Lsi Logic Corporation

Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.

Verisilicon Holdings (cayman Islands) Co. Ltd.

Other

Hung Thanh Nguyen

Robert Michael Muchsel

Edward Tangkwai Ma

Shannon A Wichman

Nancy Kow Iida

Gary V Zanders

Mark Alan Lovell

Donald Wood Loomis, Iii

Sung Ung Kwak

Keith D Dang

Khankap Mounarath

Senthil K Subramanian

Mark Allen Boike

Troy Mattison Hicks

Nancy Kow Lida

Presented are systems and methods that allow hardware designers to protect valuable IP and information in the hardware domain in order to increase overall system security. In various embodiments of the invention this is accomplished by configuring logic gates of existing logic circuitry based on a key input. In certain embodiments, a logic function provides results that are dependent not only on input values but also on an encrypted logic key that determines connections for a given logic building block, such that the functionality of the logic function cannot be determined by reverse engineering. In some embodiments, the logic key is created by decrypting a piece of data using a secret or private key. Advantages of automatic encryption include that existing circuitry need not be re-implemented or re-built, and that the systems and methods presented are backward compatible with standard manufacturing tools.

Systems and methods for enhancing confidentiality via logic gate encryption

Various embodiments of the invention allow to dynamically transition between clock-driven and even-driven circuit elements to enable automatic multi-mode operation to enable low-power and high-throughput applications. In certain embodiments, dynamic transitioning is accomplished through a mode control unit that evaluates input data from a number of sources to determine whether to initiate a transition. Certain embodiments take advantage of dynamic transitioning to allow for energy harvesting in a data gathering phase by switching to high power communication phase as needed. The energy harvesting scheme is particularly suited for battery-operated applications that benefit from a reduction in overall power consumption.

Systems and methods to improve energy efficiency using adaptive mode switching

Presented are systems and methods that allow hardware designers to protect valuable IP and information in the hardware domain in order to increase overall system security. In various embodiments of the invention this is accomplished by configuring logic gates of existing logic circuitry based on a key input. In certain embodiments, a logic function provides results that are dependent not only on input values but also on an encrypted logic key that determines connections for a given logic building block, such that the functionality of the logic function cannot be determined by reverse engineering. In some embodiments, the logic key is created by decrypting a piece of data using a secret decryption key. Advantages of automatic encryption include that existing circuitry need not be re-implemented or re-built, and that the systems and methods presented are backward compatible with standard manufacturing tools.

Various embodiments of the invention allow to effectively reduce device and system power consumption in both active and inactive modes without compromising performance, without large area overhead, and at low cost. In certain embodiments, the reduction of power consumption is accomplished by combining circuit control techniques with power gating methods to reduce power loss due to leakage current.

System and method for adaptive power management

The invention relates to systems having linear regulators and methods of operating the systems. The system includes: a linear regulator responsive to an input voltage and operative to output a regulated voltage; a first circuit responsive to the regulated voltage and configured to operate at a first voltage difference between the regulated voltage and a ground level; and a second circuit responsive to the input voltage and the regulated voltage and configured to operate at a second voltage difference between the input voltage and the regulated voltage. The second circuit is coupled to the first circuit so that an entire portion of a current flowing through the second circuit is configured to enter into the first circuit during operation, wherein the current flowing through the second circuit bypasses the linear regulator.

Energy efficient systems having linear regulators and methods of operating the same

The prefabricated universal structural steel panel and panel system includes a generally elongated rectangular panel having an opposed exterior and interior surfaces, an opposed first and second end portions, and an opposed first and second side edge portions. At least two stiffening ribs are integrally formed in the panel and extend longitudinally between the first and second end portions. The first side edge portion has a beveled configuration and is integrally connected to an elongated male connecting member. An elongated female connecting member is integrally connected to the second side edge portion and extends adjacent the interior surface to define a fold. The elongated male connecting member of one panel is cooperatively profiled to mate with the female connecting member of an adjacent panel.

Prefabricated universal structural steel panel and panel system

A processor is disclosed including several features allowing the processor to simultaneously execute instructions of multiple conditional execution instruction groups. Each conditional execution instruction group includes a conditional execution instruction and a code block specified by the conditional execution instruction. In one embodiment, the processor includes multiple state machines simultaneously assignable to a corresponding number of conditional execution instruction groups. In another embodiment, the processor includes multiple registers for storing marking data pertaining to a number of instructions in each of multiple execution pipeline stages. In another embodiment, the processor includes multiple attribute queues simultaneously assignable to a corresponding number of conditional execution instruction groups. In another embodiment, the processor includes write enable logic and an execution unit. The write enable logic produces write enable signals dependent upon received attributes, and the execution unit saves results of instructions of conditional execution instruction groups dependent upon the write enable signals.

Simultaneously assigning corresponding entry in multiple queues of multi-stage entries for storing condition attributes for validating simultaneously executed conditional execution instruction groups

A system, circuit, and method are presented for evaluating conditional execution instructions. The system, circuit, and method are adapted to receive an identification instruction comprising the size and the condition of execution of a block of conditional execution instructions. The system, circuit, and method may also be coupled to determine a position and for a conditional execution instruction within a block of conditional execution instructions. The system, circuit, and method can determine whether a conditional field, in which the conditional field comprises a type of conditional execution instruction, meets a condition of execution. By determining the size of the block of conditional execution by an identification instruction and determining the type of conditional execution instruction, the system, circuit and method advantageously decreases the code density of a set of instruction, and advantageously increases the overall performance of a processor.

System and method for evaluating and efficiently executing conditional instructions

A hardware looping mechanism and method is described herein for handling any number and/or type of discontinuity instruction that may arise when executing program instructions within a scalar or superscalar processor. For example, the hardware looping mechanism may provide zero-overhead looping for branch instructions, in addition to single loop constructs and multiple loop constructs (which may or may not be nested). Zero-overhead looping may also be provided in special cases, e.g., when servicing an interrupt or executing a branch-out-of-loop instruction. In addition to reducing the number of instructions required to execute a program, as well as the overall time and power consumed during program execution, the hardware looping mechanism described herein may be integrated within any processor architecture without modifying existing program code.

Hardware looping mechanism and method for efficient execution of discontinuity instructions

For use in a wide-issue processor, a mechanism for, and method of, conditionally executing instructions and a digital signal processor (DSP) incorporating the mechanism or the method. In one embodiment, the mechanism includes: (1) a conditional execution block state machine that tags and generates link pointers for instructions located in a conditional execution block and (2) conditional link pointer registers, associated with stages in a pipeline of the processor, that contain and cause the link pointers to move therethrough as the instructions located in the conditional execution block move through the stages.

Conditional link pointer register sets marking the beginning and end of a conditional instruction block where each set corresponds to a single stage of a pipeline that moves link pointers through each corresponding register of said register sets as instructions move through the pipeline

A mechanism for, and method of, processing multiply-accumulate instructions with out-of-order completion in a pipeline, for use in a processor having an at least four-wide instruction issue architecture, and a digital signal processor (DSP) incorporating the mechanism or the method. In one embodiment, the mechanism including: (1) a multiply-accumulate unit (MAC) having an initial multiply stage and a subsequent accumulate stage and (2) out-of-order completion logic, associated with the MAC, that causes interim results produced by the multiply stage to be stored when the accumulate stage is unavailable and allows younger instructions to complete before the multiply-accumulate instructions.

Pipelined multiply-accumulate unit and out-of-order completion logic for a superscalar digital signal processor and method of operation thereof

A computer system having a hierarchical bus structure that allows decoupling of a local bus from a global bus thereof. Decoupling of the local bus is achieved through use of an asynchronous system bus adapter which includes a local bus adapter for handling transactions, initiated by a system device coupled to the global bus, that require access to a local device coupled to the local bus and a global bus adapter for handling transactions, initiated by a local device coupled to the local bus, that require access to a system device coupled to the system bus. The local bus adapter is further configured to issue signals which prevent the global bus adapter from handling transactions initiated by local devices coupled to the local bus while transactions initiated by system devices coupled to the global bus are on-going.

Asynchronous system bus adapter for a computer system having a hierarchical bus structure

A mechanism for resource allocation in a processor, a method of allocating resources in a processor and a digital signal processor incorporating the mechanism or the method. In one embodiment, the mechanism includes: (1) categorization logic, associated with an earlier pipeline stage, that generates instruction type information for instructions to be executed in the processor and (2) priority logic, associated with a later pipeline stage, that allocates functional units of the processor to execution of the instructions based on the instruction type information.

Mechanism for resource allocation in a digital signal processor based on instruction type information and functional priority and method of operation thereof

For use in a processor having an external memory interface, an instruction prefetch mechanism, a method of prefetching instructions and a digital signal processor incorporating the mechanism or the method. In one embodiment, the mechanism includes: (1) a branch predictor that predicts whether a branch is to be taken, (2) prefetch circuitry, coupled to the branch predictor, that prefetches instructions associated with the branch via the external memory interface if the branch is taken and prefetches sequential instructions via the external memory interface if the branch is not taken and (3) a loop recognizer, coupled to the prefetch circuitry, that determines whether a loop is present in fetched instructions and reinstates a validity of instructions in the loop and prevents the prefetch circuitry from prefetching instructions outside of the loop until the loop completes execution.

Efficient instruction prefetch mechanism employing selective validity of cached instructions for digital signal processor and method of operation thereof

Growing community of inventors

Plano, TX, United States of America

Hung Thanh Nguyen