Device enhancements for software defined silicon implementations

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11599368-B2
Application number	US-202017033267-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 25, 2020
Priority date	Sep 27, 2019
Publication date	Mar 7, 2023
Grant date	Mar 7, 2023

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture (e.g., physical storage media) to provide device enhancements for software defined silicon implementations are disclosed. Example apparatus disclosed herein include a request interface to receive a request for a timestamp. Disclosed example apparatus also include a property checker to determine a first value of an electrical property of a feature embedded in a silicon product, the feature having electrical properties that change over time. Disclosed example apparatus further include a relative time determiner to calculate a relative time between the request and a previous event based on the first value of the electrical property and a second value of the electrical property, the second value of the electrical property associated with the previous event.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
a request interface to receive a request for a timestamp;
property checker circuitry to determine a first value of an electrical property of a feature embedded in a silicon product, the feature having electrical properties that change over time; and
relative time determiner circuitry to calculate a relative time between the request and a previous event based on the first value of the electrical property and a second value of the electrical property, the second value of the electrical property associated with the previous event.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the feature includes a radioisotope.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the feature includes a physical unclonable function.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the previous event is a time of manufacture of the silicon product.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , further including absolute time determiner circuitry to calculate an absolute time based on the relative time and a recorded time of the previous event.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the electrical property is at least one of a resistance of the feature or a capacitance of the feature.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the request is issued by a client enterprise system, the request issued in association with a determination of whether to disable a license.

8. A non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising instructions, which when executed, cause a machine to:
receive a request for a timestamp;
determine a first value of an electrical property of a feature embedded in a silicon product, the feature having electrical properties that change over time; and
calculate a relative time between the request and a previous event based on the first value of the electrical property and a second value of the electrical property, the second value of the electrical property associated with the previous event.

9. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the feature includes a radioisotope.

10. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the feature includes a physical unclonable function.

11. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the previous event is a time of manufacture of the silicon product.

12. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the instructions further cause the machine to calculate an absolute time based on the relative time and a recorded time of the previous event.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the electrical property is at least one of a resistance of the feature or a capacitance of the feature.

14. A method comprising:
receiving a request for a timestamp;
determining a first value of an electrical property of a feature embedded in a silicon product, the feature having electrical properties that change over time; and
calculating a relative time between the request and a previous event based on the first value of the electrical property and a second value of the electrical property, the second value of the electrical property associated with the previous event.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the feature includes a radioisotope.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the feature includes a physical unclonable function.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the previous event is a time of manufacture of the silicon product.

18. The method of claim 14 , further including calculating an absolute time based on the relative time and a recorded time of the previous event.

19. The method of claim 14 , wherein the electrical property is at least one of a resistance of the feature or a capacitance of the feature.

20. The method of claim 14 , wherein the request is issued by a client enterprise system, the request issued in association with a determination of whether to disable a license.

Assignees

• Intel Corp

Inventors

• Bartfai-Walcott Katalin Klara
• Berent Arkadiusz
• Chilukuri Vasuki
• Baldwin Mark
• Srinivasan Vasudevan
• Gotowalski Bartosz

Classifications

• G06F9/44505 Primary

  Configuring for program initiating, e.g. using registry, configuration files · CPC title

• G06Q30/0621

  by configuring or customising goods or services · CPC title

• G06Q30/018

  Certifying business or products · CPC title

• G06Q10/087

  Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders · CPC title

• G06F11/3058 Primary

  Monitoring arrangements for monitoring environmental properties or parameters of the computing system or of the computing system component, e.g. monitoring of power, currents, temperature, humidity, position, vibrations (thermal management in cooling arrangements of a computing system G06F1/206) · CPC title