Adjustable threshold isolation transistor
Granted: January 29, 2004
Application Number:
20040018698
An method and apparatus for high voltage control of isolation region transistors (320) in an integrated circuit. Isolation region transistors (320) are formed between active devices by selective implantation of channel stop implants (140). Isolation region transistors (320) are those areas with a conductor (130) over an isolation region (120) with no channel stop implant (140). This provides an isolation region transistor (320) with a lower threshold voltage than the areas with channel…
Programmable logic devices with function-specific blocks
Granted: January 22, 2004
Application Number:
20040015528
A programmable logic integrated circuit device has at least one function-specific circuit block (e.g., a parallel multiplier, a parallel barrel shifter, a parallel arithmetic logic unit, etc.) in addition to the usual multiple regions of programmable logic and the usual programmable interconnection circuit resources. To reduce the impact of use of the function-specific block (“FSB”) on the general purpose interconnection resources of the device, inputs and/or outputs of the…
Clock data recovery circuitry associated with programmable logic device circuitry
Granted: November 13, 2003
Application Number:
20030212930
A programmable logic device (“PLD”) is augmented with programmable clock data recover (“CDR”) circuitry to allow the PLD to communicate via any of a large number of CDR signaling protocols. The CDR circuitry may be integrated with the PLD, or it may be wholly or partly on a separate integrated circuit. The circuitry may be capable of CDR input, CDR output, or both. The CDR capability may be provided in combination with other non-CDR signaling capability such as…
Line segmentation in programmable logic devices having redundancy circuitry
Granted: October 30, 2003
Application Number:
20030201793
Methods and apparatus for segmenting lines in programmable logic devices having redundancy circuitry. A programmable logic device includes a first plurality of logic array blocks. The first plurality of logic array blocks includes a first logic array block and a second logic array block, a first programmable interconnect line coupled to a segmentation buffer and programmably coupled to the first logic array block, and a second programmable interconnect line coupled to the segmentation…
Programmable logic device with hierarchical interconnection resources
Granted: October 30, 2003
Application Number:
20030201794
A programmable logic device has a plurality of super-regions of programmable logic disposed on the device in a two-dimensional array of intersecting rows and columns of super-regions. Horizontal and vertical inter-super-region interconnection conductors are associated with each row and column, respectively. Each super-region includes a plurality of regions of programmable logic, and each region includes a plurality of sub-regions of programmable logic. Inter-region interconnection…
Nonvolatile memory cell with low doping region
Granted: October 23, 2003
Application Number:
20030197218
A technique of fabricating a nonvolatile device includes forming a low doping region to aid in the reduction of substrate hot electrons. The nonvolatile device may be a floating gate device, such as a Flash, EEPROM, or EPROM memory cell. The low doping region has a lower doping concentration than that of the substrate. By reducing substrate hot electrons, this improves the reliability and longevity of the nonvolatile device.
Design verification method for programmable logic design
Granted: September 25, 2003
Application Number:
20030182645
A technique for checking a logic design for compliance with a set of design rules in a computer-aided logic design system. An initial logic design is provided in computer-readable form in a logic design file. A set of design rules expressing permitted and prohibited structural and functional logic device relationships is provided as a portion of a logic design simulation system capable of synthesizing the initial design into a simulated network list. The initial design is checked against…
Voltage controlled oscillator programmable delay cells
Granted: August 21, 2003
Application Number:
20030155955
A delay cell has selectable numbers of parallel load resistance transistors operable in parallel, and a similarly selectable number of bias current transistors connectable in parallel. The delay cell is preferably differential in construction and operation. A voltage controlled oscillator (“VCO”) includes a plurality of such delay cells connected in a closed loop series. Phase locked loop (“PLL”) circuitry includes such a VCO controlled by phase/frequency detector…
Programmable logic devices with function-specific blocks
Granted: July 31, 2003
Application Number:
20030141898
A programmable logic integrated circuit device has at least one function-specific circuit block (e.g., a parallel multiplier, a parallel barrel shifter, a parallel arithmetic logic unit, etc.) in addition to the usual multiple regions of programmable logic and the usual programmable interconnection circuit resources. To reduce the impact of use of the function-specific block (“FSB”) on the general purpose interconnection resources of the device, inputs and/or outputs of the…
Programmable logic array integrated circuits
Granted: July 10, 2003
Application Number:
20030128052
A programmable logic array integrated circuit has a number of programmable logic modules which are grouped together in a plurality of logic array blocks (“LABs”). The LABs are arranged on the circuit in a two dimensional array. A conductor network is provided for interconnecting any logic module with any other logic module. In addition, adjacent or nearby logic modules are connectable to one another for such special purposes as providing a carry chain between logic modules…
Programmable logic device including multipliers and configurations thereof to reduce resource utilization
Granted: July 10, 2003
Application Number:
20030128049
In a programmable logic device having dedicated multiplier circuitry, some of the scan chain registers normally used for testing the device are located adjacent input registers of the multipliers. Those scan chain registers are ANDed with the input registers, and can be loaded with templates of ones and zeroes. This allows, e.g., subset multiplication if the least significant bits are loaded with zeroes and the remaining bits are loaded with ones. The multipliers preferably are arranged…
Programmable logic with lower internal voltage circuitry
Granted: June 26, 2003
Application Number:
20030117174
A technique provides an on-chip voltage to a core portion of a programmable logic integrated circuit by way of a conversion transistor. The on-chip voltage may be a reduced internal voltage, less than the VCC of the integrated circuit. In an embodiment, the layout (or physical structure) of the conversion transistor is distributed surrounding the core portion. By providing the core with a reduced voltage, the integrated circuit may interface with other integrated circuits compatible with…
Programmable logic device architectures with super-regions having logic regions and a memory region
Granted: May 1, 2003
Application Number:
20030080778
A programmable logic device has a plurality of super-regions of programmable circuitry disposed on the device in a two-dimensional array of such super-regions. Each super-region includes a plurality of regions of programmable logic and a region of programmable memory. Each logic region includes a plurality of subregions of programmable logic. Each super-region has associated interconnection resources for allowing communication between the logic and memory regions of that super-region…
Programmable logic devices with multi-standard byte synchronization and channel alignment for communication
Granted: March 20, 2003
Application Number:
20030052709
A programmable logic device (“PLD”) includes communication interface circuitry that can support any of a wide range of communication protocols, including Packet Over Sonet (“POS-5”) and 8-bit/10-bit (“8B10B”) protocols. The interface circuitry includes various functional blocks that are at least partly hard-wired to perform particular types of functions, but that in at least many cases are also partly programmable to allow the basic functions to be…
PROGRAMMABLE LOGIC DEVICE INCLUDING MULTIPLIERS AND CONFIGURATIONS THEREOF TO REDUCE RESOURCE UTILIZATION
Granted: March 20, 2003
Application Number:
20030052713
In a programmable logic device having dedicated multiplier circuitry, some of the scan chain registers normally used for testing the device are located adjacent input registers of the multipliers. Those scan chain registers are ANDed with the input registers, and can be loaded with templates of ones and zeroes. This allows, e.g., subset multiplication if the least significant bits are loaded with zeroes and the remaining bits are loaded with ones. The multipliers preferably are arranged…
Programmable high speed I/O interface
Granted: March 6, 2003
Application Number:
20030042941
Methods and apparatus for providing either high-speed, or lower-speed, flexible inputs and outputs. An input and output structure having a high-speed input, a high-speed output, a low or moderate speed input, and an low or moderate speed output is provided. One of the input and output circuits are selected and the others are deselected. The high-speed input and output circuits are comparatively simple, in one example having only a clear signal for a control line input, and are able to…
Registered logic macrocell with product term allocation and adjacent product term stealing
Granted: February 27, 2003
Application Number:
20030038654
A macrocell with product term allocation and adjacent product term stealing is disclosed. Programmable configuration switches provide product term allocation by directing input product terms to an OR gate or to the secondary inputs to a register. Adjacent product term stealing is accomplished by providing the output of the OR gate of each macrocell as an input to the OR gate of an adjacent macrocell. By using the output of the OR gate of the first macrocell, the adjacent macrocell steals…
Data processing system with improved latency and associated methods
Granted: February 20, 2003
Application Number:
20030034798
An configurable integrated-circuit device includes a plurality of regions that each contain electronic circuitry. The configurable integrated-circuit device also includes common circuitry adapted to provide at least one signal to at least two regions of the plurality of regions. The common circuitry and the at least two regions are positioned within the configurable integrated-circuit device so as to improve the latencies of the at least one signal to each of the at least two regions.
Programmable logic device with circuitry for observing programmable logic circuit signals and for preloading programmable logic circuits
Granted: February 13, 2003
Application Number:
20030033584
A programmable logic device is provided that contains circuitry that may be used for observing logic signals from programmable logic circuits on the device for testing the operation of the device. Circuitry is also provided that may be used for preloading data into various circuits on the device. The logic signal observing circuitry may allow registered signals to be observed, may allow combinatorial signals to be observed, or may allow both registered and combinatorial signals to be…
Fabrication method and structure of an integrated circuit package
Granted: December 26, 2002
Application Number:
20020194731
An integrated circuit package is provided with a ball landing area having a conductive structure for interlocking a conductive ball to the ball pad. The conductive structure improves the attachment strength between an integrated circuit package and an printed circuit board. In an exemplary embodiment, the locking structure is a conductive material added to the surface of the ball pad to provide a nonplanar interface, such as a dome or a step, which interlocks the conductive ball to the…
