Patents Assigned to Altera Corporations
  • Patent number: 11797473
    Abstract: An accelerated processor structure on a programmable integrated circuit device includes a processor and a plurality of configurable digital signal processors (DSPs). Each configurable DSP includes a circuit block, which in turn includes a plurality of multipliers. The accelerated processor structure further includes a first bus to transfer data from the processor to the configurable DSPs, and a second bus to transfer data from the configurable DSPs to the processor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: David Shippy, Martin Langhammer, Jeffrey Eastlack
  • Patent number: 11755810
    Abstract: A method for designing a system to be implemented on a target device includes generating bounding boxes on the target device for nets in the system where a bounding box identifies routing resources available for routing its corresponding net. The nets in the system are assigned to a plurality of threads to be routed. The threads are executed so that a plurality of the nets are routed in parallel within their corresponding bounding box.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: Vaughn Betz, Jordan Swartz, Vadim Gouterman
  • Patent number: 11741042
    Abstract: A multichip package having a main die coupled to one or more daughter dies is provided. The main die may include embedded universal interface blocks (UIB) each of which can be used to interface with a corresponding daughter die to support high bandwidth parallel or serial communications. Each UIB may include an integrated processor subsystem and associated pattern sequencing logic to perform interface initialization and margining operations. Each UIB may perform simultaneous accesses to a daughter die across one or more channels. Each UIB may also include multiple phase-locked loop circuits for providing different clock signals to different portions of the UIB and a 2× clock phase generation logic. Each UIB may include multiple IO modules, each of which may optionally include its own duty cycle correction circuit. Each IO module may include buffer circuits, each of which may have a de-emphasis control logic for adjusting buffer drive strength.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2023
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: Chee Hak Teh, Arifur Rahman
  • Patent number: 11687358
    Abstract: A virtualization platform for Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) is provided. The virtualization platform may include a host processor coupled to an acceleration coprocessor. The acceleration coprocessor may be a reconfigurable integrated circuit to help provide improved flexibility and agility for the NFV. The coprocessor may include multiple virtual function hardware acceleration modules each of which is configured to perform a respective accelerator function. A virtual machine running on the host processor may wish to perform multiple accelerator functions in succession at the coprocessor on a given data. In one suitable arrangement, intermediate data output by each of the accelerator functions may be fed back to the host processor. In another suitable arrangement, the successive function calls may be chained together so that only the final resulting data is fed back to the host processor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: Abdel Hafiz Rabi, Allen Chen, Mark Jonathan Lewis, Jiefan Zhang
  • Patent number: 11675613
    Abstract: Techniques and mechanisms provide a flexible mapping for physical functions and virtual functions in an environment including virtual machines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: Jiefan Zhang, Abdel Hafiz Rabi, Allen Chen, Mark Jonathan Lewis
  • Patent number: 11669479
    Abstract: Integrated circuit packages with multiple integrated circuit dies are provided. A multichip package may include a substrate, a main die that is mounted on the substrate, and multiple transceiver daughter dies that are mounted on the substrate and that are coupled to the main die via corresponding Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB) interconnects formed in the substrate. Each of the main die and the daughter dies may include configurable adapter circuitry for interfacing with the EMIB interconnects. The adapter circuitry may include FIFO buffer circuits operable in a 1× mode or 2× mode and configurable in a phase-compensation mode, a clock-compensation mode, an elastic mode, and a register bypass mode to help support a variety of communications protocols with different data width and clocking requirements. The adapter circuitry may also include boundary alignment circuitry for reconstructing (de)compressed data streams.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: Huy Ngo, Keith Duwel, David W. Mendel
  • Patent number: 11657016
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for supporting wide-protocol interface across a multi-die interconnect interface. Data signals of a wide-protocol interface are split into a plurality of data streams. A handshake signal is established between a first circuit and a second circuit, whereby the first circuit and second circuit are dies of a multi-die device. The first circuit transmits the plurality of data streams to the second circuit via a plurality of multi-die interconnect channels. Each data stream of the plurality of data streams are compressed based on the handshake signal in order to provide wide-protocol interface with reduced number of required pins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 23, 2023
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: Gary Brian Wallichs, Keith Duwel, Cora Lynn Mau
  • Patent number: 11620250
    Abstract: A method for compressing is provided. The method includes compressing, via a processor, a portion of a first data packet to generate a second data packet having a compressed portion. The method includes transmitting the second data packet having the compressed portion via an interface to a co-processor. The processor and the co-processor are communicatively coupled via the interface. The method also includes unpacking, via the co-processor, the compressed portion of the second data packet to restore the first data packet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: Alexander Kugel, Dekel Shirizly
  • Patent number: 11520394
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for reducing power consumption of a multi-die device, such as a network processor FPGA (npFPGA). The multi-die device may include hardware resources such as FPGA dies, which may be coupled to NIC dies and/or memory dies. Power consumption of the multi-die device may be reduced by monitoring usage of hardware resources in the multi-die device, identifying hardware resources that are not in use, and gating power to the identified hardware resources. The status of processing elements (PEs) in the multi-die device may be tracked in a PE state table. Based on the PE state table, tasks from a task queue may be assigned to one or more processing elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2022
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventor: Krishnan Venkataraman
  • Patent number: 11507722
    Abstract: A method for designing a system on a target device includes identifying portions in the system to preserve based on comparing structural characteristics of the system with another system. Design results from the another system are reused for portions in the system that are preserved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: Kevin Chan, Mark Bourgeault
  • Patent number: 11507723
    Abstract: A method for designing a system on a target device includes identifying portions in the system to preserve based on comparing structural characteristics of the system with another system. Design results from the another system are reused for portions in the system that are preserved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: Kevin Chan, Mark Bourgeault
  • Patent number: 11480993
    Abstract: An integrated circuits with sequential logic circuitry is provided. The sequential logic circuitry may including latching circuits that receive clock signals from on-chip or off-chip clock sources. The clock signals may exhibit clock skew that is native to the integrated circuit. The natively existing clock skew can be leverage to perform time borrowing to help optimize circuit performance. The desired clock skew can be achieved by intelligent placement of the clock sources and deliberate routing of the clock signals from the clock sources to respective types of clock distribution networks on the integrated circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventor: Mark Bourgeault
  • Patent number: 11436382
    Abstract: Systems and methods are disclosed for preventing tampering of a programmable integrated circuit device. Generally, programmable devices, such as FPGAs, have two stages of operation; a configuration stage and a user mode stage. To prevent tampering and/or reverse engineering of a programmable device, various anti-tampering techniques may be employed during either stage of operation to disable the device and/or erase sensitive information stored on the device once tampering is suspected. One type of tampering involves bombarding the device with a number of false configuration attempts in order to decipher encrypted data. By utilizing a dirty bit and a sticky error counter, the device can keep track of the number of failed configuration attempts that have occurred and initiate anti-tampering operations when tampering is suspected while the device is still in the configuration stage of operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 6, 2022
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventor: Bruce B. Pedersen
  • Patent number: 11381243
    Abstract: Systems and methods for generating and deploying integrated circuit (IC) applications are provided. Partial reconfiguration functionality of an IC may be used to build reconfigurable application platforms that enable application execution on the IC. These apps may include partial reconfiguration bitstreams that allow ease of access to programming without cumbersome compilation via a set of complex tools. The apps may be acquired via a purchasing website or other mechanism, where the bitstreams may be downloaded to the IC, thus increasing usability of the IC as well providing addition revenue streams.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: Joshua Walstrom, Mark Bourgeault
  • Patent number: 11334504
    Abstract: Systems and methods for configuring a SPA are disclosed. The SPA comprises a plurality of input ports, a plurality of data memory units, signal processing circuitry, and an enable block including at least two counters. Each counter determines an amount of unprocessed data that is stored in a respective one of the plurality of data memory units, and the enable block is configured to disable the signal processing circuitry until a predetermined amount of data is received over the input ports.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventor: Steven Perry
  • Patent number: 11303279
    Abstract: A device includes a programmable logic fabric. The programmable logic fabric includes a first area, wherein a first persona is configured to be programmed in the first area. The programmable logic fabric also includes a second area, wherein a second persona is configured to be programmed in the second area in a second persona programming time. The device is configured to be controlled by a host to switch from running the first persona to running the second persona in a time less than the second persona programming time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: David Alexander Munday, Randall Carl Bilbrey, Jr., Evan Custodio
  • Patent number: 11294842
    Abstract: Integrated circuit packages with multiple integrated circuit dies are provided. A multichip package may include a substrate, a main die that is mounted on the substrate, and multiple transceiver daughter dies that are mounted on the substrate and that are coupled to the main die via corresponding Embedded Multi-die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB) interconnects formed in the substrate. Each of the main die and the daughter dies may include configurable adapter circuitry for interfacing with the EMIB interconnects. The adapter circuitry may include FIFO buffer circuits operable in a 1× mode or 2× mode and configurable in a phase-compensation mode, a clock-compensation mode, an elastic mode, and a register bypass mode to help support a variety of communications protocols with different data width and clocking requirements. The adapter circuitry may also include boundary alignment circuitry for reconstructing (de)compressed data streams.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: Huy Ngo, Keith Duwel, David W. Mendel
  • Patent number: 11287870
    Abstract: Integrated circuits may include registers that store register states. Only a subset of the registers may store critical register states. The subset of registers may be specially demarcated, such as using synthesis directions in the hardware description, and may be coupled to dedicated extraction/loading circuitry. The extraction/loading circuitry may be implemented using soft or hard logic or can leverage existing programming or debugging circuitry on a programmable integrated circuit. The extraction/loading mechanism may also be implemented using multiplexers and associated control circuitry, scan chain circuitry, a memory-mapped interface, a tool-instantiated or user-instantiated finite state machine, or external memory interface logic. Accessing critical register states in this way can help improve efficiency with live migration events, debugging, retiming, and other integrated circuit operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2022
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: Shiva Rao, David Munday
  • Patent number: 11281605
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided to enhance the functionality of an integrated circuit. Such an integrated circuit may include a primary circuitry and an embedded programmable logic programmable to adjust the functionality of the primary circuitry. Specifically, the embedded programmable logic may be programmed to adjust the functionality of the primary circuitry to complement and/or support the functionality of another integrated circuit. Accordingly, the embedded programmable logic may be programmed with functions such as data/address manipulation functions, configuration/testing functions, computational functions, or the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: Arifur Rahman, Bernhard Friebe
  • Patent number: 11256656
    Abstract: The present invention provides a hybrid programmable logic device which includes a programmable field programmable gate array logic fabric and a many-core distributed processing subsystem. The device integrates both a fabric of programmable logic elements and processors in the same device, i.e., the same chip. The programmable logic elements may be sized and arranged such that place and route tools can address the processors and logic elements as a homogenous routing fabric. The programmable logic elements may provide hardware acceleration functions to the processors that can be defined after the device is fabricated. The device may include scheduling circuitry that can schedule the transmission of data on horizontal and vertical connectors in the logic fabric to transmit data between the programmable logic elements and processor in an asynchronous manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 27, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Altera Corporation
    Inventors: Michael D. Hutton, Anargyros Krikelis