The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 25, 1997
Filed:
Feb. 20, 1996
Robert H Miller, Jr, Loveland, CO (US);
John R Spencer, Loveland, CO (US);
Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
A system and method for improving alpha-particle induced soft error rates in integrated circuits is provided. Logic isolation circuits implemented using a substantially fewer number of pn-junctions are situated at the outputs of fast logic portions containing a substantially greater number of pn-junctions. The present invention reduces the vulnerability of a dynamic logic circuit of incurring alpha soft errors by effectively trading the probability of an isolation circuit composed of only a few pn-junctions incurring alpha-particle strikes with the probability of a fast logic circuit having substantially more pn-junctions incurring alpha-particle strikes. By reducing the number of pn-junctions susceptible to alpha-particle strikes, the present invention significantly lowers the potential alpha-particle induced soft error rate. In one embodiment, isolation circuits used in the present invention are implemented using self-timed logic, to reduce the window in which a circuit is logically vulnerable to alpha strikes, in which a loss of state can occur.
Data source: USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) public patent records. Weekly synchronization. How IDiyas builds this profile