International Business Machines Corporation

Eric John Lukes

James David Strom

Patrick Lee Rosno

David William Boerstler

Timothy Joseph Schmerbeck

Dereje G Yilma

Raymond Alan Richetta

Hiroki Kihara

Nghia Van Phan

Dana Marie Woeste

Matthew James Paschal

Brent Ray Den Hartog

Aj KleinOsowski

Mark R Beckenbaugh

Daniel Mark Dreps

Jieming Qi

Eskinder Hailu

Grant Paul Kesselring

Glen Arthur Wiedemeier

David Michael Friend

George Francis Paulik

Carrie Ellen Cox

Timothy O Dickson

Daniel Ramirez

Byron D Scott

Henry Michael Newshutz

Aspects of the invention include receiving, by a controller, an indication of a chip initialization for a duty cycle correction (DCC) circuit, wherein the duty cycle correction circuit includes a main path including a main multiplexer (MUX) having a first input and a main driver circuit, a replica path including a replica MUX having a second input and a replica driver circuit, a selection MUX connected to the main path and the replica path, operating the selection MUX, during a period for the chip initialization, to select the main path as an input to the selection MUX, inputting a pre-defined data pattern to the main path, comparing an output of the selection MUX with the pre-defined data pattern to determine duty cycle issue, and generating an adjustment vector based on the determined duty cycle issue.

Dual duty cycle correction loop for a serializer/deserializer (SerDes) transmitter output

A method and apparatus to adjust a differential transmitter output impedance is disclosed. Output voltage is sampled and averaged to mitigate noise and leakage. Averaged uplevel and downlevel voltages are used to select a number of pullup devices and a number of pulldown devices to control the differential transmitter output impedance to match a distal termination resistance or a transmission line impedance.

Matching transmitter impedance to receiver termination using an average of transmitter output voltage samples

A circuit component comprises a row of transistors. The row may contain a first active FET with a source region and a drain region. The row may also contain a first active dummy FET that shares the source region and that also has a diffusion region. The row may also contain a second active FET and a second active dummy FET, positioned such that the active dummy FETs are located between the active FETs on the row. The row may also have an end positioned such that the first active dummy FET is between the end and the first active FET. A supply of current may be electrically connected to the source diffusion regions. A load region may be electrically connected to the drain region. The first active FET and the first active dummy FET may have gates that share a voltage source or that have their own voltage source.

Field effect transistor structure for reducing contact resistance

The present disclosure discloses an IC with an electromigration (EM) monitor. The IC includes a functional circuit configured according to a first value of a parameter related to EM tolerance. The IC also includes a dummy version of the functional circuit configured according to a second value of the parameter. The second value causes the dummy version of the functional circuit to be more sensitive to an EM event than the functional circuit. Upon the EM monitor determines that the EM event occurs in the dummy version of the functional circuit, the EM monitor asserts a signal indicating that the EM event has occurred in the dummy version of the functional circuit and providing a warning that the EM event is likely to occur in the functional circuit.

Electromigration monitor

Certain aspects of the present disclosure are directed to a circuit for driving a signal at an output node. The circuit generally includes a voltage divider network having a first terminal coupled to the output node. The circuit also includes a first transistor having a gate coupled to a second terminal of the voltage divider network and a plurality of transistors. A gate of each of the plurality of transistors may be coupled to a respective tap node of the voltage divider network, and the plurality of transistors may include a third transistor having a source coupled to a drain of the first transistor. The circuit may also include a second transistor coupled to the first transistor and having a gate coupled to an input node of the circuit.

Bidirectional interface using thin oxide devices

A method and circuit are provided for implementing adaptive control for optimization of pulsed resonant drivers, and a design structure on which the subject circuit resides. Peak detectors are used to detect a positive or up level reached by a resonant clock and negative or down level reached by the resonant clock. Each detected levels is compared to a reference level to determine when to vary the turn off timing of a clock driver pull-up device and/or a clock driver pull-down device. A positive peak detector controls the turn off time of the pull-up device and a negative peak detector controls a turn off time of the pull-down device in the pulsed resonant driver.

Implementing adaptive control for optimization of pulsed resonant drivers

The present invention provides for a self-correcting state circuit. A first flip flop is configured to receive a clock input and a first data input, and to generate a first output in response to the clock input and the first data input. A second flip flop is coupled to the first flip flop and configured to receive the clock input and to receive the first output as a second data input, and to generate a second output in response to the clock input and the first output. A first correction circuit is coupled to the second flip flop and configured to generate a corrected output. A third flip flop is coupled to the first correction circuit and configured to receive the clock input and to receive the corrected output as a third data input, and to generate a third output in response to the clock input and the third data input.

High frequency divider state correction circuit

A logic book for a programmable device such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) achieves improved radiation tolerance by providing notches in an implant well between adjacent transistors and fills the notches with complementary well regions that act as a barrier to charge migration. For example, a row of n-type field effect transistors (NFETs) is located in a Pwell region, while a row of p-type transistors is located in an Nwell region with portions of the Nwell region extending between the NFETs. More complicated embodiments of the present invention include embedded well islands to provide barriers for adjacent transistors in both rows of the book.

Method for radiation tolerance by implant well notching

A logic book for a programmable device such as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) achieves improved radiation tolerance by providing transistors of the same doping type in different well regions that are physically isolated by intervening well regions with complementary doping. For example, n-type field effect transistors (NFETs) may be located in two outer rows of the book with separate Pwell regions, while p-type transistors are located in two inner rows of the book sharing a common Nwell region. Since the NFETs in separate wells are physically isolated from each other, a circuit structure which uses two NFETs in the two outer rows is much less likely to suffer multiple upsets from a single radiation strike. More complicated embodiments of the present invention include additional transistor rows in the stack with isolated Nwells and Pwells.

Method for radiation tolerance by logic book folding

A semiconductor storage array has a first array portion on a first plane of circuitry and a second array portion on a second plane of circuitry. A composite bit line and/or a composite word line is divided and arranged to have a first portion on the first array portion and a second portion on the second array portion. The two portions of the composite word line or the composite bit line are on different planes of circuitry, and three-dimensional interconnections connect proximal ends of the word line portions, or proximal ends of the bit line portions. A word line driver drives the word line portions in parallel. A bit line driver drives the bit line portions in parallel. Signal propagation times down the composite word or bit lines are significantly less than signal propagation times down corresponding undivided word or bit lines.

Array split across three-dimensional interconnected chips

The present invention provides for state correction. A first value in a state circuit is received from a flip flop. The received value is transmitted to a second flip flop. The received value within the second flip flop is altered if an error condition arises. The received value is transmitted to a third flip flop. In one aspect, the received value transmitted to the third flip flop comprises an unaltered received value. In another aspect, the received value transmitted to the third flip flop comprises transmitting an altered received value. This allows for an incorrect state within the state machine to change to a correct state after a few clock pulses.

The present invention provides for state correction. A first flip flop coupled to a second flip flop. A state correction circuit coupled to the output of the second flip flop. A third flip flop is coupled to the output of the state correction circuit. A fourth flip flop is coupled to the output of the third flip flop.

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Stewartville, MN, United States of America

Eric John Lukes