IC with configurable storage circuits

• US 20070241778A1
• Filed: 04/09/2007
• Published: 10/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Altera Corporation (Intel Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Herman Schmit, Jason Redgrave
• Inventors: Redgrave, Jason, Schmit, Herman
• Granted Patent: US 7,420,389 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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

1-19. -19. (canceled)

20. An integrated circuit (IC) comprising:

a plurality of configurable circuits for configurably performing operations based on configuration data,

wherein a plurality of configurable circuits are configurable storage circuits, each particular configurable storage circuit for receiving configuration data that controls whether the particular configurable storage circuit stores signals that the particular configurable storage circuit receives.

21. The IC of claim 20, wherein the plurality of configurable circuits comprise a set of configurable logic circuits for configurably performing a set of logic operations and a set of configurable interconnect circuits for configurably performing a set of connection operations.

22. The IC of claim 21, wherein a signal that is stored by the configurable storage circuit is a signal computed by a first configurable logic circuit in a first reconfiguration cycle that is for a logic operation performed by a second configurable logic circuit in a second reconfiguration cycle.

23. The IC of claim 22, wherein the first and second configurable logic circuits are re-configurable logic circuits, wherein the configurable storage element stores the signal while at least one of said first or second reconfigurable circuit reconfigures between the first and second configuration cycles.

24. The IC of claim 23, wherein the first and second configuration cycles are not two successive configuration cycles.

25. The IC of claim 20, wherein the plurality of configurable storage circuits include first and second configurable storage circuits, each for receiving a particular configuration data, wherein the particular configuration data of the first configurable storage circuit is provided at a first rate and the particular configuration data of the second configurable storage circuit is provided at a second rate.

26. The IC of claim 21, wherein a particular configurable storage circuit is in a feedback path between an input and an output of a configurable interconnect circuit.

27. The IC of claim 20, wherein a particular configurable storage circuit is part of another configurable circuit that performs at least one other configurable operation.

28. The IC of claim 21, wherein a particular configurable storage circuit is built in an output stage of a configurable interconnect circuit.

29. The IC of claim 28, wherein configuration data that controls the configuration interconnect circuit also controls the configurable storage circuit.

30. The IC of claim 21, wherein a particular configurable storage circuit is located after a configurable interconnect circuit.

31. The IC of claim 30, wherein said configurable interconnect circuit has a fan out greater than one and said configurable interconnect circuit passes a signal to the configurable storage circuit and at least one other configurable circuit.

32. The IC of claim 20, wherein the configuration data for a particular configurable storage circuit is supplied from outside the IC and said configuration data is stored within a configuration data storage associated with the particular configurable storage circuit.

33. The IC of claim 20, wherein when the configuration signal of a particular configurable storage circuit causes the configurable storage circuit not to store the signal, said signal passing through the configurable storage circuit to another configurable circuit during the same clock cycle in which the data signal passes through the storage circuit.

34. An electronic device comprising:

an integrated circuit (IC) including;

a plurality of configurable circuits for configurably performing operations based on configuration data,

wherein a plurality of configurable circuits are configurable storage circuits, each particular configurable storage circuit for receiving configuration data that controls whether the particular configurable storage circuit stores signals that the particular configurable storage circuit receives.

35. The electronic device of claim 34, wherein the plurality of configurable circuits comprise a set of configurable logic circuits for configurably performing a set of logic operations and a set of configurable interconnect circuits for configurably performing a set of connection operations.

36. The electronic device of claim 35, wherein a signal that is stored by the configurable storage circuit is a signal computed by a first configurable logic circuit in a first reconfiguration cycle that is for a logic operation performed by a second configurable logic circuit in a second reconfiguration cycle.

37. The electronic device of claim 36, wherein the first and second configurable logic circuits are re-configurable logic circuits, wherein the configurable storage element stores the signal while at least one of said first or second reconfigurable circuit reconfigures between the first and second configuration cycles.

38. The electronic device of claim 34, wherein the plurality of configurable storage circuits include first and second configurable storage circuits, each for receiving a particular configuration data, wherein the particular configuration data of the first configurable storage circuit is provided at a first rate and the particular configuration data of the second configurable storage circuit is provided at a second rate.

39. The electronic device of claim 35, wherein a particular configurable storage circuit is in a feedback path between an input and an output of a configurable interconnect circuit.

40. The electronic device of claim 35, wherein a particular configurable storage circuit is built in an output stage of a configurable interconnect circuit.

41. The electronic device of claim 34, wherein the configuration data for a particular configurable storage circuit is supplied from outside the IC and said configuration data is stored within a configuration data storage associated with the particular configurable storage circuit.

42. The electronic device of claim 34, wherein when the configuration signal of a particular configurable storage circuit causes the configurable storage circuit not to store the signal, said signal passing through the configurable storage circuit to another configurable circuit during the same clock cycle in which the data signal passes through the storage circuit.

43. A method of configurably performing a plurality of operations based on configuration data within an integrated circuit (IC), wherein said performing of plurality of operations comprises:

receiving a signal generated within the IC;

receiving configuration data; and

performing a storage operation when the configuration data has a particular value.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein performing the storage operation comprises performing the storage operation in a feedback path between an output and an input of a configurable interconnect circuit of the IC.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein said configurable interconnect circuit has a fan out greater than one and said configurable interconnect circuit passes the signal to the feedback path and at least one other configurable circuit.

46. The method of claim 43, wherein performing the storage operation comprises performing the storage operation at the output stage of an interconnect circuit.

47. The method of claim 43, wherein performing the storage operation comprises performing the storage operation within a configurable circuit that performs at least one other configurable operation.