Techniques For Reducing Uneven Aging In Integrated Circuits
AssigneeIntel Corporation
InventorHerman Schmit
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An integrated circuit includes first circuits that are configured to implement a user design for the integrated circuit, second circuits that are unused by the user design, and configuration circuitry that couples the second circuits together through a network of conductors. Transistors in the second circuits turn on and off in response to a varying signal that propagates through the second circuits and through the network of conductors while the first circuits implement the user design.
Claims20
An integrated circuit comprising:
- first circuits that are configured to implement a user design for the integrated circuit;
- second circuits that are unused by the user design;
- and
- configuration circuitry that couples the second circuits together through a network of conductors, wherein transistors in the second circuits turn on and off in response to a varying signal that continues to propagate through the second circuits and through the network of conductors while the first circuits implement the user design.
A computer readable non-transitory medium storing executable instructions for reducing uneven aging in a programmable integrated circuit, the executable instructions comprising:
- instructions executable by a design tool to generate configurations of a user design for the programmable integrated circuit, wherein each of the configurations implements the user design using at least some unique circuitry in the programmable integrated circuit relative to the other ones of the configurations;
- instructions executable by configuration circuitry in the programmable integrated circuit to implement the user design in a first one of the configurations;
- and
- instructions executable by the configuration circuitry to move the user design from the first one of the configurations to a second one of the configurations to cause effects of aging processes in circuits in the programmable integrated circuit that are not aged by the first one of the configurations.
A method for reducing effects of uneven aging in an integrated circuit, the method comprising:
- configuring first circuits to implement a user design for the integrated circuit;
- coupling second circuits together through a network of conductors using configuration circuitry, wherein the second circuits are unused by the user design;
- and
- generating switching activity in the second circuits in response to a varying signal that propagates through the second circuits and through the network of conductors while the first circuits implement the user design.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.