Patent ID: 6018812
Filing Date: 2000-01-25
Classification: G06F,G11C

Abstract:
Wafer scale integrated circuitry comprising:a plurality of wafers forming a cluster thereof, each wafer comprising a plurality of operating means includinga plurality of processing means for processing information; anda network means connected to said plurality of processing means for controlling the transfer of information to and from said processing means, said network means being further connected via communication paths to the network means of each of the other ones of said plurality of wafers for controlling the transfer of information to and from network means of said other wafers;one or more redundant groups of processing means being formed on said wafers of said cluster, each redundant group being arranged so that the processing means thereof reside on different ones of said wafers;each of said processing means including means for self-testing the processing means to identify whether said processing means is operable or non-operable, each of the operable processing means of the cluster being available for operation as a single processing means or for operation as a member of a redundant group of said one or more redundant groups of processing means;each of said network means including control means for testing information transfer paths in each of said network means which permit the transfer of information to and from the processing means connected thereto in order to determine which of said information transfer paths are operable or non-operable and for testing further information transfer paths in said network means which would permit the transfer of information to and from the communication paths to the network means of said other wafers in order to determine which of said further information transfer paths are operable or non-operable;specified ones of said operable processing means being included in said one or more redundant groups, said circuitry further includingmeans for identifying said specified ones of said operable processing elements to all of the operating processing means in said cluster;each of the operable processing means in the cluster having means for storing identifications of the specified operable processing means of the cluster which are included in said one or more redundant groups and for identifying remaining unspecified ones of said operable processing means as single processing means.