Plymouth, UK --- Moortec Semiconductor, specialists in Process, Voltage and Temperature (PVT) sensors announce the availability of their Embedded Process Monitor on TSMC’s 16nm FinFET+ process. The process monitor provides the means for advanced node Integrated Circuit (IC) developers to detect the process variation of low-leakage 16nm core digital MOS devices. The Process Monitor can be used to enable a continuous Dynamic Voltage & Frequency Scaling (DVFS) optimisation system, monitor manufacturing variations on and if required, across chip, gate delay measurements, critical path analysis, critical voltage analysis and also monitor silicon ‘ageing’.
Moortec believes that in-chip monitoring has become a vital factor in the design and performance optimisation of small-geometry designs. Since 2010 Moortec have specialised in the development and delivery of highly featured embedded Process, Voltage and Temperature (PVT) sensors for or use in-chip within advanced node CMOS technologies such as 28nm and 16nm.
Using such monitors embedded within SoC (System on Chip) designs allows for greater dynamic performance optimisation as sensing die temperature, detecting logic speed and monitoring voltage supply levels can be used intelligently to vary system clock frequencies and the voltage levels of supply domains.
A key aspect is that optimisation can be applied to each and every device, either during production or when devices are 'in-the-field'. Moortec also believes that strategies adopted by IC designers over the coming years will be heavily influenced through the analysis of data harvested from in-chip monitors during the life time of every device.
An AMBA APB interface is also available and provides a standard bus interface for a single instance of the process monitor. For more information, visit http://www.moortec.com