Integrated circuit device
View Patent ↗An integrated circuit device comprises internally on-chip an oscillator with a signal output. The device has a reference clock input, a first counter with a count input, a control input and a counter output, a second counter with a count input, a control input and an overflow indication output, and a test control logic circuit. The count input of the first counter is connected to the signal output of the oscillator. The count input of the second counter is connected to the reference clock input. The overflow indication output of the second counter is connected to an input of the test control logic circuit. The test control circuit has an output connected to the control input of the first counter to apply a stop counting control signal to the first counter after it has received an overflow indication signal from the second counter. The first counter after it has received a stop counting control signal provides a count at the counter output which is indicative of the output frequency of the oscillator. The device includes all the hardware necessary to perform an on-chip test of the oscillator, thereby obviating the need for serial testing on sophisticated and expensive test equipment.
1. An integrated circuit device comprising internally on-chip:
an oscillator with a signal output,
a reference clock input,
a first counter with a count input, a control input and a counter output,
a second counter with a count input, a control input and an overflow indication output,
and a test control logic circuit;
wherein
the count input of the first counter is connected to the signal output of the oscillator,
the count input of the second counter is connected to the reference clock input,
the overflow indication output of the second counter is connected to an input of the test control logic circuit,
the test control circuit has an output connected to the control input of the first counter to apply a stop counting control signal to the first counter after it has received an overflow indication signal from the second counter;
and the first counter after it has received a stop counting control signal provides a count at the counter output which is indicative of the output frequency of the oscillator.
2. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , and further comprising an on-chip phase locked loop including said oscillator and having a reference input connected to said reference clock input.
3. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the test control logic circuit controls a first switch that selectively connects the count input of the first
counter with the signal output of the oscillator and a second switch that selectively connects the count input of the second counter with the reference clock input.
4. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the test control logic circuit controls the second switch to close in synchronism with an edge of a reference clock signal applied to the reference clock input, said edge initiating a period of the reference clock signal.
5. The integrated circuit according to claim 1 , and further comprising a data bus and a bus interface, the count of the first counter after the counting stop signal is received being applied to the data bus as a digital data word externally available through the bus interface.
6. The integrated circuit according to claim 1 , further comprising a serial bus interface, the test control logic circuit having control inputs that include at least a start control input and a reset control input, and the control inputs of the test control logic circuit being derived from the serial bus interface.
7. The integrated circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the test control logic circuit has control inputs that include a start control input and a reset control input, each of the start and reset control inputs being connected to a dedicated pin of the integrated circuit.