Debug circuit for an integrated circuit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9476937-B2
Application number	US-201414514403-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 15, 2014
Priority date	Oct 15, 2014
Publication date	Oct 25, 2016
Grant date	Oct 25, 2016

Abstract

An integrated circuit (IC) operable in functional and debug modes includes a debug enable circuit, a pad control register, a debug circuit, a pad configuration register, and an input/output (IO) pad. The debug circuit receives a functional signal from a circuit monitoring circuit, a reference signal, a debug control signal from the debug enable circuit, and pull-enable control and pull-type select control signals from the pad control register, and generates pull-enable and pull-type select signals. The pad configuration register receives the pull-enable and pull-type select signals and configures the IO pad in one of logic low, logic high, and high impedance states. When the IO pad is in either of the logic high and low states longer than a predetermined time period, then the IO pad indicates that the IC is held in a reset phase of a reset sequence.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An integrated circuit operable in functional and debug modes and having an input/output (IO) pad, comprising:
a pad control register for storing pull-type select control and pull-enable control bits and generating pull-type select control and pull-enable control signals when the integrated circuit is in the functional mode;
a first logic gate having a first input terminal for receiving a debug control signal, a second input terminal for receiving a reference signal, and an output terminal for generating a first signal when the integrated circuit is in the debug mode;
a second logic gate having a first input terminal connected to the output terminal of the first logic gate for receiving the first signal, a second input terminal connected to the pad control register for receiving the pull-type select control signal, and an output terminal for generating the first signal as a pull-type select signal when the integrated circuit is in the debug mode;
a third logic gate having a first input terminal for receiving a functional signal of the integrated circuit, a second input terminal for receiving the reference signal, and an output terminal for generating a functional control signal when the integrated circuit is in the debug mode;
a fourth logic gate having a first input terminal for receiving the debug control signal, a second input terminal connected to the output terminal of the third logic gate for receiving the functional control signal, and an output terminal for generating a second signal when the integrated circuit is in the debug mode;
a fifth logic gate having a first input terminal connected to the output terminal of the fourth logic gate for receiving the second signal, a second input terminal connected to the pad control register for receiving the pull-enable control signal, and an output terminal for generating the second signal as a pull-enable signal when the integrated circuit is in the debug mode; and
a pad configuration register, connected to the output terminals of the second and fifth logic gates for receiving the corresponding pull-type select and pull-enable signals, and to the IO pad for configuring the IO pad in at least one of logic high, logic low, and high impedance states when the integrated circuit is in the debug mode, wherein at least one of the logic high, logic low, and high impedance states of the IO pad indicates a state of the functional signal of the integrated circuit.

2. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , further comprising:
a multiplexer having a first input terminal for receiving a feedback signal, a second input terminal for receiving a fuse signal, a select terminal for receiving a reset signal, and an output terminal for outputting at least one of the feedback and fuse signals when the integrated circuit is in the debug mode;
a flip-flop having a first input terminal connected to the output terminal of the multiplexer for receiving at least one of the feedback and fuse signals, a second input terminal for receiving a power-on-reset signal, a clock input terminal for receiving a clock signal, and an output terminal for outputting at least one of the feedback and fuse signals when the integrated circuit is in the debug mode, wherein the output terminal of the flip-flop is connected to the first input terminal of the multiplexer; and
a sixth logic gate having a first input terminal connected to the output terminal of the flip-flop for receiving at least one of the feedback and fuse signals therefrom, a second input terminal for receiving the reset signal, a third input terminal for receiving a control signal, and an output terminal for generating the debug control signal when at least one of the feedback, fuse, reset, and control signals is at a logic high state and the integrated circuit is in the debug mode.

3. The integrated circuit of claim 2 , wherein the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth logic gates each comprises at least one of an AND gate, an OR gate, and an XNOR gate.

4. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the state of the functional signal is an incorrect state when the IO pad is either in a logic high state for a time period greater than a predetermined time period and a logic low state for a time period greater than the predetermined time period.

5. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the pad configuration register places the IO pad in a logic high state when the pull-type select and pull-enable signals are at a logic high state, wherein the logic high state of the IO pad indicates that the functional signal is in a logic high state.

6. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the pad configuration register places the IO pad in a logic low state when the pull-type select and pull-enable signals are in logic low and high states, respectively, wherein a logic low state of the IO pad indicates that the functional signal is in a logic low state.

7. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the pad configuration register configures the IO pad in a high impedance state when the pull-enable signal is in a logic low state, wherein the high impedance state of the IO pad indicates a correct state of the functional signal.

8. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the IO pad includes:
a pull-up resistor having a first terminal connected to a supply voltage; and
a pull-down resistor having a first terminal connected to a second terminal of the pull-up resistor and a second terminal connected to ground.

9. The integrated circuit of claim 8 , wherein the pad configuration register configures the IO pad such that the pull-up resistor pulls up a voltage of the IO pad to the supply voltage, thereby placing the IO pad in a logic high state, and the pull-down resistor pulls down a voltage of the IO pad to ground, thereby placing the IO pad in a logic low state when the integrated circuit is in the debug mode.

10. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the debug mode corresponds to a reset sequence of the integrated circuit.

11. An integrated circuit operable in functional and debug modes and having an input/output (IO) pad, comprising:
a multiplexer having a first input terminal for receiving a feedback signal, a second input terminal for receiving a fuse signal, a select terminal for receiving a reset signal, and an output terminal for outputting at least one of the feedback and fuse signals when the integrated circuit is in the debug mode;
a flip-flop having a first input terminal connected to the output terminal of the multiplexer for receiving at least one of the feedback and fuse signals, a second input terminal for receiving a power-on-reset signal, a clock input terminal for receiving a clock signal, and an output terminal for outputting at least one of the feedback and fuse signals when the integrated circuit is in the debug mode, wherein the output terminal of the flip-flop is connected to the first input terminal of the multiplexer;
a first logic gate having a first input terminal connected to the output terminal of the flip-flop for receiving at least one of the feedback and fuse signals, a second input terminal for receiving the reset signal, a third input terminal for receiving a control signal, and an output terminal for generating a debug control signal when at least one of the feedback, fuse, reset, and control signals is at logic high state and the integrated circuit is in the debug mode;
a pad control register for storing pull-type select control and pull-enable control bits and generating pull-type select control and pull-enable control signals when the integrated circuit is in the functional mode;
a second logic gate having a first input terminal connected to the output t

Assignees

• Sharda Garima
• Gupta Sunny
• Pathak Akshay K
• Sinha Nidhi
• Freescale Semiconductor Inc

Inventors

• Sharda Garima
• Gupta Sunny
• Pathak Akshay K
• Sinha Nidhi

Classifications

• G01R31/31705 Primary

  Debugging aspects, e.g. using test circuits for debugging, using dedicated debugging test circuits (generation of test sequences therefor G01R31/31835, using scan test therefor G01R31/318544) · CPC title