Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp. Ltd.

Wei-Pin Changchein

Fu-Lung Hsueh

Chin-Chou Liu

Shu Yi Ying

Tong Kin Lam

System and method for diagnosing failures within an integrated circuit is provided. In an embodiment, the apparatus includes a diagnostic cell coupled in series with a buffer chain. The diagnostic cell includes a plurality of logic operators that when activated invert a signal received from the buffer chain. The inversion of the signal from the buffer chain allows the diagnostic cell to determine the location of a failure within an integrated circuit previously determined by a scan chain design for test methodology to contain a failure.

Method and apparatus for diagnosing an integrated circuit

Circuit and methods for automatic clock skew compensation in circuits having two power domains. When one of the power domains is operated with a lowered supply voltage, lowering the supply voltage tends to slow the clock pulse and produces clock skew. Circuitry is provided for selectively delaying the clock pulse in one of the power domains to reduce the clock skew by comparing the clock pulses, and then automatically delaying the clock pulse in one of the domains by a delay determined to minimize the skew. A method is provided where the clock skew between two clock pulses is determined and the delay needed in one of the clock pulses to reduce the skew is determined by sampling the clock skew using a plurality of delays at multiples of a minimum delay, and then automatically delaying the one clock pulse by selecting an appropriate delay. The method may be iterated.

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Taichung, Taiwan

Wei-Pin Changchein