Integrated circuit having memory repair information storage and method therefor
View Patent ↗A storage unit on an integrated circuit stores information that identifies a circuit on the integrated circuit, a selected operating condition, and a required operating configuration for the circuit for the selected operating condition. The manner of operating the circuit is changed to the required operating configuration in response to an operating condition of the circuit changing to the selected operating condition. This allows for efficiently identifying the few circuits that do not meet specified requirements based on a reduction in, for example, operating voltage, and altering their operation in order to meet the specified requirements relative to the reduced operating voltage without having to do so for the vast majority of the circuits that are able to meet the requirements at the lowered operating voltage.
1. A method, comprising:
storing in a storage unit on an integrated circuit information that identifies an analog circuit on the integrated circuit, a selected power supply voltage, and a required operating configuration comprising tuning parameters for the analog circuit, wherein the selected power supply voltage is selected from a first voltage below which the analog circuit may fail to operate reliably and a second voltage above which the analog circuit may fail to operate reliably; and
changing the manner of operating the analog circuit with the required operating configuration in response to detecting that a power supply voltage supplied to the analog circuit is below the selected power supply voltage when the selected power supply voltage is the first voltage, or in response to detecting that the power supply voltage supplied to the analog circuit is above the selected power supply voltage when the selected power supply voltage is the second voltage.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
testing the circuit to identify the selected power supply voltage as an operating voltage at which the circuit fails to operate according to a predetermined requirement; and
identifying the required operating configuration as conditions under which the circuit will meet the predetermined requirement at the selected power supply voltage.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the step of storing is further characterized by the storage unit comprising a one time programmable memory.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the step of storing is further characterized by the storage unit comprising a non-volatile memory.
5. A method, comprising:
storing, in a storage unit on an integrated circuit, information that identifies a circuit on the integrated circuit, a selected operating condition, and a required operating configuration comprising information for the circuit for the selected operating condition, wherein the step of storing is further characterized by the circuit comprising a memory; and
changing the manner of operating the circuit with the required operating configuration in response to detecting the selected operating condition, wherein the step of changing is further characterized by the required operating configuration as comprising one of a group consisting of enabling a write assist and enabling a read assist.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the step of changing is further characterized as a write assist, wherein the write assist comprises one of a group consisting of adjusting bit cell supply voltage, adjusting word line voltage, and adjusting bit line voltage.
7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the step of changing is further characterized as a read assist, wherein read assist comprises one of a group consisting of adjusting bit cell supply voltage, adjusting bit line voltage, and adjusting word line voltage.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of storing is further characterized as storing a magnitude of adjustment.
9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
storing in the storage unit circuit information that identifies a second circuit on the integrated circuit, a selected voltage from among at least the three voltages, and a required operating configuration for the second circuit for the selected voltage; and
changing the manner of operating the second circuit to the required operating configuration for the second circuit in response to an operating voltage of the second circuit changing to the selected voltage.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein:
the step of storing in the storage unit circuit information that identifies a second circuit is further characterized by the second circuit comprising one of a group consisting of a row and a column in a memory; and
the step of changing the manner of operating the second circuit is further characterized by the required operating configuration for operating the second circuit comprising one of a group consisting of enabling a write assist and enabling a read assist.
11. A method, comprising:
storing in a storage unit on an integrated circuit information that identifies an analog circuit on the integrated circuit, a selected operating condition, and a required operating configuration comprising tuning parameters for the analog circuit for the selected operating condition, wherein the selected operating condition comprises one of temperature, frequency, and power consumption; and
changing the manner of operating the analog circuit with the required operating configuration in response to detecting the selected operating condition.
12. An integrated circuit, comprising:
a plurality of circuits;
a storage unit that stores information that identifies a circuit of the plurality of circuits on the integrated circuit, a selected voltage from among at least three voltages, and required operating conditions for the circuit, wherein the selected supply voltage is selected from a first voltage below which the circuit may fail to operate reliably and a second voltage above which the circuit may fail to operate reliably, and wherein the required operating conditions comprises one of temperature, frequency, and power consumption; and
a controller that changes the manner of operating the circuit to the required operating conditions in response to detecting that an operating voltage of the circuit is below to the selected voltage when the selected supply voltage is the first voltage, or in response to detecting that the operating voltage of the circuit is above the selected supply voltage when the selected supply voltage is the second voltage.
13. The integrated circuit of claim 12 , wherein:
the controller is further characterized as reading the information in the storage unit prior to the operating voltage changing to the selected voltage.
14. The integrated circuit of claim 12 , wherein the storage unit comprises one of a group consisting of a fuse bank, an electrically programmable fuse bank, a one time programmable memory, a read only memory, a non-volatile memory, a dynamic random access memory, a static random access memory, and a register bank.
15. The integrated circuit of claim 12 wherein the plurality of circuits comprises memories, rows of memories, columns of memories, analog circuits, and digital logic circuits.
16. The integrated circuit of claim 12 , wherein:
the circuit identified in the storage unit comprises a row of a memory; and
the required operating conditions identified in the storage unit comprise one of a group consisting of enabling a read assist and enabling a write assist.
17. The integrated circuit of claim 12 , wherein:
the storage unit further stores circuit information that identifies a second circuit on the integrated circuit, a second selected voltage from among at least the three voltages, and required operating conditions for the second circuit for the second selected voltage; and
the controller changes the manner of operating the second circuit to the required operating conditions for the second circuit in response to an operating voltage of the second circuit changing to the second selected voltage.