CN115808641A - Electric leakage detection method of circuit and processing system thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The application discloses a leakage detection method of a circuit and a processing system thereof, wherein the method comprises the steps of obtaining a plurality of cross-domain connections according to an element connection table and power mode information; obtaining a checking path according to the cross-domain link and the power mode information; and judging whether the checking path has the electric leakage risk or not, and outputting a detection result.

Description

Electric leakage detection method of circuit and processing system thereof

Technical Field

A circuit processing method and system, and more particularly, to a circuit leakage detection method and system.

Background

The design of the integrated circuit (ic) is divided into functional blocks, each of which has its own frequency and operating voltage. The independent functional blocks are called power domains (power domains). The power domains without working configuration will be put into sleep or reduced frequency, so as to reduce the overall power consumption.

In general, when designing a power domain circuit, an isolation device (isolated cell) is required to be added in two power domains to ensure that the power domains with different operating states do not interfere with each other. If no isolation element is disposed between the two power domains, it may cause the generation of a drain current (leakage current) of the power domains or the triggering of an error signal. In the circuit design process, a large amount of calculation cost is consumed for the detection of the isolation element.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above, according to some embodiments, a leakage detection method for a circuit is provided, which is used to detect whether there is a leakage risk between power domains of the circuit in a specific power mode. If the leakage risk exists, the related prompt of the leakage risk is output to ensure that each power domain cannot interfere with other power domains and the operation cost of circuit detection is reduced.

In some embodiments, a method for leakage detection in a circuit includes obtaining a plurality of cross-domain connections based on a component interconnection table and power mode information, wherein the power mode information includes a plurality of power modes, a plurality of power domains, and a plurality of domain states; in each power mode, each power domain corresponds to the domain state; the domain state is closed or power-receiving, and the power domain corresponding to the domain state is a power receiving domain and a power closing domain; each cross-domain connection is a circuit connection spanning two of the power domains; obtaining a plurality of checking paths according to the cross-domain link and the power mode, wherein the connection domain state of each checking path is a power supply receiving domain or a power supply closing domain; and judging whether the checking path and the connected power receiving domain have electric leakage risks or not, and outputting a detection result. The leakage detection method of the circuit does not need to monitor input signals and set separation elements, so that the whole detection simulation time can be shortened.

In some embodiments, the power receiving domain includes a connecting element, the connecting element is connected to the checking path, and the step of determining whether the power receiving domain has a leakage risk includes: judging whether the end point of the connection element connected by the checking path is the gate of the field effect transistor; if the judgment result is yes, the detection result is electric leakage; if the judgment result is negative, the detection result is no electric leakage.

In some embodiments, the step of outputting the detection result comprises: and switching the power domain and the domain state according to the power mode information.

In some embodiments, a processing system of a leakage detection method includes a storage device and a processor. The storage element is used for storing the leakage detection method, the detection result, the power mode information and the element connection table; the processor executes the leakage detection method.

In some embodiments, the power receiving domain includes a connection component connected to the verification path.

In some embodiments, the processor determines whether the terminal of the connection element connected by the verification path is a gate of the field effect transistor; if the result is yes, the detection result is electric leakage; if the judgment result is negative, the detection result is no electric leakage.

In some embodiments, a leakage detection method and a processing system for a circuit are used for detecting whether leakage is possible between power domains of the circuit in different power modes, and generating a prompt of a corresponding position so that a circuit designer can add a blocking element to the corresponding position. The leakage detection method of the circuit can be independent software, and can also be combined with the existing circuit software in a plug-in (plug-in) suite mode and the like.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a system architecture diagram according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating power domains, cross-domain links, and check paths according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating power mode information according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a circuit detection operation according to an embodiment.

Fig. 5A is a schematic diagram of cross-domain connection between a first power domain and a second power domain according to an embodiment.

Fig. 5B is a schematic diagram of checking paths of the first power domain and the second power domain according to an embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation flow of leakage detection according to an embodiment.

Fig. 7A is a diagram illustrating a domain state, a cross-domain connection, and a checking path of a first power domain according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7B is a diagram illustrating domain states, cross-domain connections, and check paths of a second power domain according to an embodiment.

Fig. 7C is a diagram illustrating a domain state of a second power domain, another cross-domain connection, and another checking path according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating domain states, cross-domain connections, and check paths of a first power domain according to an embodiment.

Fig. 8B is a diagram illustrating a domain state, cross-domain connection, and a checking path of a second power domain according to an embodiment.

Fig. 8C is a diagram illustrating a domain state, a cross-domain connection, and a checking path of a third power domain according to an embodiment.

Description of the symbols

100 leakage detection system

110 storage element

111 circuit test procedure

112, detection result

113 component connection list

114 power mode information

120 processor

211. 511, 711, 811 first Power Domain

221. 521, 721, 821A second Power Domain

231. 831 third Power Domain

214. 515, A, B, C, D Cross-Domain connection

215. 516, A ', B', C ', D' checking path

251. 252, 253 interface pins

513 first interface pin

514: second interface pin

517 first field effect transistor

518 second field effect transistor

519 third field effect transistor

S410-S442, S610-640

LV, rstb 12, C ', D' pins

Detailed Description

Please refer to fig. 1, which is a schematic diagram of a system architecture according to an embodiment. In some embodiments, the electrical leakage detection system 100 of the circuit includes a storage device 110 and a processor 120. The processor 120 is electrically coupled to the storage device 110. The storage device 110 stores a circuit detection program 111, a detection result 112, a device link table 113 (netlist), and power mode information 114 (power mode information).

The device interconnection table 113 includes a plurality of electronic devices (without reference numbers, see examples in fig. 5A and 5B, fig. 7A, fig. 7B, fig. 7C, fig. 8A, and fig. 8B), a circuit structure (without reference numbers, see examples in fig. 5A, fig. 5B, fig. 7A, fig. 7B, fig. 7C, fig. 8A, and fig. 8B), an interface pin (interface pin) or a power domain (power domain), etc., as shown in fig. 2. Fig. 2 illustrates the component link table 113 in a schematic form, and the component link table 113 may be a data table or a text file. Each power domain includes a number of interface pins (251, 252, 253), a number of electronic components (not numbered), and a circuit structure (not numbered). The blocks in fig. 2 represent the power domains of the device interconnection table 113, namely, the first power domain 211, the second power domain 221 and the third power domain 231. The first power domain 211 is provided with a plurality of interface pins 251, the second power domain 221 is provided with a plurality of interface pins 252, and the third power domain 231 is provided with a plurality of interface pins 253. The interface pins (251, 252, 253) are used to set the domain states of the power domains (211, 221, 231). The circuit structure is a combination of electronic components (including a layout of electronic components or a coupling combination of electronic components).

There is at least one cross-domain connection 214 between the two power domains. The cross-domain connections 214 for each power domain are circled in fig. 2 with a short-pitch dashed oval box. In addition to the cross-domain link 214 being a circuit coupled to two power domains, the cross-domain link 214 may also be formed by a plurality of electronic components. The processor 120 detects each set of cross-domain connections 214 during the leakage detection process. The cross-domain connection 214 selected and detected by the processor 120 is referred to as a check path 215, the cross-domain connection 214 circled by a longer-pitch dashed box in fig. 2 is the check path 215, and the check path 215 is represented in the same manner by the following figures.

The power mode information 114 includes a plurality of power modes, a plurality of power domains, and a plurality of domain states, please refer to fig. 3. The power mode is used to record the current domain state of each power domain. In the same power mode, each power domain has a respective domain state. The domain state includes off or powered. The processor 120 switches the power mode to switch each power domain to the corresponding domain state.

When the domain status is off, the power domain has no operating power. The power receiving state includes not only the power during normal operation but also the operation power in various states. In some embodiments, the powered state is, for example, a low power state (low power mode), a sleep state (deep sleep mode), or a normal state (power on mode). For convenience of explaining the power domains with different domain states, the power domains are further divided into a power receiving domain and a power off domain. The power receiving domain is a power domain in a power receiving state, and the power closing domain is a power domain in a closing state.

The processor 120 executes the circuit detection program 111. The circuit detection program 111 is a computer program for implementing the leakage detection method. The leakage detection method is used to detect whether there is a risk of leakage between any two power domains of the device interconnection table 113. The circuit detection program 111 may be software for implementing the leakage detection method through a computer programming language, or may be a plug-in (plug-in) program combined with the existing circuit design software. The circuit detection program 111 switches the power domains to different domain states according to the power mode information 114, and detects whether each check path 215 of the cross-domain connection 214 has a risk of leakage. For clearly explaining the operation of this embodiment, please refer to fig. 4, which is a schematic diagram illustrating a leakage detection process of a circuit according to an embodiment. The electric leakage detection method of the circuit comprises the following steps:

step S410: obtaining a plurality of cross-domain connections according to the element connection list and the power mode information;

step S420: obtaining a plurality of checking paths according to one of the cross-domain connection and the power mode, wherein the connection domain state of each checking path is a power supply receiving domain or a power supply closing domain;

step S430: judging whether the checking path and the connected power receiving domain have electric leakage risks or not, and outputting a detection result;

step S441: if the checking path has the electric leakage risk, outputting a detection result as electric leakage; and

step S442: and if the checking path has no electric leakage risk, outputting a detection result as no electric leakage.

First, the circuit inspection program 111 loads the component connection table 113 from the storage component 110. The circuit inspection program 111 acquires at least two or more power domains from the element connection table 113. In this embodiment, two power domains, namely a first power domain 511 and a second power domain 521, are illustrated, as shown in fig. 5A. The first power domain 511 has several electronic components and a first interface pin 513. Fig. 5A and 5B only show some components connected to the first power domain 511 and the second power domain 521, and other electronic components not directly connected to each other are not listed.

The second power domain 521 has several electronic components and second interface pins 514. Similarly, although only the electronic components connected to the cross-domain connection are drawn in the second power domain 521, the electronic components are not limited to these electronic components. The first power domain 511 and the second power domain 521 have a cross-domain connection 515 therebetween. But to distinguish the electronic component connecting the verification path from other electronic components in each power domain. The electronic components that are directly connected to the verification path are referred to as connection components.

Next, the circuit detection program 111 loads the power mode information 114, the circuit detection program 111 sets the domain state of the first power domain 511 through the first interface pin 513, and the circuit detection program 111 sets the domain state of the second power domain 521 through the second interface pin 514. Referring to fig. 5B, the first power domain 511 is a power supply Guan Biyu, and the second power domain 521 is a power supply domain. Assume that the first power domain 511 and the second power domain 521 only have one set of cross-domain connections 515, and thus the cross-domain connections 515 are also check paths 516. The check path 516 can refer to the dashed block in fig. 5B. As described above, the FETs 517 and 518 in the verify path of FIG. 5A are the connecting elements.

In one embodiment, the circuit detection program 111 determines whether the check path 516 has a leakage risk according to the domain status of the two power domains 511 and 521. If the domain states of the two power domains 511 and 521 connected to the check path 516 are the same, the circuit detection program 111 can directly determine that there is no leakage risk in the check path 516. The circuit detection program 111 outputs the detection result 112 of no leakage. If the first power domain 511 is a power-off domain and the second power domain 521 is a power-receiving domain, the circuit detection program 111 determines that the checking path 516 has a leakage risk.

In one embodiment, the circuit inspection program 111 determines whether there is a risk of leakage according to the checking path and the connecting element. The circuit detection program 111 determines whether the checking path 516 is at risk of leakage according to the following steps, and matches with fig. 6.

Step S610: judging whether the connecting element on the checking path is a field effect transistor or not;

step S620: judging whether the end point of the connection element connected by the checking path is the gate of the field effect transistor;

step S630: if the gate of the field effect transistor is connected to the checking path, the detection result is leakage; and

step S640: if the gate of the field effect transistor is not connected to the checking path, the detection result is no leakage.

Still referring to fig. 5A and 5B as an example, the first power domain 511 includes at least one first Field Effect Transistor 517 (MOSFET). The second power domain 521 includes a second field effect transistor 518 and a third field effect transistor 519, as shown in fig. 5A. The Gate (Gate) of the second field effect transistor 518 is connected to the Gate of the third field effect transistor 519, and the source of the second field effect transistor 518 is connected to the Drain (Drain) of the third field effect transistor 519. One end of the check path 516 is connected to the Source of the first FET 517, and the other end of the check path 516 is connected to the gate of the second FET 518, as shown in FIG. 5A.

The circuit detection routine 111 traverses the check path 516 for the presence of a field effect transistor. If a field effect transistor exists in the verification path 516, the circuit detection program 111 further determines whether the gate of the field effect transistor is connected to the verification path 516. If the gate of the FET is connected to the verify path 516, the circuit test program 111 outputs the test result 112 as a leakage. If the connected device is not a field effect transistor, the circuit detection program 111 outputs the detection result 112 as no leakage. If the connecting element is a field effect transistor but the gate of the field effect transistor is not connected to the verification path 516, the circuit detection program 111 also outputs the detection result 112 as no leakage.

In some embodiments, the circuit detection program 111 determines whether there is a leakage risk according to the power domain and the domain status connected to the gate of the fet. First, the circuit detection program 111 determines whether a field effect transistor on the check path 516 exists. If the field effect transistor exists in the check path 516, the circuit detection process 111 determines what the domain status of the second power domain 521 is connected to the gate of the field effect transistor. If the second power domain 521 is powered, the circuit detection program 111 determines that there is a risk of leakage in the check path 516, and the circuit detection program 111 outputs the leakage detection result 112.

Fig. 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B and 8C represent different component interconnection tables 113 and their corresponding power domains, respectively. Fig. 7A and 7B respectively have two power domains 711 and 721, which are a first power domain 711 and a second power domain 721. Fig. 7A shows a first power domain 711, and fig. 7B shows a second power domain 721. For convenience of describing the cross-domain connection of each power domain, according to the pin names of each electronic component in fig. 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B, and 8C as the names of the corresponding cross-domain link and check path, for example: the cross-domain connection a is a circuit from the pin a of the first power domain 711 to the pin a of the second power domain 721 (as shown in fig. 7A and 7B). The cross-domain connection C is a circuit between the check path C 'of the second power domain 821 and the check path C' of the third power domain 831 (as shown in fig. 8A, 8B and 8C).

The first power domain 711 has two cross-domain connections, a cross-domain connection a and a cross-domain connection B, connected to the second power domain 721. The circuit detection program 111 sets the domain state of the first power domain 711 to an off state (off mode) according to the power mode information 114, and sets the first power domain 711 to the power supply Guan Biyu. And the circuit detection routine 111 sets the domain state of the second power domain 721 to the low power state (low mode) to set the second power domain 721 to the power receiving domain.

It is assumed that the circuit detection program 111 first selects the cross-domain link A as the check path A', but the sequence is not limited thereto. The circuit inspection program 111 can determine the selection order of the inspection paths A ', B' according to other factors, such as the number of electronic components or the static analysis (static analysis) result of the circuit. As can be seen from fig. 7A, 7B and 7C, there are several electronic components on the path of the checking path a', which include an operational amplifier and a field effect transistor. Assume that there are three field effect transistors in the check path a' in the second power domain 721, and the gate of the field effect transistor to be tested (which is the dummy frame) is connected to the output terminal of the operational amplifier of the first power domain 711. Since the domain states of the first power domain 711 and the second power domain 721 are different, the circuit detection program 111 will determine that there is a leakage risk in the set of check paths a'. After the checking path a' is completed, the circuit detection program 111 outputs a detection result 112 with a risk of electrical leakage.

Next, the circuit detection program 111 selects the cross-domain link B and detects whether there is a risk of leakage in the check path B', as shown in FIG. 7C. The circuit detection program 111 outputs the detection result 112 according to the check path B', the domain state of the first power domain 711, and the domain state of the second power domain 721. Since the domain state of the first power domain 711 is different from the domain state of the second power domain 721. The circuit detection program 111 determines that the checking path B' is at risk of electrical leakage, and outputs a detection result 112 indicating the risk of electrical leakage. The aforementioned leakage risk detection can be performed for the other checking paths and the corresponding fets in fig. 7B or fig. 7C.

Fig. 8A, 8B, and 8C show three power domains 811, 821, 831, respectively, where fig. 8A is a first power domain 811, fig. 8B is a second power domain 821, and fig. 8C is a third power domain 831. The circuit detection program 111 sets the domain status of each power domain 811, 821, 831 based on the power mode information 114 as follows: the domain states of the first power domain 811 and the second power domain 821 are both in a power-off state (off mode), and the domain state of the third power domain 831 is a normal state. The third power domain 831 is coupled to the first power domain 811 and the second power domain 821, respectively. Both the LV pin and the rstb 12 pin of the first power domain 811 are connected to the corresponding pins of the third power domain 831. Similarly, the pin LV, the pin C 'and the pin D' of the second power domain 821 are all connected to the corresponding pins of the third power domain 831.

Taking cross-domain connection C as an example, the circuit detection program 111 selects cross-domain connection C, and uses pin C ' as the checking path C ', and detects the leakage risk of the checking path C '. The output terminal of the inverter is connected to the check path C 'in the second power domain 821, and the other terminal of the check path C' is connected to the field effect transistor of the third power domain 831. The circuit detection program 111 checks the connection pin of the check path C' with the field effect transistor. Since the check path C' is connected to the gate of the fet, the third power domain 831 is powered. Therefore, the circuit detection program 111 determines that the check path C' is at risk of electrical leakage, and the circuit detection program 111 generates a detection result 112 with electrical leakage risk.

Then, the circuit detection program 111 continues to detect other cross-domain connections between the second power domain 821 and the third power domain 831 until all the cross-domain connections are completed. For example: cross-domain connection D with the audit path D'. The circuit detection program 111 will switch to check the leakage detection of the first power domain 811 and the second power domain 821, or the first power domain 811 and the third power domain 831.

In some embodiments, the leakage detection method and processing system of the circuit are used for detecting whether leakage risks can be generated between power domains under a specific power mode, and generating prompts of corresponding positions so that a circuit designer can add blocking elements to the corresponding positions. The electrical leakage detection system 100 of the circuit of the present application may be combined with the existing circuit software in a plug-in package or the like, in addition to being independent software. In the process of detection, the circuit detection program 111 does not need to additionally calculate the input signals of each electronic component, so that the operation cost of the detection can be reduced and the detection efficiency can be improved.

Claims (8)

1. A method for detecting leakage in a circuit, comprising:

obtaining a plurality of cross-domain connections according to an element connection list and power mode information, wherein the power mode information comprises a plurality of power modes, a plurality of power domains and a plurality of domain states; in each power mode, each power domain corresponds to one of the domain states; the domain state is a power-off or a power-on state, and the power domains corresponding to the domain states are a power-on domain and a power-off domain; each cross-domain connection is a circuit connection crossing two of the power domains;

obtaining a plurality of checking paths according to the cross-domain connections and one of the power modes, wherein the connection state of each checking path to the domain is the power receiving domain or the power off domain; and

and judging whether the checking path and the connected power receiving domain have electric leakage risks or not, and outputting a detection result.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the power-on state is a low power state, a sleep state, or a normal state.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the power receiving domain comprises a connection device connected to the verification path, and the step of determining whether the power receiving domain has a risk of leakage comprises:

judging whether the end point of the connecting element connected by the checking path is a gate of a field effect transistor or not;

if the judgment result is yes, the detection result is electric leakage; and

if the judgment result is no, the detection result is no electric leakage.

4. A leakage detecting method for a circuit according to claim 1, wherein the step of outputting the detection result comprises: and switching the power domains and the domain states according to the power mode information.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the switched power domains and the corresponding checking paths are detected to determine whether there is a leakage risk.

6. A processing system to which the leakage detecting method of claim 1 is applied, comprising:

a storage element for storing the leakage detection method, the detection result, the power mode information and the element connection table; and

a processor for executing the leakage detection method.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the power receiving domain comprises a connection device, and the connection device is connected to the verification path.

8. The processing system of claim 6, wherein the processor determines whether the terminal of the connection device connected by the verification path is a gate of a field effect transistor; if the judgment result is yes, the detection result is electric leakage; if the judgment result is no, the detection result is no electric leakage.

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