International Business Machines Corporation

Emory D Keller

Michael Richard Ouellette

Kevin William Gorman

Sebastian Theodore Ventrone

Donald Lawrence Wheater

Robert J Devins

Patrick K Kam

Stephen Yik-fai Hon

Joseph Andrew Iadanza

Alvar Antonio Dean

Jerry D Hayes

Anthony J Perri

Valerie Hornbeck Chickanosky

Robert P Battaline

A design structure for a system for and method of performing high speed memory diagnostics via built-in-self-test (BIST) is disclosed. In particular, a test system includes a tester for testing an integrated circuit that includes a BIST circuit and a test control circuit. The BIST circuit further includes a BIST engine and fail logic for testing an imbedded memory array. The test control circuit includes three binary up/down counters, a variable delay, and a comparator circuit. A method of performing high speed memory diagnostics via BIST includes, but is not limited to, presetting the counters of the test control circuit, presetting the variable delay to a value that is equal to the latency of the fail logic, setting the BIST cycle counter to decrement mode, presetting the variable delay to zero, re-executing the test algorithm and performing a second test operation of capturing the fail data, and performing a third test operation of transmitting the fail data to the tester.

Structure for system for and method of performing high speed memory diagnostics via built-in-self-test

An asynchronous data transfer interface is provided across a boundary that allows high bandwidth data transfers which are packet based as defined by PCI_Express architecture, and has general utility in processor-based applications like servers, desktop applications, and mobile applications. A shared set of multi-port RAM buffers allow both an application layer AL and a transaction layer TL access to a communication protocol layer in a defined process that allows both the application layer AL and the transaction layer TL to read and manage the buffers in a 16 byte boundary in a manner that allows a data credit to be decoupled from a header credit.

Asynchronous packet based dual port link list header and data credit management structure

A system that includes a controller for enabling an enumeration operation. The enumeration operation is performed by a controller () and logic elements () in a system, such that each logic element in the system assigns itself a unique identifier. Each logic element can then be controlled by another source or have a means to communicate with other logic elements in the system. The unique identifier enables greater system flexibility, thereby reducing cost and improving efficiency.

Method and apparatus for self identification of circuitry

A configuration space bus includes a configuration space on a primary interface and an extension or secondary interface in communication with a configuration space of the primary interface. When the primary interface receives a transaction request which it does not recognize, the transaction request is passed to the secondary interface for processing. The primary bus then waits for a response from the secondary bus. If the primary interface receives a transaction request which it does recognize, that transaction request is processed by the primary bus. The extension interface allows the primary bus to receive and process industry standard specification defined commands as well as forward commands defined by a user to the extension bus for processing. Multiple buses may be cascaded to form a primary extension interface, a secondary interface, a third interface, etc. A transaction request is passed down through such a chain of interfaces until an interface recognizes and processes it.

Method and apparatus for configuration space extension bus

A Built-In-Self-Test (BIST) state machine providing BIST testing operations associated with a thermal sensor device(s) located in proximity to the circuit(s) to which BIST testing operations are applied, and a design structure including the BIST state machine embodied in a machine readable medium are provided. The thermal sensor device compares the current temperature value sensed to a predetermined temperature threshold and determines whether the predetermined threshold is exceeded. A BIST control element suspends the BIST testing operation in response to meeting or exceeding said predetermined temperature threshold, and initiates resumption of BIST testing operations when the current temperature value normalizes or is reduced. A BIST testing methodology implements steps for mitigating the exceeded temperature threshold condition in response to determining that the predetermined temperature threshold is met or exceeded. These steps include one of: ignoring the BIST results of the suspect circuit(s), or by causing the BIST state machine to enter a wait state and adjusting operating parameters of the suspect circuits while in the wait state.

Automatic shutdown or throttling of a BIST state machine using thermal feedback

A system and method for performing high speed memory diagnostics via built-in-self-test (BIST). A test system includes a tester for testing an integrated circuit that includes a BIST circuit and a test control circuit. The BIST circuit further includes a BIST engine and fail logic for testing an imbedded memory array. The test control circuit includes three binary up/down counters, a variable delay, and a comparator circuit. A method includes presetting the counters of the test control circuit, presetting the variable delay to a value that is equal to the latency of the fail logic, setting the BIST cycle counter to decrement mode, presetting the variable delay to zero, re-executing the test algorithm, performing a second test operation of capturing the fail data, and performing a third test operation of transmitting the fail data to the tester.

System and method for performing high speed memory diagnostics via built-in-self-test

A Built-In-Self-Test (BIST) state machine providing BIST testing operations associated with a thermal sensor device(s) located in proximity to the circuit(s) to which BIST testing operations are applied. The thermal sensor device compares the current temperature value sensed to a predetermined temperature threshold and determines whether the predetermined threshold is exceeded. A BIST control element suspends the BIST testing operation in response to meeting or exceeding said predetermined temperature threshold, and initiates resumption of BIST testing operations when the current temperature value normalizes or is reduced. A BIST testing methodology implements steps for mitigating the exceeded temperature threshold condition in response to determining that the predetermined temperature threshold is met or exceeded. These steps include one of: ignoring the BIST results of the suspect circuit(s), or by causing the BIST state machine to enter a wait state and adjusting operating parameters of the suspect circuits while in the wait state.

Automatic shutdown or throttling of a bist state machine using thermal feedback

A method of creating a prototype data processing system, by configuring a hardware development chip (HDC) according to user-defined settings, building user-defined logic adapted to function with the configured development chip, and allowing for the re-configuration of the HDC and user-defined logic after debugging. The HDC has several data processing macros including a processor core macro, a ROM emulation macro, a memory macro, and a bus macro. The macros may be configured by a configuration pin block which is connected to external configuration pins on the HDC. Customer logic is built using a field programmable gate array, which is interconnected with external ports of the HDC. The HDC and customer logic are verified using a debug port on the HDC, which is connected to a debug workstation. The invention allows a user to easily and quickly debug an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design with a unique version of selected processor cores.

Configurable real prototype hardware using cores and memory macros

A system and method are described for separating the bulk connections for FETs on a semiconductor wafer from the supply rails, testing the wafer to determine if a shift in the threshold voltage, V , of certain devices within the wafer, as defined by the bulk-wells, can remove an AC defect in the IC circuit, and tailoring the voltage or voltages applied to the bulk nodes, post-manufacture, such that the integrated circuit meets its performance targets or is sorted to a more valuable performance level. The method requires generating a gate level netlist of the IC's circuitry and performing timing calculations on these circuit netlists using static timing analyses, functional delay simulations, circuit activity analyses, and functional performance testing. The failures are then correlated to respective IC circuits, worst case slack circuits are investigated, and proposed changes to the threshold voltages are employed in the hardware.

System and method for AC performance tuning by thereshold voltage shifting in tubbed semiconductor technology

A method and system are disclosed for simulating a direct memory access (DMA) function to access memory in a host computer having a DMA controller for the purpose of enabling the transfer of data between the host memory and a computer accessory data handling device not capable of DMA operation. The accessory data handling device can be operably connected to the host. The address contents of the DMA controller can be read to determine the location in the host memory where data is to be transferred from the host memory to the accessory data handling device or from the accessory data handling device to the host memory. Data is read from the host memory at the address specified in the DMA controller and written to the accessory data handling device or read from the accessory data handling device and written to the host memory at the address specified by the DMA controller, respectively. The host computer is informed that a DMA operation corresponding to the data transfer has been completed when the data transfer required has been completed.

DMA emulation for non-DMA capable interface cards

An audio system is provided for generating audio sound for a host computer. It includes an interface connector for connection with the host computer; an interface controller for communicating with the host computer using the interface connector; a trap adapted to trap audio instruction signals from an application running on the host, such as a game having an audio portion; a trap controller adapted to control the trap; and an audio output. The system operates with an interface communicator which is adapted to respond to a request from the interface controller to read information from the trap and send audio output instruction to the audio output to generate audio sound.

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Milton, VT, United States of America

Emory D Keller