Apple Inc.

Sambasivan Narayan

Wei Xu

Mohamed Hassan Abu-Rahma

Rohan U Mandrekar

Victor Zyuban

Per Hakan Hammarlund

Antonietta Oliva

Jamie L Langlinais

Suparn Vats

Jaroslav Raszka

Alexander B Uan-Zo-li

Karthik Rajagopal

Manoj Gopalan

Sung J Kim

Mini Nanua

Sangeetha Mani

Robert O Bruckner

Hans L Yeager

A power delivery sub-system included in a computer system employs a primary voltage regulator circuit that generates a primary supply voltage on a primary power supply node. The power delivery sub-system also includes multiple bypass voltage regulator circuits that source corresponding bypass currents to a local power supply nodes in an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit includes multiple circuit blocks coupled to corresponding ones of the local power supply nodes, and multiple local voltage regulator circuits coupled to the primary power supply node. When a voltage level of a given local power supply node drops below a threshold value, a corresponding local voltage regulator circuit sources a supply current to the given local power supply node.

Merged power delivery

A device is disclosed that includes a circuit block coupled to a local power node, and a power gating circuit coupled between the local power node and a global power supply. In one embodiment, the power gating circuit includes a first plurality of first switching devices with a first threshold voltage, and a second plurality of second switching devices with a second threshold voltage that is different from the first voltage threshold. The power gating circuit may isolate the local power node from the global power supply based on an isolation signal.

Method for power gating for wide dynamic voltage range operation

Embodiments of an electromigration (EM) check scheme to reduce a pessimism on current density limits by checking wire context. This methodology, in an embodiment, includes applying existing electronic design automation (EDA) flows and tools to identify potentially-failing wires based on a worst-case EM check using conservative foundry current density limits. A more accurate, context-specific check can be performed on the potentially-failing wires to eliminate one or more of the potentially-failing wires if those wires do not experience worst-case conditions and meet current density limits based on an actual context of those wires. A designer can correct remaining wires which are not eliminated by the context-specific check.

Context-aware reliability checks

Growing community of inventors

Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Sambasivan Narayan