Patent ID: 7973556

Claim:
A method of operating an integrated circuit comprising a circuit block configurable by a configuration memory, the method comprising: determining whether to operate the circuit block in a normal operation mode or a low power mode; based on the determining, loading the configuration memory with normal operation mode configuration data for the circuit block, if the normal operation mode is determined; wherein the loading of the configuration memory with normal operation mode configuration data includes storing the normal operation mode configuration data in a set of configuration memory cells; wherein the normal operation mode configuration data in the set of configuration memory cells configures the circuit block to generate an output signal as a function of one or more input signals; enabling performance of the function provided by the circuit block in response to the normal operation mode configuration data loaded in the set of configuration memory cells; based on the determining, loading the configuration memory with low power mode configuration data for the circuit block, if the low power mode is determined; wherein the low power mode configuration data is different from the normal operation mode configuration data; wherein the loading of the configuration memory with low power mode configuration data includes storing the low power mode configuration data in the set of configuration memory cells; and disabling performance of the function provided by the circuit block in response to the low power mode configuration data loaded in the set of configuration memory cells.