# US 10,310,015 B2 · Method and apparatus for providing clock signals for a scan chain > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,310,015 B2 - Document ID: US10310015B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 13/946,083 - Filed: 2013-07-19 - Published: 2015-01-22 - Granted: 2019-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2013-07-19 - Assignees: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. - Applicants: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. - Inventors: Thomas A. Clouqueur; Dwight K. Elvey; Kamran Zarrineh - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10310015B2 ## CPC - G01R 31/318552: {Clock circuits details} - G01R 31/318541: {Scan latches or cell details} - G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12) ## Abstract An integrated circuit device includes a plurality of flip flops configured into a scan chain. The plurality of flip flops includes at least flip flop of a first type and at least one flip flop of a second type. A method includes generating a first scan clock signal for loading scan data into at least one flip flop of a first type, generating a second scan clock signal and a third scan clock signal for loading the scan data into at least one flip flop of a second type, and loading a test pattern into a scan chain defined by the at least flip flop of the first type and the at least one flip flop of the second type responsive to the first, second, and third scan clock signals. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An integrated circuit device, comprising: a plurality of flip flops configured into a scan chain, wherein the plurality of flip flops includes at least one flip flop of a first type and at least one flip flop of a second type, and further wherein a common clock signal is used to generate a first scan clock signal and a second scan clock signal for aligning the at least one flip flop of the first type and the at least one flip flop of the second type in a same time domain during scan shifting, and wherein the at least one flip flop of the second type further receives a third scan clock signal. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The device of claim 1, wherein the first type comprises a multiplexer data flip flop and the second type comprises a level-sensitive scan design flip-flop. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The device of claim 2, further comprising: logic to provide the first scan clock signal to the multiplexer data flip flop for loading scan data and second and third scan clock signals to the level-sensitive scan design flip-flop for loading the scan data, wherein the second and third scan clock signals are non-overlapping, and further wherein the first and third scan clock signals are generated from the common clock signal. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The device of claim 3, wherein the logic is to generate the second scan clock signal from a first external scan clock signal and generate the first and third scan clock signals from a second external scan clock signal, wherein the first and second external scan clock signals are received by the integrated circuit device. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The device of claim 4, further comprising: at least one clock distribution tree to distribute the common clock signal and the first external scan clock signal; and a multiplexer coupled to the clock distribution tree and to select one of a functional clock signal for operating the plurality of flip flops while not in a scan mode or the second external scan clock signal as the common clock signal while in the scan mode. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The device of claim 5, further comprising: a scan control unit to configure the multiplexer to select the second external scan clock signal and generate a scan shift enable signal, wherein the logic further comprises: a latch coupled to the clock distribution tree to receive the common clock signal and coupled to a first clock terminal of the multiplexer data flip flop, wherein latch is to selectively pass the second external scan clock signal to the first clock terminal to generate the first scan clock signal responsive to the scan shift enable signal; a first logic gate coupled to a first scan clock terminal of the level-sensitive scan design flip flop and coupled to receive the first external scan clock signal and generate the first scan clock signal responsive to the scan shift enable signal; and a second logic gate coupled to the clock distribution tree and a second scan clock terminal of the level-sensitive scan design flip flop and coupled to receive the second external scan clock signal and generate the third scan clock signal responsive to the scan shift enable signal. ### Claim 7 (depends on 4) The device of claim 4, wherein a rising edge of the first scan clock signal is aligned with a rising edge of the third scan clock signal. ### Claim 8 (depends on 2) The device of claim 2, further comprising: a scan control unit to generate first and second scan shift signals; first logic to generate a first internal scan clock signal for the level-sensitive scan design flip-flop based on the first scan shift signal and generate a second internal scan clock signal for the level-sensitive scan design flip-flop based on the second scan shift signal; and second logic to generate a third internal scan clock signal for the level-sensitive scan design flip-flop based on the second scan shift signal. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The device of claim 8, wherein a rising edge of the second internal scan clock signal is aligned with a rising edge of the third internal scan clock signal. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The device of claim 8, further comprising: a delay network to generate the second scan shift signal based on the first scan shift signal, wherein the first and second scan shift signals are non-overlapping. ### Claim 11 (depends on 2) The device of claim 2, further comprising: a scan control unit to generate a scan shift signal and a clock gater signal; first logic to selectively couple a functional clock signal for clocking the multiplexer-data flip flop while not in a scan mode to a first clock terminal of the multiplexer data flip flop responsive to the scan shift signal and the clock gater signal to generate at least one capture pulse at the first clock terminal; and second logic to selectively couple the functional clock signal to a second clock terminal of the level-sensitive scan design flip flop responsive to the scan shift signal and the clock gater signal to generate at least one capture pulse at the second clock terminal. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The device of claim 11, wherein the first logic is to selectively couple the functional clock signal to the first clock terminal responsive to the scan shift and clock gater signals to generate at least one additional pulse preceding the capture pulse. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The device of claim 11, wherein: the first logic further comprises: a first latch to selectively couple the functional clock signal to the first clock terminal; and a first logic gate to enable the first latch responsive to a first logic state of the scan shift signal and a second logic state of the clock gater signal; and the second logic further comprises: a second latch to selectively couple the functional clock signal to the second clock terminal; and a second logic gate to enable the second latch responsive to the first logic state of the scan shift signal and the second logic state of the clock gater signal. ### Claim 14 A method, comprising: generating, based on a common clock signal, a first scan clock signal for loading scan data into at least one flip flop of a first type; and generating a second scan clock signal and a third scan clock signal for loading the scan data into at least one flip flop of a second type, wherein at least one of the second and third scan clock signals is generated based on the common clock signal; and loading a test pattern into a scan chain defined by the at least flip flop of the first type and the at least one flip flop of the second type responsive to the first, second, and third scan clock signals, wherein the at least one flip flop of the second type receives both the second scan clock signal and the third scan clock signal during scan shifting. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the first type comprises a multiplexer data flip flop and the second type comprises a level-sensitive scan design flip-flop. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, further comprising: receiving first and second external scan clock signals; generating the second scan clock signal from the first external scan clock signal; and generating the first and third scan clock signals from the second external scan clock signal, wherein the first and third scan clock signals have rising edges aligned with one another. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, further comprising: configuring a multiplexer to distribute one of a functional clock signal for operating the multiplexer data flip flop while not in a scan mode and the level-sensitive design flip flop or the second external scan clock signal on a common clock signal distribution network. ### Claim 18 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, further comprising: generating first and second scan shift signals, wherein the first and second scan clock signals are non-overlapping; generating the second scan clock signal based on the first scan shift signal; and generating the first scan clock signal based on the second scan shift signal. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18, further comprising delaying the first scan shift signal to generate the second scan shift signal. ### Claim 20 (depends on 15) The method of claim 15, further comprising: generating a scan shift signal and a clock gater signal; selectively coupling a functional clock signal for operating the multiplexer data flip flop while not in a scan mode to a first clock terminal of the multiplexer data flip flop responsive to the scan shift signal and the clock gater signal to generate at least one capture pulse at the first clock terminal; and selectively coupling the functional clock signal to a second clock terminal of the level-sensitive scan design flip flop responsive to the scan shift signal and the clock gater signal to generate at least one capture pulse at the second clock terminal. ### Claim 21 (depends on 20) The method of claim 20, further comprising: selectively coupling the functional clock signal to the first clock terminal responsive to the scan shift and clock gater signals to generate at least one additional pulse preceding the capture pulse. ### Claim 22 A non-transitory computer readable medium storing code to adapt at least one computer system to perform a portion of a process to fabricate at least part of an integrated circuit device, the integrated circuit device comprising: a plurality of flip flops configured into a scan chain, wherein the plurality of flip flops includes at least one flip flop of a first type and at least one flip flop of a second type, and further wherein a common clock signal is used to generate a first scan clock signal and a second scan clock signal for aligning the at least one flip flop of the first type and the at least one flip flop of the second type in a same time domain during scan shifting, and wherein the at least one flip flop of the second type further receives a third scan clock signal.