System with microelectronic circuit, and a method for controlling the operation of a microelectronic circuit

System comprising a microelectronic circuit and a controllable voltage source for providing an operating voltage to said microelectronic circuit, wherein:

• said microelectronic circuit is an adaptive microelectronic circuit, the performance of which is at least partly configurable by selecting a value of said operating voltage,
• said system is configured to regulate said operating voltage into conformity with a target value,
• said microelectronic circuit comprises a first processing path, on which a first register circuit comprises a data input coupled to an output of a first logic unit that precedes said first register circuit on said first processing path,
• said microelectronic circuit is configured to respond to a digital value at said data input changing later than an allowable time limit by generating a timing event observation signal, hereinafter TEO signal, wherein said allowable time limit is defined by at least one triggering edge of at least one triggering signal coupled to said first register circuit,
• said microelectronic circuit comprises a second processing path extending from a data output of said first register circuit through a second logic unit to a second register circuit,
• said second logic unit has a characteristic propagation delay that depends on said operating voltage,
• said first register circuit is a time-borrowing register circuit configured to effect time borrowing by validly storing a digital value at said data input that changed after said allowable time limit,
• said system is configured to use said TEO signal to trigger an increase in said operating voltage, said increase being dimensioned to cancel the effect of said time borrowing by shortening said characteristic propagation delay of said second logic unit.

Method for providing an operating voltage to an adaptive microelectronic circuit, the performance of which is at least partly configurable by selecting a value of said operating voltage, comprising:

• regulating said operating voltage into conformity with a target value using a controllable voltage source in which re-regulating said operating voltage into conformity with a new, changed target value involves a time constant,
• monitoring the timing of changes of digital values at a data input of a first register circuit coupled to an output of a first logic unit that precedes said first register circuit on a first processing path of said microelectronic circuit,
• responding to a digital value at said data input changing later than an allowable time limit by generating a timing event observation signal, hereinafter TEO signal, wherein said allowable time limit is defined by at least one triggering edge of at least one triggering signal coupled to said first register circuit, and
• using said TEO signal to trigger an increase in said operating voltage faster than said time constant.