Data sampler with capacitive digital-to-analog converter
Granted: October 11, 2022
Patent Number:
11469769
Various embodiments provide for a data sampler with one or more capacitive digital-to-analog converters (DACs) for adjusting a threshold voltage range of the data sampler. According to some embodiments, two or more capacitive DACs can be used to set a threshold voltage for a data sampler and, by doing so, serve as a trigger mechanism for the data sampler.
Architecture and methodology for tuning clock phases to minimize latency in a serial interface
Granted: October 11, 2022
Patent Number:
11467620
Embodiments disclosed herein describe systems and methods for tuning phases of interface clocks of ASICs in an emulation system for a low latency channel and to avoid read errors. During a bring-up time (e.g., powering up) of the emulation system, one or more training processors may execute a software application to iteratively tune the phases of the interface clocks such that data is written to the interface buffers prior to being read out. To mitigate the problem of higher latency, the…
Programmable correlation computation system
Granted: October 4, 2022
Patent Number:
11463284
Various embodiments described herein provide for a receiver device that includes a processor, a non-linear equalizer, an accumulation register, and a plurality of co-processors. Each of the plurality of co-processors is operably coupled to the processor, the non-linear equalizer, and the accumulation register. Each of the plurality of co-processors can be configured to receive a configuration value from the processor, receive a data signal for processing from the non-linear equalizer,…
Digital filter for second tap of DFE
Granted: October 4, 2022
Patent Number:
11463094
Various embodiments provide a method or system that implements a two-tap decision feedback equalizer by applying a first tap and a second tap on a first symbol of a data signal, each of the first and second taps having a first and second polarity to generate a first corrected data symbol and a second corrected data symbol. The first corrected data symbol and the second corrected data symbol is provided to a comparator to select a data symbol. The output of the comparator is provided to a…
Circuit design routing based on routing demand adjustment
Granted: October 4, 2022
Patent Number:
11461530
Various embodiments provide for routing a circuit design based on adjusting a routing demand. More specifically, some embodiments implement routing demand smoothing of a grid cell, routing overflow spreading of a grid cell, or some combination of both prior to detailed routing of a circuit design, which can result in improved detailed routing over conventional routing techniques.
Emulation system supporting computation of four-state combinational functions
Granted: October 4, 2022
Patent Number:
11461522
An emulation processor may be configured to support emulating unknown binary logic based on non-arbitrariness of the unknown binary logic. For example, an unknown binary logic signal may take the finite binary values of 0 and 1. The circuitry in the emulation processor is configured to generate and propagate outputs based on the interactions of known input binary signals with the unknown input binary signals having non-arbitrary states. The emulation processor may support the both…
SDD ATPG using fault rules files, SDF and node slack for testing an IC chip
Granted: October 4, 2022
Patent Number:
11461520
An integrated circuit (IC) test engine extracts an input to output propagation delay for each cell instance of each of a plurality of cell types in an IC design from an SDF file for the IC design. The IC test engine extracts a node slack of each cell instance of each of the plurality of cell types of the IC design from a node slack report. The IC test engine also generates cell-aware test patterns for each cell instance of each cell type in the IC design to test a fabricated IC chip that…
System and method for performing sign-off timing analysis of electronic circuit designs
Granted: September 27, 2022
Patent Number:
11455450
Embodiments include herein are directed towards a method for dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) based timing signoff associated with an electronic design environment. Embodiments may include receiving, using a processor, an electronic design and specifying, via a graphical user interface, a voltage sweep for each power net associated with the electronic design. Embodiments may further include specifying, via the graphical user interface, at least one voltage sweep to be…
Pseudorandom keephot instructions to mitigate large load steps during hardware emulation
Granted: September 20, 2022
Patent Number:
11449337
A pseudorandom logic circuit may be embedded as a hardware within an emulation system, which may generate pseudorandom keephot instructions. A masking logic may mask out portions in each pseudorandom keephot instruction, which may change state elements during execution. A cluster of emulation processors may execute masked pseudorandom keephot instructions to consume power when not executing mission instructions. The cluster of emulation processors may run keephot cycles, during which the…
System, method, and computer program product for augmented reality circuit design
Granted: September 20, 2022
Patent Number:
11449654
Embodiments include herein are directed towards a method for use in an electronic design environment is provided. Embodiments may include receiving, at a client electronic device, an image of an electronic circuit and storing an electronic circuit design file. Embodiments may further include identifying the electronic circuit design file based upon, at least in part, the image of the electronic circuit. Embodiments may also include displaying a graphical representation of the electronic…
Electronic design 3D mixed placement and unfolding
Granted: September 6, 2022
Patent Number:
11436402
Disclosed is an improved approach for implementing a three-dimensional integrated circuit design with mixed macro and standard cell placement. This approach concurrently places both the macros and standard cells of the 3D-IC design onto two or more stacked floorplan and optimize the instance locations by timing, density, wire length and floorplan constraint.
Timed transition cell-aware ATPG using fault rule files and SDF for testing an IC chip
Granted: September 6, 2022
Patent Number:
11435401
A fault rules engine generates a plurality of fault rules files, each of the fault rules files is associated with a respective cell type of a plurality of cell types in an integrated circuit (IC) design. Each fault rules file includes data quantifying a nominal delay for a given two-cycle test pattern and data quantifying a delta delay for the given two-cycle test pattern corresponding to a given candidate defect of a plurality of candidate defects of a given cell type of the plurality…
Decision feedback equalization training scheme for GDDR applications
Granted: May 3, 2022
Patent Number:
11323296
The embodiments described herein provide for a method and system for training an optimal decision feedback equalization (DFE) coefficient for use in GDDR and DDR applications. The method includes determining a first expected bit pattern using a reference voltage. The method further includes determining a transition voltage value of the first expected bit pattern. The method further includes receiving a second expected bit pattern having a same first bit as the first expected bit pattern.…
High-speed multiplexer
Granted: May 3, 2022
Patent Number:
11323115
A high-speed multiplexor comprises a set of differential input pairs to receive and mix a set of differential input signals at a differential output node pair. The high-speed multiplexer further comprises an active inductive load pair driven by the input stage using the mixed set of differential input signals. Each active inductive load comprises a p-channel field effect transistor (pFET) device connected to one of the differential output node pairs and a resistor connected between a…
Macro clock latency computation in multiple iteration clock tree synthesis
Granted: May 3, 2022
Patent Number:
11321514
Aspects of the present disclosure address systems and methods for clock tree synthesis (CTS). A first iteration of CTS is performed to generate an intermediate clock tree for an integrated circuit (IC) design that includes one or more macros. Target pin insertion delays (PIDs) for the one or more macros are computed based on the intermediate clock tree using a linear program. A second iteration of CTS is performed using the target PIDs for the one or more macros to generate an optimized…
Systems and methods for handling DPI messages outgoing from an emulator system
Granted: April 19, 2022
Patent Number:
11308008
Embodiments described herein provide for an emulation system that supports efficiently generating outgoing messages to a test bench. The emulation system transmits the outgoing messages to the test bench various busses and interfaces. The compiled virtual logic writes the outgoing messages into memories of the emulation chips for queuing, and notification messages associated with the queued outgoing messages. A traffic processor transfers from memories to the test bench using buses and…
Systems and methods for communicating with clients with non-deterministic response delay over a communication interface
Granted: April 12, 2022
Patent Number:
11301414
A SPI master may configure a set of hardware registers associated with a SPI client with a set of communication parameters. The SPI master may send a message to the SPI client. The SPI master may periodically ping the SPI client until the SPI master receives an acknowledgement message from the SPI client in response to the message from the SPI master. The SPI master may periodically ping the SPI client based upon the set of communication parameters configured by the SPI master in the set…
Differential clock generator circuit
Granted: April 5, 2022
Patent Number:
11294416
A circuit can include a non-inverter circuit configured to generate a first clock signal with a first logic state during a first period of time in response to an input clock signal having the first logic state, and with a second logic state during a second period of time in response to the input clock signal having the second logic state. The circuit can include an inverter circuit that can be configured to generate a second clock signal with the second logic state during the first…
System, method, and computer program product for genetic routing in an electronic circuit design
Granted: March 15, 2022
Patent Number:
11275881
The present disclosure relates to a computer-implemented method for electronic design is provided. Embodiments may include receiving, using at least one processor, an electronic design having one or more unoptimized nets. Embodiments may further include applying a genetic algorithm to the electronic design, wherein the genetic algorithm includes a multi-stage routing analysis. A first stage analysis may apply a device-level global routing analysis, a second stage analysis may include an…
System, method, and computer program product for group and isolation prediction using machine learning and applications in analog placement and sizing
Granted: March 15, 2022
Patent Number:
11275882
The present disclosure relates to a computer-implemented method for electronic design is provided. Embodiments may include receiving, using at least one processor, an electronic design schematic and an electronic design layout and analyzing, via machine learning, at least one schematic feature from a pair of devices associated with the electronic design schematic. Embodiments may further include determining, based, at least in part, upon the analyzing, whether the pair of devices should…
