Renesas Electronics Corporation

Renesas Technology Corp.

Hitachi, Ltd.

Ramtron International Corporation

Other

Hitachi Ulsi Systems Co., Ltd.

Yoshihiko Yasu

Yusuke Kanno

Hiroyuki Mizuno

Toshio Sasaki

Kenji Hirose

Kazumasa Yanagisawa

Takahiro Irita

Ryo Mori

Takashi Kuraishi

Kazuki Fukuoka

Yasuto Igarashi

Nobuhiro Oodaira

Donald J Verhaeghe

Michael W Yeager

Hiroyuki Sakai

Osamu Ozawa

Hiromi Notani

Akira Oizumi

Soichi Kobayashi

Satoru Nakanishi

Satoshi Umekita

Tomomi Ajioka

Yujiro Miyairi

Koichiro Ishibashi

Masayuki Miyazaki

Yuji Tanaka

Goichi Ono

William F Kraus

Yuri Azuma

Yasunobu Aoki

Jeffery E Downs

Mariko Ohtsuka

Toshinobu Shinbo

Kentaro Yamawaki

Toshiaki Takahira

A semiconductor integrated circuit device having a control signal system for avoiding failure to check an indefinite signal propagation prevention circuit, for facilitating a check included in an automated tool, and for facilitating a power shutdown control inside a chip. In the semiconductor integrated circuit device, power shutdown priorities are provided by independent power domains (Area A to Area I). A method for preventing a power domain having a lower priority from being turned OFF when a circuit having a high priority is turned ON is also provided.

Semiconductor integrated circuit device

A data processing device includes a load circuit including a central processing unit and operated by supplied electric power, a step-down power supply circuit stepping down an external power supply voltage and including an output node coupled to the load circuit, the step-down power supply circuit including a first step-down unit stepping down the external power supply voltage, and a bias current control circuit controlling a magnitude of bias current flowing through an auxiliary path from the output node to a ground, the auxiliary path is separate from a path to the load circuit, and a control circuit increasing the magnitude of the bias current, prior to a change of an operation state of the load circuit by which a relatively large change occurs to an amount of current consumed by the load circuit.

Data processing device and data processing system

A step down unit steps down an external power supply voltage Vcc. A bias current control circuit controls the magnitude of bias current flowing through an auxiliary path connecting an output node and the ground. A system controller increases the magnitude of the bias current, prior to a change of the operation state of a load circuit by which a relatively large change occurs to the amount of current consumed by the load circuit including a central processing unit.

Semiconductor integrated circuit device with independent power domains

A semiconductor integrated circuit device provided with a first circuit block BLK, a second circuit block DRVand a conversion circuit MIOfor connecting the first circuit block to the second circuit block. The first circuit block includes a first mode for applying a supply voltage and a second mode for shutting off the supply voltage. The conversion circuit is provided with a function for maintaining the potential of an input node of the second circuit block at an operation potential, thereby suppressing a penetrating current flow when the first circuit block is in the second mode. The conversion circuit (MIOto MIO) are commonly used for connecting circuit blocks.

Efficient reduction in power consumption is achieved by combinational implementation of a power cutoff circuit technique using power supply switch control and a DVFS technique for low power consumption. A power supply switch section fed with power supply voltage, a circuit block in which a power cutoff is performed by the power supply switch section, and a level shifter are formed in a DEEP-NWELL region formed over a semiconductor substrate. Another power supply switch section fed with another power supply voltage, a circuit block in which a power cutoff is performed by the power supply switch section, and a level shifter are formed in another DEEP-NWELL region formed over the semiconductor substrate. In this arrangement, there arises no possibility of short-circuiting between different power supplies via each DEEP-NWELL region formed over the semiconductor substrate.

Semiconductor device having a ring oscillator and MISFET for converting voltage fluctuation to frequency fluctuation

The present invention is directed to perform fine low-voltage control without largely increasing the circuit layout area in a low-power consumption structure. In the case of shifting a region to a low-speed mode, a system controller outputs a request signal and an enable signal to a power switch controller and a low-power drive circuit, respectively, to turn off a power switch and to perform a control so that the voltage level of a virtual reference potential becomes about 0.2 V to about 0.3V. The region operates on voltages between a power supply voltage and a virtual reference potential, so that it is controlled in the low-speed mode.

A technology that makes it possible to reduce fluctuation in operating voltage for operating the circuits formed in the core region of a semiconductor device is provided. This semiconductor device is so arranged that the core region is divided into multiple functional blocks and power can be supplied and this power supply can be interrupted with respect to each of the divided functional blocks. The core region formed in the semiconductor chip is divided into multiple functional blocks. A power switch row in which multiple power switches are arranged is disposed in the boundaries between the divided functional blocks. These power switches have a function of controlling the supply of reference potential to each of functional blocks and the interruption of this supply. A feature of the invention is that reference pads are disposed directly above the power switch rows. This shortens the wires coupling together the reference pads and the power switches.

Semiconductor device

Growing community of inventors

Kodaira, Japan

Yoshihiko Yasu