一個超低電壓抗錯有限脈衝濾波器

Abstract

本論文基於連續性運算時間借用(Successive time-borrowing)，提出一新的時序錯誤偵測與修正(Error detection and correction) 的方式。不同於以往的方法, 此方式可被整合至現有的晶片設計流程中，而不需要額外的全客戶設計元件。另外，此方法不會有 最短路徑限制，因此不需要額外的緩衝器和控制器來防止錯誤和訊號競逐，進而降低功率與面積的額外付出。由於製程變異在低電壓區域會更為嚴重，為了展現此方法的效能，我們設計一操作在超低電壓的有限脈衝響應濾波器(FIR filter)。藉由自行設計史密特觸發元件(Schmitt-trigger cell)，讓晶片可以操作在極低電壓下，使用的製程為90nm。模擬結果顯示此方法確實可讓晶片操作在較高的頻率。

This thesis presents an error detection and correction (EDAC) scheme based on successive time-borrowing. Unlike previous work, this approach can be easily integrated with current cell-based design flow without creating full-custom cells. Moreover, it will not have short-path constraints to prevent early-transition signal from flagging as errors. Thus, delay buffers or duty-cycle controllers are not needed, reducing power and area overhead. To demonstrate the error-resiliency at ultra-low voltage region, we implemented a finite impulse response (FIR) filter with customized Schmitt-trigger cells in 90nm CMOS process. The simulation results show that the design with success time-borrowing can operate with higher frequency compared with baseline design.