Lattice Semiconductor Corporation

Fulong Zhang

John Schadt

Wei Han

William B Andrews

Harold Scholz

Sreepada Hegade

Joel Coplen

Zheng Chen

Larry Fenstermaker

Ming Hui Ding

Srirama Chandra

Yu Sun

Phillip Johnson

Zheng (Jeff) Chen

Chien Kuang Chen

Ling Wang

Satwant Singh

Anthony K Myers

David A Rhein

Warren L Ziegenfus

Mark Everhard

Gordon Hands

John Gordon Hands

Barry Britton

Ravindar Mohan Lall

Gary P Powell

Ravindar Lail

Zhen Chen

Joel Copien

Hal Scholz

Ravindar Lall

Systems and methods for provisioning secure programmable logic devices (PLDs) are disclosed. An example secure PLD provisioning system includes an external system comprising a processor and a memory and configured to be coupled to a secure PLD through a configuration input/output (I/O) of the secure PLD. The external system is configured to generate a locked PLD comprising the secure PLD based, at least in part, on a request from a secure PLD customer, wherein the request from the secure PLD customer comprises a customer public key; and to provide a secured unlock package for the locked secure PLD. The external system may also be configured to provide an authenticatable key manifest comprising a customer programming key token and a corresponding programming public key associated with the locked secure PLD, wherein the authenticatable key manifest is signed using a programming private key generated by the locked secure PLD.

Key provisioning systems and methods for programmable logic devices

Systems and methods for secure booting of secure programmable logic devices (PLDs) are disclosed. An example system includes a secure PLD including programmable logic blocks (PLBs) arranged in a PLD fabric of the secure PLD, and a configuration engine configured to program the PLD fabric according to a configuration image stored in a non-volatile memory (NVM) of the secure PLD and/or coupled through a configuration input/output (I/O) of the secure PLD to the configuration engine. The secure PLD is configured to retrieve a pre-authentication status associated with the configuration image from the NVM, determine or verify the retrieved pre-authentication status associated with the configuration image includes a valid status, and boot the PLD fabric of the secure PLD using the configuration image.

Secure boot systems and methods for programmable logic devices

Various techniques are provided to implement fast boot for programmable logic devices (PLDs). In one example, a method includes performing a read operation on a non-volatile memory to obtain a first value. The method further includes comparing the value to a predetermined value to obtain a comparison result. The method further includes determining whether a boot image stored on the non-volatile memory is to be read based at least on the first comparison result. The method further includes performing, based on the determining, a read operation on the boot image to obtain data associated with booting of a device. The method further includes booting the device based at least on the data. Related systems and devices are provided.

Fast boot systems and methods for programmable logic devices

Systems and methods for failure characterization of secure programmable logic devices (PLDs) are disclosed. An example system includes a secure PLD including programmable logic blocks (PLBs) arranged in PLD fabric of the secure PLD, and a configuration engine configured to program the PLD fabric according to a configuration image stored in non-volatile memory (NVM) of the secure PLD and/or coupled through a configuration input/output (I/O) of the secure PLD. The secure PLD is configured to receive a failure characterization (FC) command from the PLD fabric or an external system coupled to the secure PLD through the configuration I/O, and to execute the FC command to, at least in part, erase and/or nullify portions of the NVM. The secure PLD may also be configured to boot a debug configuration for the PLD fabric that identifies and/or characterizes operational failures of the secure PLD.

Failure characterization systems and methods for erasing and debugging programmable logic devices

Systems and methods for asset management for secure programmable logic devices (PLDs) are disclosed. An example system includes a secure PLD including programmable logic blocks (PLBs) arranged in PLD fabric of the secure PLD, and a configuration engine configured to program the PLD fabric according to a configuration image stored in non-volatile memory (NVM) of the secure PLD and/or coupled through a configuration input/output (I/O) of the secure PLD. The secure PLD is configured to receive a secure PLD asset access request from the PLD fabric or an external system coupled to the secure PLD through the configuration I/O, and to perform a secure PLD asset update process corresponding to the secure PLD asset access request, where the performing the asset update process is based on a lock status associated with a secure PLD asset corresponding to the secure PLD asset access request.

Asset management systems and methods for programmable logic devices

Various techniques are provided to implement fast boot for programmable logic devices (PLDs). In one example, a method includes receiving configuration data associated with a PLD. The PLD includes an array of configuration memory cells including logic block memory cells and input/output (I/O) block memory cells associated with the PLD's logic fabric and I/O fabric, respectively. The method further includes programming a subset of the I/O block memory cells with the configuration data, and providing a wakeup signal to activate functionality associated with a portion of the I/O fabric. The method further includes programming remaining configuration memory cells of the array with the configuration data, where the remaining configuration memory cells include at least a subset of the logic block memory cells. The method further includes providing a wakeup signal to activate functionality associated with at least a portion of the logic fabric. Related systems and devices are provided.

In certain embodiments of the invention, a serializer has a transfer stage that transfers N-bit parallel data from a relatively slow timing domain to a relatively fast timing domain and a serializing stage that converts the parallel data into serialized data. Between the transfer stage and the serializing stage is an update stage that buffers the data and can be used to toggle the serializer between an N&#x2212;1 operating mode and an N+1 operating mode.

Serializer with multiple stages

A margin circuit for controlling skew between first and second signals in order to determine margin, includes a variable delay circuit and a margin controller. Based on a current code value, the delay circuit applies a delay to the second signal to generate a delayed second signal. The margin controller generates the current code value for the variable delay circuit to be any one of a plurality of available code values. In one embodiment, the margin circuit is a write margin circuit that generates a first clock signal and a delayed second clock signal used to generate transmit (TX) clock and data signals having a non-zero phase offset between them. In another embodiment, the margin circuit is a read margin circuit that applies a phase offset between receive (RX) clock and data signals to enable the RX clock signal to be used to recover data from the RX data signal.

In-system margin measurement circuit

In one embodiment, a configurable delay element has three stages. The first stage has an 8-buffer first delay chain and an (8&#xd7;1) first mux that selects one of the eight first-delay-chain outputs. The second stage has a 24-buffer second delay chain connected to receive the first-mux output and organized into three 8-buffer sub-chains and a (4&#xd7;1) second mux that selects one of the four second-delay-chain outputs. The third stage has a 96-buffer third delay chain connected to receive the second-mux output and organized into three 32-buffer sub-chains and a (4&#xd7;1) third mux that selects one of the four third-delay-chain outputs as the delay-element output signal. A delay-element controller provides glitch-less updates to the signal used to control the delay-element muxes by timing those updates to occur when all delay-element buffers have the same state. The controller bases the update timing on the delay-element output signal.

Low-power configurable delay element

In certain embodiments of the invention, a serializer has (a) an initial, transfer stage that transfers incoming parallel data from a relatively slow timing domain to a relatively fast timing domain and (b) a final, serializing stage that converts the parallel data into serialized data. Between the transfer stage and the serializing stage is an update stage that (i) buffers data between the initial and final stages and (ii) can be used to toggle the serializer between an N&#x2212;1 operating mode (that serializes (N&#x2212;1) bits of parallel data) and an N+1 operating mode (that serializes (N+1) bits of parallel data) to achieve a net N:1 gearing ratio where N is an odd integer. The serializer can be configurable to support other gearing ratios as well.

Serializer with odd gearing ratio

Low-power, glitch-less, configurable delay element

A flexible delay cell architecture and related methods are provided that may be used, for example, with input/output (I/O) blocks of a programmable logic device (PLD). In one implementation, a PLD includes a delay cell comprising a plurality of delay elements. The delay elements are adapted to delay an input signal to provide an output signal according to a delay setting corresponding to a number of the delay elements. The PLD also includes a register adapted to store the delay setting. The PLD further includes an edge monitor adapted to signal whether an edge transition of the output signal has occurred during a time window. In addition, the PLD includes logic adapted to adjust the delay setting stored by the register in response to the edge monitor signaling the edge transition.

Flexible delay cell architecture

In one embodiment, an integrated circuit such as an FPGA includes one or more data I/O blocks, one or more FIFOs, and a FIFO controller. At least one data I/O block receives an incoming bit stream from an external device. At least one FIFO is connected to receive a corresponding incoming bit stream from a corresponding data I/O block. The FIFO controller controls operations of the one or more FIFOs, such that (i) bits from the corresponding data I/O block are written into the at least one FIFO using a FIFO write clock that is based on an incoming clock signal and (ii) bits are read out from the at least one FIFO using a FIFO read clock that is based on a local reference clock signal.

Growing community of inventors

Willow Grove, PA, United States of America

Fulong Zhang