated circuit chip operating parameters

• US 20040136436A1
• Filed: 01/10/2003
• Published: 07/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/10/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GlobalFoundries, Inc.
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Zingher, Arthur R., Emma, Philip G., Ainspan, Herschel, Rand, Rick A.
• Granted Patent: US 7,168,853 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 374/143
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 1/028 arrangements for numerical indication
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 2219/00 Thermometers with dedicated analog to digital converters
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 7/42 Circuits effecting compensation of thermal inertia; Circuits for predicting the stationary value of a temperature

Abstract

This invention relates to digitally measuring operating parameters, for example, temperature, within a semiconductor chip and making those measurements internally available to hardware, firmware, and software.

Claims

1. An integrated circuit chip comprising:

at least one measuring device for providing a digital value that corresponds to at least one of a plurality of physical operating parameters of said integrated chip, wherein said measuring device is contained within said integrated circuit chip; and

at least one digital communication device through which said digital value can be communicated to a plurality of other devices including said integrated circuit chip.

2. An integrated circuit chip as in claim 1, wherein said at least one measuring device measures temperature.

3. An integrated circuit chip as in claim 1, wherein said at least one measuring device measures local power supply voltage.

4. An integrated circuit chip as in claim 1, wherein said at least one measuring device measures either pressure or force.

5. An integrated circuit chip as in claim 1, wherein said at least one measuring device measures power consumption.

6. An integrated circuit chip as in claim 1, wherein said at least one measuring device measures power dissipation.

7. An integrated circuit chip as in claim 1, wherein said at least one measuring device measures current.

8. An integrated circuit chip as in claim 1, wherein said at least one measuring device measures light.

9. An integrated circuit chip as in claim 1, wherein said at least one digital communication device includes a multipurpose digital bus.

10. An integrated circuit chip as in claim 1, further comprising a multiprocessor for graphics.

11. An integrated circuit chip as in claim 10, wherein said multiprocessor for graphics includes at least one of a plurality of graphic engines.

12. An integrated circuit chip system comprising:

a plurality of processing units;

a plurality of tasks;

at least one measuring device contained within said integrated chip system for providing a digital value that corresponds to at least one of a plurality of physical operating parameters of said integrated chip; and

a supervisor device for assigning said plurality of tasks to said plurality of processing units.

13. A integrated circuit chip system as in claim 12, wherein said plurality of processing units includes:

a digital communication device through which said digital value can be communicated to said supervisor device wherein said supervisor device can assign said plurality of tasks to said plurality of processing units based on said digital value.

14. An integrated circuit chip system as in claim 12, including:

at least one of a plurality of software instructions that can process said digital value.

15. A method for monitoring at least one of a plurality of physical parameters of at least one of a plurality of integrated circuit chips, comprising:

obtaining a value, of said at least one of a plurality of physical parameters of said at least one of a plurality of integrated circuit chips, from a measuring device included in said at least one of a plurality of integrated circuit chips; and

digitally communicating said value to a plurality of other devices including said at least one of a plurality of integrated circuit chips.

16. A method as in claim 15, further comprising processing said value by at least one of a plurality of software instructions.