Industrial Technology Research Institute

Faraday Technology Corporation

Kun-Cheng Wu

Ruey-Liang Ma

Chien-Ming Huang

Chia-Chang Hsu

Dze-chaung Wang

Chien-kuo Tien

Ching-Tang Chang

Jia-Jio Huang

Shi-Sheng Shang

Chih-Yang Peng

Jim Jyh-Herng Wang

Chang-Chung Wu

Hanping Chen

George Shiang-Jyh Lai

Alvin Hsin-Hung Chen

Chien-Kuo Tien

A fast methodology and system to characterize setup/hold time for analog IPs are provided. Partial circuits of clock and data paths are simulated instead of the simulation of entire IPs. The partial circuits include all those paths of clock pin and data input pins before reaching first level DFF. This methodology includes multi-path searching of hierarchical SPICE netlist for the path of clock pin and data pins, so as to reduce the circuit subset, merge the paths of clock pin and the data pins, and characterize the setup/hold time for the analog IP. The paths of data pins and clock pin before DFF are used for setup/hold time characterization.

Methodology and system for setup/hold time characterization of analog IP

A method for reducing standard delay format (SDF) file size is disclosed. The state-dependent descriptions in cell descriptions of the SDF file, which are not intended to be used, are removed by referring to a design description of an integrated circuit design. Therefore, the SDF file size is reduced and the simulation result generated by a simulator is not affected with the reduced SDF file.

Method for reducing standard delay format file size

A method of generating a protected standard delay format (SDF) file is disclosed. The interconnect delay descriptions of a SDF file are backwardly or forwardly integrated into the related cell delay descriptions according to their interconnection type to generate the protected SDF file. The total delay value of each signal path is the same as original, so that the simulation result generated by a simulator is not affected.

Method of generating protected standard delay format file

A processor is provided with a decoder, a memory connected to the decoder and an execution stage connected to the decoder. The decoder receives each instruction. Each time the decoder receives an instruction, if the instruction contains a symbolic reference, the decoder determines whether or not the symbolic reference has been resolved into a numeric operand. If the symbolic reference has been resolved into a numeric operand, the memory retrieves, from a numeric reference table, a numeric operand to which the symbolic reference has been resolved. The execution stage then executes the instruction on the retrieved numeric operand in place of the symbolic reference. If the symbolic reference has not been resolved into a numeric operand, then the execution stage searches a data object, which relates each symbolic reference to a memory slot in which a corresponding numeric operand is stored, for a numeric reference relating the symbolic reference to a corresponding numeric operand. The memory then retrieves the numeric operand, that corresponds to the unresolved symbolic reference, from the memory slot indicated by the numeric reference of the data object. The memory stores the retrieved numeric operand in the numeric reference table maintained therein. The execution stage executes the instruction on the retrieved numeric operand in place of the symbolic reference of the instruction and indicates to the decoder that the symbolic reference is resolved. &ldquo;Resolved indications,&rdquo; which each indicates whether or not a specific, respective symbolic reference is resolved, can be stored in a numeric reference buffer and accessed using the instruction fetch address as an index. The numeric reference table can also be stored in the numeric reference buffer and accessed (indexed) the same way.

Intermediate instruction execution processor which resolves symbolic references without modifying intermediate instruction code

A processor architecture is disclosed including a fetcher, packet unit and branch target buffer. The branch target buffer is provided with a tag RAM that is organized in a set associative fashion. In response to receiving a search address, multiple sets in the tag RAM are simultaneously searched for a branch instruction that is predicted to be taken. The packet unit has a queue into which fetched cache blocks are stored containing instructions. Sequentially fetched cache blocks are stored in adjacent locations of the queue. The queue entries also have indicators that indicate whether or not a starting or final data word of an instruction sequence is contained in the queue entry and if so, an offset indicating the particular starting or final data word. In response, the packet unit concatenates data words of an instruction sequence into contiguous blocks. The fetcher generates a fetch address for fetching a cache block from the instruction cache containing instructions to be executed. The fetcher also generates a search address for output to the branch target buffer. In response to the branch target buffer detecting a taken branch that crosses multiple cache blocks, the fetch address is increased so that it points to the next cache block to be fetched but the search address is maintained the same.

System for packing variable length instructions into fixed length blocks

Branch prediction and fetch mechanism for variable length instruction,

An improved method and apparatus for buffering and issuing instructions for use with superscalar microprocessors are disclosed. The method comprises the steps of: (a) obtaining an instruction buffer comprising a plurality of entries, each entry comprising a random access memory (RAM) portion and a content addressable memory (CAM) portion for storing result data and source operand tag, respectively, wherein the CAM portion also contains means for linking with an associated RAM portion and the result data contains an instruction; (b) providing a result bus capable of transmitting the result data and a result tag; (c) matching the result tag in the result bus with the source operand tag in the CAM, and writing the result data into the RAM portion of an entry if the result tag in the result bus matches the source operand tag of an associated CAM portion; and (d) issuing ready instructions and changing the source operand tag in a corresponding CAM in such a manner that the entry containing the CAM will be identified as an empty entry so as to all new instruction to be written thereto. Because instructions are stored in the RAM in an out-of-order, a linear systolic array is provided so as to keep the sequence of instructions in order. The linear systolic array, which can be easily compressed, allows the prioritization of instructions for issue among ready instructions, and the handling branch mis-prediction and faults to be implemented.

Method for buffering and issuing instructions for use in

Growing community of inventors

Hsinchu, Taiwan

Kun-Cheng Wu