IP Library Granted Patent US 12,536,356
Granted Patent B2
US 12,536,356 · App. 18/665,300 · Granted Jan 27, 2026

Circuit design visibility in integrated circuit devices

Inventors: Yi Peng (Newark, CA); Brandon Lewis Gordon (Campell, CA)
Assignee: Altera Corporation
G06F30/343G06F30/327G06F30/3308H01L23/00H01L25/00G06F30/367G06F30/398
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,536,356
App. No.
18/665,300
Granted
Jan 27, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A system includes an integrated circuit device configured to implement a circuit design. The integrated circuit device includes a communication interface configured to receive the circuit design in a configuration bitstream and instrumentation logic in the configuration bitstream and signal collector block configured to collect signal data based on the instrumentation logic during implementation of the circuit design.

Claims (19)

1 . A system, comprising:

an integrated circuit device configurable to implement a circuit design, wherein the circuit design comprises a set of registers, the integrated circuit device comprising:

a communication interface configurable to receive the circuit design in a configuration bitstream and instrumentation logic in the configuration bitstream; and

a signal collector block configurable to collect signal data from a subset of registers selected from the set of registers implemented in the integrated circuit device based on the instrumentation logic during implementation of the circuit design.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the signal collector block is configurable to collect additional signal data from each register of the set of registers implemented in the integrated circuit device based on the instrumentation logic.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the communication interface is configurable to transmit the signal data to a host device.

4 . The system of claim 3 , comprising the host device, wherein the host device is configurable to detect one or more errors associated with the circuit design based on the signal data.

5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the host device is configurable to generate the instrumentation logic based on a selection of the subset of registers selected from the set of registers.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the signal collector block is configurable to determine a minimum number of samples for a feedback loop associated with a portion of the circuit design.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the signal collector block is configurable to collect additional signal data from each register of the set of registers during implementation of the circuit design.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein an output of a first register of the set of registers is configurable to feed into an input of a second register of the set of registers.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the output of the second register feeds into an input of the first register to generate a feedback loop.

10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the signal collector block is configurable to generate a visualization of the circuit design based on the signal data.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the visualization comprises a waveform format, a signal trace format, a source file debug format, or any combination thereof.

12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the instrumentation logic is configurable to instruct the signal collector block to identify data from the subset of registers selected from the set of registers, the subset of registers being associated with a selected portion of the circuit design.

13 . An integrated circuit device, comprising:

a communication interface configurable to receive a first portion of a bitstream comprising a circuit design and a second portion of the bitstream comprising instrumentation logic, wherein the circuit design comprises a set of registers; and

a signal collector block configurable to collect instrumented data from a subset of registers selected from the set of registers based on the instrumentation logic during implementation of the circuit design.

14 . The integrated circuit device of claim 13 , wherein the communication interface is configurable to receive the instrumented data from the signal collector block and transmit the instrumented data to a host for generation of a visualization of the instrumented data.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 22, 2025
From: INTEL CORPORATION
To: ALTERA CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 072324/0430 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 12, 2025
From: ALTERA CORPORATION
To: BARCLAYS BANK PLC, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 073431/0309 →
Continuity (2)
Division 17033208 · Sep 25, 2020
Related Publication 20240303406A1 · Sep 12, 2024
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