Apparatus for using metastability-hardened storage circuits in logic devices and associated methods
AssigneeAltera Corporation
InventorsDavid Lewis, Jeffrey Christopher Chromczak, Ryan Fung
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An integrated circuit (IC) includes a set of metastability-hardened storage circuits. Each metastability-hardened storage circuit may include: (a) a pulse width distortion circuit; (b) a first circuit powered by a nominal power supply voltage, and a second circuit powered by a higher-than-nominal supply voltage; (c) an inverter and a bias circuit, where the bias circuit provides a bias current based on an intermediate state of the inverter to resolve a metastable state of the inverter; or (d) a latch, and a dynamic bias circuit that causes current to be injected into the latch to resolve a metastable state of the latch.
Claims20
An integrated circuit, comprising a metastability-hardened storage circuit, the metastability-hardened storage circuit adapted to be powered by a first supply voltage, the metastability-hardened storage circuit further adapted to be powered by a second supply voltage, wherein the second supply voltage is higher than the first supply voltage.
An integrated circuit (IC), including at least one metastability-hardened storage circuit, the at least one metastability-hardened storage circuit comprising:
- (a) a pulse width distortion circuit;
- (b) a first circuit powered by a nominal power supply voltage, and a second circuit powered by a higher-than-nominal supply voltage;
- (c) an inverter and a bias circuit, wherein the bias circuit provides a bias current based on an intermediate state of the inverter to resolve a metastable state of the inverter;
- or (d) a latch, and a dynamic bias circuit that causes current to be injected into the latch to resolve a metastable state of the latch.
A method of processing a first signal using a metastability-hardened storage circuit, the method comprising receiving the first signal in the metastability-hardened storage circuit, wherein the metastability-hardened storage circuit is powered by first and second supply voltages, wherein the second supply voltage is higher than the first supply voltage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.