	US 12,301,229 B2
	Adaptive voltage scaling using temperature and performance sensors
Jose Luis Flores, Richardson, TX (US); Anthony Martin Hill, Dallas, TX (US); and Francisco Adolfo Cano, Sugar Land, TX (US)
Assigned to TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED, Dallas, TX (US)
Filed by TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED, Dallas, TX (US)
Filed on Mar. 29, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/369,360.
Application 16/369,360 is a division of application No. 14/103,171, filed on Dec. 11, 2013, abandoned.
Claims priority of provisional application 61/736,217, filed on Dec. 12, 2012.
Prior Publication US 2019/0229732 A1, Jul. 25, 2019
Int. Cl. G06F 1/324 (2019.01); G01R 31/317 (2006.01); G06F 1/20 (2006.01); G06F 1/3296 (2019.01); H03K 19/00 (2006.01)

CPC H03K 19/0016 (2013.01) [G01R 31/31725 (2013.01); G01R 31/31727 (2013.01); G06F 1/206 (2013.01); G06F 1/324 (2013.01); G06F 1/3296 (2013.01); Y02D 10/00 (2018.01)]

15 Claims

1. A semiconductor device comprising:

a semiconductor die that includes:

a logic circuit;

a power supply voltage source to supply a power supply voltage to the logic circuit;

a temperature sensor;

a performance sensor;

a memory to store a set of data including first calibration data that correlates calibration settings of the performance sensor with respective operating frequency frequencies of the logic circuit and second calibration data that correlates the calibration settings of the performance sensor with respective die temperature ranges, wherein the set of data is representative of minimum power supply voltages indexed by respective ranges of the operating frequencies and respective ranges of the die temperatures in a lookup table stored in the memory; and

adaptive voltage scaling circuitry configured to:

receive an expected operating frequency of the logic circuit;

receive an initial performance metric based on a measurement by the performance sensor;

receive an initial temperature of the die based on a measurement by the temperature sensor;

load the first and second calibration data;

set the performance sensor to a calibration setting based on the expected operating frequency of the logic circuit using the first calibration data;

determine a current die temperature based on a measurement by the temperature sensor;

determine whether the current die temperature is within the die temperature range associated with the calibration setting based on the second calibration data;

in response to the current die temperature being within the die temperature range associated with the calibration setting, determine a current performance metric based on a measurement by the performance sensor;

in response to the current die temperature not being within the die temperature range associated with the calibration setting, load updated first calibration data to the lookup table for the current die temperature;

determine that the current performance metric does not match an expected performance metric based at least partially on the current die temperature and indicate a performance sensor error; and

identify an updated power supply voltage for correcting the performance sensor error as a voltage entry of the lookup table that corresponds to a current operating frequency and the current die temperature, and cause a current power supply voltage supplied by the power supply voltage source to be changed to the updated power supply voltage.