Detecting excess current leakage of a CMOS device
AssigneeIcera Inc.
InventorPeter Hughes
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Abstract
A system (10,90), apparatus (12,30,40,50,60,70) and method (100) is disclosed for detecting excess current leakage between drain/source of a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor (36,46) within a complementary MOS (CMOS) environment. A load control (32,42) is arranged as a compliment to the MOS transistor. A comparator (34,44) is electrically connected to the load control and the MOS transistor, and produces an output signal representative of the detection of a current leakage exceeding a threshold. In response to the received output signal indicating an excess current leakage, system voltage/frequency may be adjusted to prevent damage to the CMOS environment.
Claims30
An apparatus for detecting current leakage from a MOS transistor within a CMOS environment, the apparatus comprising:
- a current leakage detector for detecting current leakage from the transistor, the current leakage detector electrically connected to the transistor;
- and
- a controller electrically connected to the current leakage detector forming a feedback loop to adjust frequency or supply voltage of the CMOS environment to prevent damage to the CMOS environment.
A method for detecting current leakage in a MOS transistor in a CMOS environment, the method comprising:
- providing a MOS transistor in a CMOS environment;
- detecting, with a current leakage detector electrically connected to the MOS transistor, a current between a drain and a source of the MOS transistor;
- producing an feedback signal, from a controller (14) electrically connected to the current leakage detector, in response to detecting the current exceeding a predetermined value detected between the drain and the source of the MOS transistor;
- and
- adjusting frequency or voltage supply of the CMOS environment to prevent damage to the CMOS environment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.