Patent ID: 7075276

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: a first circuit, disposed within an integrated circuit, the first circuit having a first positive supply rail coupled to an output terminal of a regulated power supply, the first circuit having at least one operating characteristic that is dependent upon the magnitude of a voltage that is supplied at the output terminal of the regulated power supply, the first circuit operable to provide a first signal indicative of the at least one operating characteristic at a first output terminal; and a second circuit coupled to the first output terminal of the first circuit, the second circuit adapted to receive a reference clock signal, the second circuit further adapted to compare the first signal and the reference clock signal and to provide a control signal for controlling the magnitude of the voltage that is supplied at the output terminal of the regulated power supply; wherein the regulated power supply, responsive to the second signal, increases or decreases the magnitude of the voltage that is supplied at the output terminal of the regulated power supply, such that at least one operating characteristic of the first circuit is modified to be within a predetermined range; and wherein the regulated power supply is disposed external to the integrated circuit, the integrated circuit includes circuitry, disposed in the integrated circuit, in addition to the first and second circuits, and the output terminal of the regulated power supply is further coupled to supply power to the additional circuitry.