US 7,024,641 B1 · Integrated circuit having a programmable gate array and a field programmable gate array and methods of designing and manufacturing the same using testing IC before configuring FPGA

Abstract

The present invention provides an integrated circuit (IC). In one embodiment, the IC includes a substrate and a plurality of gate array blocks located on the substrate. Each of the blocks includes a programmable gate array (PGA) containing at least a portion of a circuit design in an interconnect layer thereof, and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) coupled to the PGA and capable of containing a configuration that augments the portion of the circuit design. In this embodiment, the PGA and the FPGA cooperate to effect the circuit design. In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of designing an IC. In yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing ICs.

Claims8

Dependent claims

A method of manufacturing integrated circuits (ICs), comprising:

employing a standard reticle set to fabricate an IC containing an unconfigured programmable gate array (PGA) and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) coupled thereto;
forming a custom reticle that defines interconnects for configuring said unconfigured PGA;
employing said custom reticle to form said interconnects and thereby transform said PGA into a portion of a desired circuit design;
testing said IC before configuring said FPGA to determine an efficacy of said portion;
configuring said FPGA to represent an augmenting of said circuit design, said PGA and said FPGA cooperating to effect said circuit design;
and
manufacturing said ICs using both said standard reticle set and said custom reticle.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Integrated circuit having a programmable gate array and a field programmable gate array and methods of designing and manufacturing the same using testing IC before configuring FPGA

Life of this patent

Integrated circuit having a programmable gate array and a field programmable gate array and methods of designing and manufacturing the same using testing IC before configuring FPGA

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims8