Ring oscillator dynamic adjustments for auto calibration

• US 7,068,557 B2
• Filed: 01/25/2005
• Issued: 06/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/15/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: M-Red Inc. (Quest Patent Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Gallitzin Allegheny LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Norman, Robert D, Schmidt, Dominik J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Barnie, Rexford
• Assistant Examiner(s): NGUYEN, KHAI M
• Application Number:
  US11/042,689
• Publication Number:
  US 20050125181A1
• Time in Patent Office: 518 Days
• Field of Search: 374/152, 374/163, 374170-171, 374/185, 374/208, 331/66, 331/176, 365211-212, 365511-512, 327512-513
• US Class Current: 365/212
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 3/011 Modifications of generator to compensate for variations in physical values, e.g. voltage, temperature to maintain energy constant H03K3/015
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 3/0315 Ring oscillators
• CPC Class Codes: H03L 1/00 Stabilisation of generator output against variations of physical values, e.g. power supply

Abstract

An apparatus compensates for voltage and temperature variations on an integrated circuit with: a voltage sensor having a digital voltage output; a temperature sensor having a digital temperature output; a register coupled to the voltage sensor and the temperature sensor, the register adapted to concatenate the digital voltage output and the temperature output into an address output; and a memory device having an address input coupled to the address output of the register, the memory device being adapted to store one or more corrective vectors.

Claims

1. An integrated circuit, comprising:

a voltage sensor having a voltage output;

a temperature sensor having a temperature output; and

a memory capable of receiving an input address based upon the voltage output and the temperature output, the memory configured to store compensation data.

2. The integrated circuit of claim 1, further comprising a register coupled to the voltage sensor and the temperature sensor, the register configured to form the input address from the voltage output and the temperature output.

3. The integrated circuit of claim 2, further comprising:

a processor; and

a multiplexer having a first input coupled to the processor and a second input coupled to the register and an output coupled to the memory, the multiplexer configured to provide the input address to the memory.

4. The integrated circuit of claim 3, wherein the multiplexer is configured to receive addresses from the processor during initialization and to receive the input address based upon the voltage output and the temperature output during operation.

5. The integrated circuit of claim 1, further comprising a wake-up oscillator coupled to the memory, the wake-up oscillator configured to periodically enable the memory to output a corrective vector.

6. The integrated circuit of claim 1, further comprising a ring oscillator coupled to an output of the memory.

7. The integrated circuit of claim 6, wherein the memory is configured to provide an adjustment vector to the ring oscillator based on the current voltage and temperature of the integrated circuit.

8. The integrated circuit of claim 1, further comprising a first switch coupled to provide the voltage output to a register and a second switch coupled to provide the temperature output to the register, wherein the register is configured to concatenate the temperature output and the voltage output to generate the input address.

9. A method for dynamically adjusting for voltage variations on an integrated circuit, comprising:

periodically sensing a voltage value and a temperature value of the integrated circuit;

accessing a memory of the integrated circuit using an address formed based on a combination of the voltage value and the temperature value, the memory configured to store compensation data comprising a plurality of adjustment values; and

dynamically adjusting a frequency of the integrated circuit using one of the adjustment values.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising generating the compensation data by characterizing the integrated circuit.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the characterizing further comprises varying the voltage and temperature over a predetermined range.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the periodic sensing further comprises receiving a wake-up signal from a low power wake-up oscillator.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising applying the one of the adjustment values to a ring oscillator.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising switching delay elements of the ring oscillator based on the one of the adjustment values.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising preventing the ring oscillator from glitching while switching the delay elements.

16. An integrated circuit comprising:

a voltage sensor configured to sense a voltage of the integrated circuit;

a memory coupled to the voltage sensor, the memory configured to store compensation data;

an oscillator coupled to the memory to receive correction information therefrom, the oscillator configured to vary an operating parameter of the oscillator using the correction information; and

a controller coupled between the memory and the oscillator to receive the correction information and configured to hold an output of the oscillator when a value of the correction information is changed.

17. The integrated circuit of claim 16, wherein the oscillator comprises a ring oscillator.

18. The integrated circuit of claim 16, further comprising a temperature sensor configured to sense the temperature of the integrated circuit.

19. The integrated circuit of claim 18, further comprising a register coupled to the voltage sensor and the temperature sensor, the register configured to form an input address for the memory from the voltage and the temperature.