Abstract:
In some embodiments, an apparatus comprises a thermal sensor to detect a first temperature reading at a location proximate a buffer circuit at a first point in time and to detect a second temperature reading at a location proximate a buffer circuit at a second point in time, logic to generate a buffer compensation activation signal when the second temperature reading differs from the first temperature reading by an amount exceeding a threshold, and logic to transmit the buffer compensation activation signal to a buffer compensation module. Other embodiments are described.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    The subject matter described herein relates generally to the field of integrated circuits and more particularly to systems and methods for buffer compensation activation. 
         [0002]    Computer systems typically include a number of integrated circuits such as, e.g., a processor, one or more memory devices, and one or more input-output or I/O devices. The various integrated circuits communicate through one or more bus structures. A bus may include a set of control lines and a set of data lines. The control lines carry signals representing requests and acknowledgments and signals to indicate what type of data is on the data lines. The data lines carry data, complex commands, or addresses. Communication over the bus structure may be managed by a protocol, which is a set of rules governing communication over the bus that are implemented and enforced by a device that is appointed a bus master. 
         [0003]    Communication signals may be exchanged between a sender and a receiver over a bus. The sender may include a driver, such as an output buffer, connected to each bus line to which it sends signals. The receiver may include an input buffer connected to each bus line from which it receives signals. When the sender transmits a signal on a particular line, the sender directs the appropriate output buffer to bring the line to a suitable voltage, e.g., either high or low. The receiver detects the signal voltage to complete the communication. The signal may be reflected at the receiver if an impedance of the output buffer is different from a characteristic impedance of the line. Signal reflection slows the operation of the bus and the computer system. 
         [0004]    Signal reflection in high speed bus structures may be reduced by matching, to the extent possible, the impedance of devices connected to the bus lines with the characteristic impedance of the bus lines. One technique of reducing reflection on a bus line is to damp or dissipate signal reflections with a termination in an output buffer connected to the bus line. A termination is a dissipating or damping load, e.g., a resistive device, the impedance of which matches the impedance of the line, thereby reducing a difference between the impedance of the output buffer and the characteristic impedance of the line. 
         [0005]    Signal transfer performance also may be improved by establishing a substantially uniform slew rate in the output buffers connected to the bus lines. The slew rate refers to the rate of change of voltage (i.e., voltage change/time) that an output buffer can generate at a terminal on a bus line when the output buffer is changing a signal state on the bus line. The slew rate may be referred to as a rise time (i.e., low to high) or a fall time (i.e., high to low) of the signal. A slew rate may be selected for the bus, and the output buffers connected to the bus may then be selected to have a substantially similar slew rate to support high speed signal transfer on the bus. 
         [0006]    Selecting output buffers may be difficult because the output impedance and the slew rate of an output buffer can each change due to variations in process, supply voltage, and temperature. Fabrication process parameters can affect the slew rate of an output buffer as well, as the resistance of transistors or resistors in the output buffer. In addition, an integrated circuit will operate more slowly with a low supply voltage and at a high temperature. Conversely, a high supply voltage and a low temperature will cause the chip to operate more rapidly. 
         [0007]    Buffers may be impedance compensated to address problems associated with the changes in operating conditions such as process, voltage and temperature. Impedance compensated input/output buffers address the problems associated with varying conditions by providing mechanisms to help maintain characteristics of input/output buffer drivers over a wide range of operating conditions. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    The detailed description is provided with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number may identify the figure in which the reference number first appears. The use of the same reference numbers in different figures may indicate similar or identical items. 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of an exemplary computing device adapted to perform buffer compensation activation operations in accordance with some embodiments. 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a schematic illustration of an integrated circuit device adapted to perform buffer compensation activation operations in accordance with some embodiments. 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating buffer compensation activation operations that may be performed by the systems of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  in accordance with some embodiments. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a schematic illustration of a computing device in accordance with some embodiments. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    Described herein are exemplary systems and methods for buffer compensation activation in integrated circuit devices. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the various embodiments may be practiced without the specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been illustrated or described in detail so as not to obscure the particular embodiments. 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of a computing system  100  adapted to perform buffer compensation activation operations according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, system  100  includes a computing device  108  and one or more accompanying input/output devices including a display  102  having a screen  104 , one or more speakers  106 , a keyboard  110 , one or more other I/O device(s)  112 , and a mouse  114 . The other I/O device(s)  112  may include a touch screen, a voice-activated input device, a track ball, and any other device that allows the system  100  to receive input from a user. 
         [0015]    The computing device  108  includes system hardware  120  and memory  130 , which may be implemented as random access memory and/or read-only memory. A file store  180  may be communicatively coupled to computing device  108 . File store  180  may be internal to computing device  108  such as, e.g., one or more hard drives, CD-ROM drives, DVD-ROM drives, or other types of storage devices. File store  180  may also be external to computer  108  such as, e.g., one or more external hard drives, network attached storage, or a separate storage network. 
         [0016]    System hardware  120  may include one or more processors  122 , video controllers  124 , network interfaces  126 , and bus structures  128 . In some embodiments, processor  122  may be embodied as an Intel® Pentium IV® processor available from Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, Calif., USA. As used herein, the term “processor” means any type of computational element, such as but not limited to, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instruction set (RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, or any other type of processor or processing circuit. 
         [0017]    Graphics controller  124  may function as an adjunction processor that manages graphics and/or video operations. Graphics controller  124  may be integrated onto the motherboard of computing system  100  or may be coupled via an expansion slot on the motherboard. 
         [0018]    In some embodiments, network interface  126  could be a wired interface such as an Ethernet interface (see, e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers/IEEE 802.3-2002) or a wireless interface such as an IEEE 802.11a, b or g-compliant interface (see, e.g., IEEE Standard for IT-Telecommunications and information exchange between systems LAN/MAN—Part II: Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) specifications Amendment  4 : Further Higher Data Rate Extension in the 2.4 GHz Band, 802.11G-2003). Another example of a wireless interface would be a general packet radio service (GPRS) interface (see, e.g., Guidelines on GPRS Handset Requirements, Global System for Mobile Communications/GSM Association, Ver. 3.0.1, December 2002). 
         [0019]    Bus structures  128  connect various components of system hardware  128 . In some embodiments, bus structures  128  may be one or more of several types of bus structure(s) including a memory bus, a peripheral bus or external bus, and/or a local bus using any variety of available bus architectures including, but not limited to, 11-bit bus, Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA), Micro-Channel Architecture (MSA), Extended ISA (EISA), Intelligent Drive Electronics (IDE), VESA Local Bus (VLB), Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), Universal Serial Bus (USB), Advanced Graphics Port (AGP), Personal Computer Memory Card International Association bus (PCMCIA), and Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI). 
         [0020]    Memory  130  may include an operating system  140  for managing operations of computing device  108 . In some embodiments, operating system  140  includes a hardware interface module  154  that provides an interface to system hardware  120 . In addition, operating system  140  may include a file system  150  that manages files used in the operation of computing device  108  and a process control subsystem  152  that manages processes executing on computing device  108 . 
         [0021]    Operating system  140  may include (or manage) one or more communication interfaces that may operate in conjunction with system hardware  120  to transceive data packets and/or data streams from a remote source. Operating system  140  may further include a system call interface module  142  that provides an interface between the operating system  140  and one or more application modules resident in memory  130 . Operating system  140  may be embodied as a UNIX operating system or any derivative thereof (e.g., Linux, Solaris, etc.) or as a Windows® brand operating system, or other operating systems. 
         [0022]    In some embodiments, the computing device  108  may be embodied as a personal computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant, a mobile telephone, an entertainment device, or another computing device. 
         [0023]    In some embodiments, memory  130  includes one or more application modules  162  to execute one or more applications on computing system  100 . Memory  130  may further include a buffer compensation activation module  162  to generate a buffer compensation activation signal when one or more environmental variables in the computing system change by a threshold amount. In some embodiments, the buffer compensation activation module  164  generates and transmits a buffer compensation activation signal to a buffer compensation module when a temperature reading changes by a threshold value. 
         [0024]      FIG. 2  is a schematic illustration of an integrated circuit device  200  adapted to perform buffer compensation activation operations in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments,  FIG. 2  may be one component of a computing system  100  depicted in  FIG. 1 . In some embodiments, integrated circuit device  200  may be implemented as a microprocessor. 
         [0025]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , integrated includes one or more thermal sensors  210  to detect temperature readings proximate the integrated circuit device. In some embodiments, thermal sensor(s) may be implemented as one or more thermocouples incorporated into the die of the integrated circuit device. The thermal sensor(s) may be located physically proximate one or more input/output (I/O) buffers on integrated circuit device  200 . Integrated circuit device  200  may further include a register  212  coupled to thermal sensor(s)  210  and a memory module such as a random operational memory (ROM)  214 , which also may be coupled to thermal sensor(s)  210 . 
         [0026]    Integrated circuit device  200  may further include a processor unit  216  coupled to register  212  and to ROM  214 . Processor unit  216  is intended to present a broad category of microprocessor circuits comprising a wide range of microprocessor functions. Processor  216  may be embodied as an Intel® Pentium IV® processor available from Intel Corporation, Santa Clara, Calif., USA. As used herein, the term “processor” means any type of computational element, such as but not limited to, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, a reduced instruction set (RISC) microprocessor, a very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, or any other type of processor or processing circuit. 
         [0027]    Processor  216  may be coupled to a phase lock loop (PLL) circuit  218 , which in turn may be coupled to an external clock  230 . External clock  230  provides a clock signal to the PLL circuit  218 . The PLL circuit  218  permits fine tuning and variable frequency adjustment of the input clock signal. Specifically, the PLL circuit  218  receives a value, and increases or decreases the frequency based on the value received. The PLL circuit  218  is intended to represent a broad category of frequency adjustment circuits, which are well known in the art and will not be described further. The output of the PLL circuit  218  may correspond to the microprocessor system clock, which may be input to the processor unit  216 . 
         [0028]    Integrated circuit device  200  may further include one or more input/output (I/O) modules  220  coupled to processor unit  216 . I/O module  220  may be coupled to one or more integrated circuits  240  via a communication bus  242 . As described above, I/O module may include one or more input/output buffers to facilitate communication over bus  242 . Integrated circuit device  200  may further include a buffer compensation module  214  coupled to processor unit  216  and to I/O module  220 . In some embodiments, buffer compensation module  214  may include a buffer compensation circuit and logic block that adjusts the slew rate and/or the impedance value of one or more buffers in I/O module  220 . 
         [0029]      FIG. 3  is a flowchart illustrating buffer compensation activation operations that may be performed by the systems of  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the operations of  FIG. 3  may be implemented as logic instructions stored on a computer-readable medium such as, e.g., the memory  130  of computer system  100  depicted in  FIG. 1 , or in the ROM  214  of the integrated circuit device  200  depicted in  FIG. 2 . The logic instructions, when executed by a processor such as the processor  122  or processor unit  216 , configure the processor to perform the operations described in  FIG. 3 . Hence, the memory modules and processor constitute structure for performing the operations. In some embodiments the logic instructions may be configured into a programmable device such as, for example, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or reduced to hard-wired logic circuitry. 
         [0030]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , at operation  305  an initial temperature reading is detected, and at operation  310  the temperature reading may be stored in a memory location. In some embodiments, a reading from thermal sensor(s)  210  may be stored in register  310 . In practice, thermal sensor  210  may generate a signal directly indicative of a temperature proximate a buffer circuit. Alternatively, thermal sensor(s)  210  may generate a signal such, as e.g., a voltage value that is representative of a temperature. 
         [0031]    At operation  315  a current temperature is detected. In some embodiments, the current temperature may be detected by the same thermal sensor(s) used to obtain the initial temperature reading. In some embodiments the current temperature may be obtained by a different thermal sensor(s)  210 . 
         [0032]    If, at operation  320 , a difference between the current temperature reading (T N ) and the previous temperature at the time of the prior buffer compensation (T N-1 ) does not exceed a threshold, then no buffer compensation is performed. Control then passes back to operation  315  and a new current temperature is detected from thermal sensor(s)  210 . In some embodiments, the threshold may be determined as a design parameter by a manufacturer of an integrated circuit device. The threshold may represent a temperature value, or a temperature rate-of-change value. 
         [0033]    By contrast, if at operation  320  the different between the current temperature (T N ) and the previous temperature (T N-1 ) exceeds a threshold, then control passes to operation  325  and the current temperature reading is stored in a suitable memory module as the new T N-1 . Control then passes to operation  330  and a buffer compensation activation signal is generated. In some embodiments, the buffer compensation signal may include information such as, e.g., the previous temperature, the current temperature, and the temperature difference. In some embodiments, the buffer compensation signal may omit additional information. At operation  335  the buffer compensation activation signal is transmitted to the buffer compensation module  214 . In response, buffer compensation module may implement a buffer compensation routine to modify operating parameters such as, e.g., the slew rate and/or the impedance of one or more I/O buffers proximate thermal sensor(s)  210 . Control then may pass back to operation  315 . 
         [0034]    Thus, the operations of  FIG. 3  provide a control loop which monitors temperature readings proximate one or more I/O buffers and generates a buffer compensation activation signal when a change in temperature exceeds a threshold. The control loop may be activated when power is supplied to the integrated circuit device  200 . 
         [0035]    In some embodiments, the control loop may also monitor voltage parameters in the I/O buffers and may generate a buffer compensation activation signal when a change in voltage exceeds a threshold. 
         [0036]      FIG. 4  is a schematic illustration of a computer system  400  in accordance with some embodiments. The computer system  400  includes a computing device  402  and a power adapter  404  (e.g., to supply electrical power to the computing device  402 ). The computing device  402  may be any suitable computing device such as a laptop (or notebook) computer, a personal digital assistant, a desktop computing device (e.g., a workstation or a desktop computer), a rack-mounted computing device, and the like. 
         [0037]    Electrical power may be provided to various components of the computing device  402  (e.g., through a computing device power supply  406 ) from one or more of the following sources: one or more battery packs, an alternating current (AC) outlet (e.g., through a transformer and/or adaptor such as a power adapter  404 ), automotive power supplies, airplane power supplies, and the like. In some embodiments, the power adapter  404  may transform the power supply source output (e.g., the AC outlet voltage of about 110VAC to 240VAC) to a direct current (DC) voltage ranging between about 7VDC to 12.6VDC. Accordingly, the power adapter  404  may be an AC/DC adapter. 
         [0038]    The computing device  402  may also include one or more central processing unit(s) (CPUs)  408  coupled to a bus  410 . In some embodiments, the CPU  408  may be one or more processors in the Pentium® family of processors including the Pentium® II processor family, Pentium® III processors, Pentium® IV processors available from Intel® Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif. Alternatively, other CPUs may be used, such as Intel&#39;s Itanium®, XEON™, and Celeron® processors. Also, one or more processors from other manufactures may be utilized. Moreover, the processors may have a single or multi core design. 
         [0039]    A chipset  412  may be coupled to the bus  410 . The chipset  412  may include a memory control hub (MCH)  414 . The MCH  414  may include a memory controller  416  that is coupled to a main system memory  418 . The main system memory  418  stores data and sequences of instructions that are executed by the CPU  408 , or any other device included in the system  400 . In some embodiments, the main system memory  418  includes random access memory (RAM); however, the main system memory  418  may be implemented using other memory types such as dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), and the like. Additional devices may also be coupled to the bus  410 , such as multiple CPUs and/or multiple system memories. 
         [0040]    The MCH  414  may also include a graphics interface  420  coupled to a graphics accelerator  422 . In some embodiments, the graphics interface  420  is coupled to the graphics accelerator  422  via an accelerated graphics port (AGP). In some embodiments, a display (such as a flat panel display)  440  may be coupled to the graphics interface  420  through, for example, a signal converter that translates a digital representation of an image stored in a storage device such as video memory or system memory into display signals that are interpreted and displayed by the display. The display  440  signals produced by the display device may pass through various control devices before being interpreted by and subsequently displayed on the display. 
         [0041]    A hub interface  424  couples the MCH  414  to an input/output control hub (ICH)  426 . The ICH  426  provides an interface to input/output (I/O) devices coupled to the computer system  400 . The ICH  426  may be coupled to a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus. Hence, the ICH  426  includes a PCI bridge  428  that provides an interface to a PCI bus  430 . The PCI bridge  428  provides a data path between the CPU  408  and peripheral devices. Additionally, other types of I/O interconnect topologies may be utilized such as the PCI Express™ architecture, available through Intel® Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif. 
         [0042]    The PCI bus  430  may be coupled to an audio device  432  and one or more disk drive(s)  434 . Other devices may be coupled to the PCI bus  430 . In addition, the CPU  408  and the MCH  414  may be combined to form a single chip. Furthermore, the graphics accelerator  422  may be included within the MCH  414  in some embodiments. As yet another alternative, the MCH  414  and ICH  426  may be integrated into a single component, along with a graphics interface  420 . 
         [0043]    Additionally, other peripherals coupled to the ICH  426  may include, in some embodiments, integrated drive electronics (IDE) or small computer system interface (SCSI) hard drive(s), universal serial bus (USB) port(s), a keyboard, a mouse, parallel port(s), serial port(s), floppy disk drive(s), digital output support (e.g., digital video interface (DVI)), and the like. Hence, the computing device  402  may include volatile and/or nonvolatile memory. 
         [0044]    The terms “logic instructions” as referred to herein relates to expressions which may be understood by one or more machines for performing one or more logical operations. For example, logic instructions may comprise instructions which are interpretable by a processor compiler for executing one or more operations on one or more data objects. However, this is merely an example of machine-readable instructions and embodiments are not limited in this respect. 
         [0045]    The terms “computer readable medium” as referred to herein relates to media capable of maintaining expressions which are perceivable by one or more machines. For example, a computer readable medium may comprise one or more storage devices for storing computer readable instructions or data. Such storage devices may comprise storage media such as, for example, optical, magnetic or semiconductor storage media. However, this is merely an example of a computer readable medium and embodiments are not limited in this respect. 
         [0046]    The term “logic” as referred to herein relates to structure for performing one or more logical operations. For example, logic may comprise circuitry which provides one or more output signals based upon one or more input signals. Such circuitry may comprise a finite state machine which receives a digital input and provides a digital output, or circuitry which provides one or more analog output signals in response to one or more analog input signals. Such circuitry may be provided in an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or field programmable gate array (FPGA). Also, logic may comprise machine-readable instructions stored in a memory in combination with processing circuitry to execute such machine-readable instructions. However, these are merely examples of structures which may provide logic and embodiments are not limited in this respect. 
         [0047]    Some of the methods described herein may be embodied as logic instructions on a computer-readable medium. When executed on a processor, the logic instructions cause a processor to be programmed as a special-purpose machine that implements the described methods. The processor, when configured by the logic instructions to execute the methods described herein, constitutes structure for performing the described methods. Alternatively, the methods described herein may be reduced to logic on, e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or the like. 
         [0048]    In the description and claims, the terms coupled and connected, along with their derivatives, may be used. In particular embodiments, connected may be used to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact with each other. Coupled may mean that two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contact. However, coupled may also mean that two or more elements may not be in direct contact with each other, but yet may still cooperate or interact with each other. 
         [0049]    Reference in the specification to “some embodiments” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least an implementation. The appearances of the phrase “in some embodiments” in various places in the specification may or may not be all referring to the same embodiment. 
         [0050]    Although embodiments have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that claimed subject matter may not be limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as sample forms of implementing the claimed subject matter.