Semiconductor device, control method of semiconductor device, and control information generating method for semiconductor device
View Patent ↗A semiconductor device 2 has a plurality of elements. It also has an F-V table storing unit for low voltage threshold cells 31 for storing an F-V table TB 11 of an oscillation frequency f 1 relying on the plurality of elements and a power supply voltage EV to be supplied to the plurality of elements. It has a process sensor block 12 having at least one of the plurality of elements, for monitoring the oscillation frequency f 1 relying on at least one element. It further has a selector 33 for setting the power supply voltage EV associated with the oscillation frequency f 1 , as the supply voltage to be supplied to the semiconductor device 2 by selecting according to the F-V table TB 11 . The F-V table TB 11 is obtained by mutually relating the combinations of random number models ξn between an F-ξ table TB 20 and an ξ-V table TB 30.
1. A semiconductor device comprising:
plural elements;
a storing unit that stores first relation between first information relying on the plural elements and a power supply voltage supplying power to the plural elements;
a monitoring unit that includes at least one of the plural elements and monitors second information relying on the at least one of the plural elements; and
a control unit that selects a power supply voltage to be associated with the second information based on the first relation by confronting the first information and the second information, and controls to set the power supply voltage to be associated with the second information, being selected based on the first relation, to the power supply voltage supplying power to the plural elements,
wherein the first relation is relation between the first information and the power supply voltage supplying power to the plural elements based on:
second relation between the first information and plural element variation values relying on the plural elements;
third relation between the power supply voltage supplying power to the plural elements and the plural element variation values relying on the plural elements; and
the power supply voltage supplying power to the plural elements in the third relation is based on influence of the plural element variation values to which a weighting value is applied so that a slack value based on timing analysis of a path that includes the at least one of the plural elements coincide with a predetermined value.
2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein
the monitoring unit is a ring oscillator constituted with the at least one of the plural elements,
the first information is first oscillation frequency based on simulation of the ring oscillator, and
the second information is second oscillation frequency of the ring oscillator.
3. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein the weighting value is calculated in accordance with normal distribution.
4. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein association of the first information and the power supply voltage in the first relation corresponds to association of the first information and the power supply voltage acquired when (a) and (b) coincide with each other:
(a) each of the plural element variation values directed to the first information that is acquired in the second relation; and
(b) each of the plural element variation values of which the slack value directed to the power supply voltage that is acquired in the third relation coincides with a predetermined value.
5. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 , wherein the power supply voltage controlled and set by the control unit is a minimum power supply voltage when there are plural power supply voltages to be associated with variations of the plural elements monitored by the monitoring unit in the first relation.
6. A control method of a semiconductor device that comprises plural elements, a storing unit that stores first relation between first information relying on the plural elements and a power supply voltage supplying power to the plural elements, and a monitoring unit that includes at least one of the plural elements and monitors second information relying on the at least one of the plural elements, the control method comprising:
selecting a power supply voltage to be associated with the second information based on the first relation by confronting the first information and the second information; and
controlling to set the power supply voltage to be associated with the second information, being selected based on the first relation, to the power supply voltage supplying power to the plural elements,
wherein the first relation is relation between the first information and the power supply voltage supplying power to the plural elements based on:
second relation between the first information and plural element variation values relying on the plural elements;
third relation between the power supply voltage supplying power to the plural elements and the plural element variation values relying on the plural elements; and
wherein the control method further comprising calculating the power supply voltage supplying power to the plural elements in the third relation based on influence of the plural element variation values to which a weighting value is applied so that a slack value based on timing analysis of a path that includes the at least one of the plural elements coincide with a predetermined value.
7. The control method of the semiconductor device according to claim 6 ,
wherein the monitoring unit is a ring oscillator constituted with the at least one of the plural elements,
wherein the control method further comprising:
calculating first oscillation frequency as the first information based on simulation of the ring oscillator; and
monitoring second oscillation frequency of the ring oscillator as the second information.
8. The control method of the semiconductor device according to claim 6 wherein the weighting value is calculated in accordance with normal distribution.
9. The control method of the semiconductor device according to claim 6 wherein association of the first information and the power supply voltage in the first relation corresponds to association of the first information and the power supply voltage acquired when (a) and (b) coincide with each other:
(a) each of the plural element variation values directed to the first information that is acquired in the second relation; and
(b) each of the plural element variation values of which the slack value directed to the power supply voltage that is acquired in the third relation coincides with a predetermined value.
10. The control method of the semiconductor device according to claim 6 , wherein the power supply voltage controlled and set with the control method is a minimum power supply voltage when there are plural power supply voltages to be associated with variations of the plural elements monitored by the monitoring unit in the first relation.
11. A control information generating method for a semiconductor device that comprises plural elements, a storing unit that stores first relation between first information relying on the plural elements and a power supply voltage supplying power to the plural elements, and a monitoring unit that includes at least one of the plural elements and monitors second information relying on the at least one of the plural elements, the control information generating method comprising:
calculating second relation between the first information and plural element variation values relying on the plural elements;
calculating third relation between the power supply voltage supplying power to the plural elements and the plural element variation values relying on the plural elements;
calculating the first relation between the first information and the power supply voltage supplying power to the plural elements based on the second relation and the third relation; and
wherein the control information generating method further comprising calculating the power supply voltage supplying power to the plural elements in the third relation based on influence of the plural element variation values to which a weighting value is applied so that a slack value based on timing analysis of a path that includes the at least one of the plural elements coincide with a predetermined value.
12. The control information generating method for the semiconductor device according to claim 11 , wherein the weighting value is calculated in accordance with normal distribution.
13. The control information generating method for the semiconductor device according to claim 11 , wherein association of the first information and the power supply voltage in the first relation corresponds to association of the first information and the power supply voltage acquired when (a) and (b) coincide with each other:
(a) each of the plural element variation values directed to the first information that is acquired in the second relation; and
(b) each of the plural element variation values of which the slack value directed to the power supply voltage that is acquired in the third relation coincides with a predetermined value.