![]() By using a slightly better temperature sensor in this case, 6☌ of die temperature could be saved. ![]() This means if you are setting your software to take action at that level, you still have to take into account the inaccuracy which is +/-2☌ bringing it down to 81☌.”īy adding a good temperature sensor, it is possible to if the lowest set point for software at 81☌, while for a less accurate sensor it would be 75☌. If we now take a more accurate temperature sensor with an accuracy of +/-2☌, again uncalibrated, you then have a temperature range of 87☌ and the lower part of the range being 83☌. Then, allowing for the inaccuracy of the temperature sensor again, we are compounding this issue as we still have to allow for the +/- 5☌, thereby making the lowest point actually 75☌. Your software will need to be set at its lowest or worst case point to 80☌. “If you have a target temperature of 85☌ and your temperature sensor is say, +/- 5☌ accurate, you then have a set point or a range of temperatures that can vary between 90☌ and 80☌. Power management software can be set to take action, whether to slow down clock frequencies in order to bring the temperature of the device down or possibly to set a thermal/temperature alert within the software, he explained. “These benefits come about through power saving, optimization of the device, and reliability.”Īllen cited an example involving two different temperatures sensors, both uncalibrated, one slightly more accurate, one slightly less accurate, by using a temperature scale of die temperature, there is target temperature of 85☌. “There are a number of benefits if you are able to accurately sense and control your die temperature,” noted Ramsay Allen, vice president of marketing at Moortec Semiconductor. And it raises the overall cost due to over-design. But that reduces performance and throughput as frequency throttling, circuit shutdown and other thermal management techniques are applied at more conservative temperatures. For example, thermal monitoring circuitry has a certain amount of error, so designers frequently add circuitry to compensate for these errors. Thermal guard-banding comes into play in multiple places in the design. Thermal analysis solutions that are integrated into the chip design, implementation and verification environments would be a key enabler.” “Being able to more accurately model the workload and temperature profile of a design is crucial for optimizing the performance and reliability of a design. “We know that the operating temperature of a design is directly dependent on its power consumption, but obtaining accurate power profiles is complex and highly challenging-especially if there are multiple potential use cases or scenarios,” said Lee Wang, technical marketing engineer at Mentor, a Siemens Business. While guard-banding is still used, it needs to be more carefully defined and precise, and it needs to be used in conjunction with more accurate thermal sensing and different thermal management schemes. And in the automotive space, carmakers are pushing suppliers to mitigate stress and electromigration, which can shorten the lifespan of parts.Īs a result, design teams are beginning to shift from just throwing more circuitry into a design. That approach is becoming less effective, though, particularly at advanced nodes and in designs where some processing elements are always on or chips are running at full speed, such as in AI chips inside of data centers or in edge devices that rely on a battery. Guard-banding for heat is becoming more difficult as chips are used across a variety of new and existing applications, forcing chipmakers to architect their way through increasingly complex interactions.Ĭhips are designed to operate at certain temperatures, and it is common practice to develop designs with some margin to ensure correct functionality and performance throughout the operating temperature range for its expected lifetime.
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