A Scalable Design Flow for Performance Monitors Using Functional Path Ring Oscillators

Abstract

The automotive industry sets high reliability standards for microcontroller (MCUs). To increase reliability, the automotive MCU manufacturers are looking for accurate performance screening. One of these performance screening mechanisms are functional path ring oscillators (RO). In this paper, a scalable and efficient method for creating functional path ring oscillators is presented. Implementation data demonstrate that functional path RO monitors show a significant advantage in area and power consumption over comparable performance screening methods.