Setting Operating Points for Circuits in an Integrated Circuit Chip using an Integrated Voltage Regulator Power Loss Model

A method for controlling voltages in an integrated circuit chip that includes:

• a set of circuits;
• an external voltage regulator separate from the integrated circuit chip;
• a plurality of integrated voltage regulators fabricated on the integrated circuit chip, the external voltage regulator providing an output voltage that is received as an input voltage by each of the plurality of integrated voltage regulators, and each integrated voltage regulator of the plurality of integrated voltage regulators providing a local output voltage that is received as a local input voltage by a respective subset of circuits in the set of circuits;
• and a controller, the method comprising:
• determining, by the controller, a first combination of operating points for the subsets of the circuits, the first combination of operating points comprising a respective operating point for each of the subsets of the circuits;
• determining, by the controller, using an integrated voltage regulator power loss model, an electrical power loss for the integrated voltage regulators for the first combination of operating points;
• determining, by the controller, based on the electrical power loss, a second combination of operating points for the subsets of the circuits that includes an adjustment to an operating point for at least one of the subsets of the circuits, the adjustment to the operating point compensating for an electrical power loss of the integrated voltage regulator that provides the local input voltage to the at least one of the subsets of the circuits;
• and
• setting, by the controller, an operating point of each of the subsets of the circuits to a respective operating point from the second combination of operating points.