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Case Study on Speed Failure Causes in a Microprocessor
May-June 2008 (vol. 25 no. 3)
pp. 224-230
ASCII Text
x 
 
Kip Killpack, Suriyaprakash Natarajan, Arun Krishnamachary, Pouria Bastani, "Case Study on Speed Failure Causes in a Microprocessor," IEEE Design & Test of Computers, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 224-230, May-June, 2008.
 
 
BibTex
x
 
@article{ 10.1109/MDT.2008.61,
author = {Kip Killpack and Suriyaprakash Natarajan and Arun Krishnamachary and Pouria Bastani},
title = {Case Study on Speed Failure Causes in a Microprocessor},
journal ={IEEE Design & Test of Computers},
volume = {25},
number = {3},
issn = {0740-7475},
year = {2008},
pages = {224-230},
doi = {http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MDT.2008.61},
publisher = {IEEE Computer Society},
address = {Los Alamitos, CA, USA},
}
 
 
RefWorks Procite/RefMan/Endnote
x 
 
TY - MGZN
JO - IEEE Design & Test of Computers
TI - Case Study on Speed Failure Causes in a Microprocessor
IS - 3
SN - 0740-7475
SP224
EP230
EPD - 224-230
A1 - Kip Killpack,
A1 - Suriyaprakash Natarajan,
A1 - Arun Krishnamachary,
A1 - Pouria Bastani,
PY - 2008
KW - cross-coupling noise
KW - multiple-input switching
KW - voltage droop
KW - silicon debug
KW - critical path
KW - microprocessor
KW - diagnosis
KW - marginality
VL - 25
JA - IEEE Design & Test of Computers
ER -
 
Kip Killpack, Intel
Pouria Bastani, University of California, Santa Barbara
Fast time to market and high performance translate to improved profit margins in the microprocessor business. The microprocessor design flow first involves design and timing convergence, then several iterations of frequency pushes on silicon, and finally volume production and sale to the market. Inevitably, speed failures occur because of frequency pushes, and these are prioritized on the basis of severity. Practical aspects such as time-to-market requirements limit the magnitude of eventual frequency push based on the amount of failures that can be analyzed. The authors of this article have analyzed 56 speed failures to understand the underlying causes. Specifically, they have studied the effects of multiple-input switching, cross-coupling noise, and localized voltage droop. Understanding the causes of speed failures provides insight so that designers can develop design strategies for better power-performance tradeoffs.

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Index Terms:
cross-coupling noise, multiple-input switching, voltage droop, silicon debug, critical path, microprocessor, diagnosis, marginality
Citation:
Kip Killpack, Suriyaprakash Natarajan, Arun Krishnamachary, Pouria Bastani, "Case Study on Speed Failure Causes in a Microprocessor," IEEE Design & Test of Computers, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 224-230, May-June 2008, doi:10.1109/MDT.2008.61
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