Patent ID: 6253340
Filing Date: 2001-06-26
Classification: G01R

Abstract:
A method of accessing an integrated circuit, the integrated circuit including an m-dimensional structure comprising a unit circuit element in plural number, the plurality of such unit circuit elements being organized using a superstructure that comprises a plurality of substructures, the integrated circuit supporting accessing of a predetermined proportion of the m-dimensional structure using compound commands, each compound command comprising a primary command and a secondary command, the method comprising:issuing a first primary command responsive to external control signals;associating with the first primary command selected address information, the selected address information relating both to a portion of a first substructure and to a portion of the superstructure;issuing a plurality of secondary commands responsive to further external control signals;associating with each issued secondary command selected address information, the selected address information relating to a second substructure;generating one or more primary commands;generating address information relevant to the generated primary commands; andassociating with each generated primary command selected generated address information, the selected generated address information of a respective generated command relating to a portion of the first substructure and to a portion of the superstructure.