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US-12619808-B2 - Apparatus and methods for programming multiple parameters per pin of an integrated circuit

US12619808B2US 12619808 B2US12619808 B2US 12619808B2US-12619808-B2

Abstract

Apparatus and methods for programming multiple parameters per pin of an IC are disclosed herein. In certain embodiments, system operation parameters of an IC are set using external component(s) in conjunction with an internal detection circuit of the IC. The internal detection circuit allows for programming of multiple parameters with one pin of the IC, thereby reducing package size, board area, and/or chip complexity. For example, the teachings herein allow for detection of three or more unique parameters or states per pin, significantly reducing the part pin count and board area.

Inventors

  • Armando Presti
  • Gregory J. Manlove
  • Douglas Huhmann

Assignees

  • ANALOG DEVICES, INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20221122

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A circuit board comprising: one or more passive components; and an integrated circuit (IC) comprising: a sense input pin connected to the one or more passive components; a memory configured to store one or more parameters of the IC; and a voltage and impedance sensing circuit configured to program, based on a measurement signal, the one or more parameters into the memory, the voltage and impedance sensing circuit including a controllable current source configured to control a current of the sense input pin, and a voltage measurement circuit configured to generate the measurement signal indicating a voltage of the sense input pin affected by the one or more passive components, wherein the one or more passive components are external to the IC.
  2. 2 . The circuit board of claim 1 , wherein the voltage measurement circuit is configured to measure an initial voltage of the sense input pin when the current of the controllable current source is turned off.
  3. 3 . The circuit board of claim 2 , wherein the controllable current source is configured to activate the current after the voltage measurement circuit measures the initial voltage.
  4. 4 . The circuit board of claim 3 , wherein the voltage and impedance sensing circuit is configured to control a direction of the current from the controllable current source based on the initial voltage and an input range of the voltage measurement circuit.
  5. 5 . The circuit board of claim 3 , wherein the voltage measurement circuit is configured to capture a plurality of voltage measurements of the sense input pin when the controllable current source is activated.
  6. 6 . The circuit board of claim 1 , wherein the one or more passive components includes a first resistor connected to the sense input pin, wherein the voltage and impedance sensing circuit is configured to program a parameter of the one or more parameters into the memory based on detecting a resistance of the one or more passive components.
  7. 7 . The circuit board of claim 1 , wherein the one or more passive components further includes a first resistor and a second resistor connected to form a resistor divider, wherein the voltage and impedance sensing circuit is further configured to program a parameter of the one or more parameters into the memory based on an analog input voltage set by the resistor divider.
  8. 8 . The circuit board of claim 1 , wherein the one or more passive components further includes a resistor and a capacitor connected to the sense input pin, wherein the voltage and impedance sensing circuit is further configured to program a parameter of the one or more parameters into the memory based on a detected resistor-capacitor (RC) time constant of the one or more passive components.
  9. 9 . The circuit board of claim 1 , wherein the controllable current source includes an up current source configured to source the current onto the sense input pin, and a down current source configured to sink the current from the sense input pin.
  10. 10 . The circuit board of claim 1 , wherein both a magnitude and a direction of the current are controllable.
  11. 11 . The circuit board of claim 1 , wherein the voltage measurement circuit includes an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) configured to output the measurement signal as a digital signal.
  12. 12 . The circuit board of claim 1 , wherein the integrated circuit further comprises a slope detector configured to process the measurement signal to detect a slope of the voltage of the sense input pin in response to the current, the voltage and impedance sensing circuit further configured to program the one or more parameters into the memory based on the slope.
  13. 13 . The circuit board of claim 12 , wherein the slope detector is configured to receive a clock signal indicating a time base for detecting the slope of the voltage of the sense input pin.
  14. 14 . An integrated circuit (IC), comprising: a sense input pin configured to connect to one or more passive components that are external to the IC; a memory configured to store one or more parameters of the IC; and a voltage and impedance sensing circuit configured to program, based on a measurement signal, the one or more parameters into the memory, the voltage and impedance sensing circuit including a controllable current source configured to control a current of the sense input pin, and a voltage measurement circuit configured to generate the measurement signal indicating a voltage of the sense input pin affected by the one or more passive components.
  15. 15 . The IC of claim 14 , further comprising a slope detector configured to process the measurement signal to detect a slope of the voltage of the sense input pin in response to the current, the voltage and impedance sensing circuit further configured to program the one or more parameters into the memory based on the slope.
  16. 16 . The IC of claim 14 wherein the voltage and impedance sensing circuit is configured to program a parameter of the one or more parameters into the memory based on detecting a resistance at the sense input pin.
  17. 17 . The IC of claim 14 , wherein the voltage and impedance sensing circuit is further configured to program a parameter of the one or more parameters into the memory based on an analog input voltage of the sense input pin.
  18. 18 . The IC of claim 14 , wherein the voltage and impedance sensing circuit is further configured to program a parameter of the one or more parameters into the memory based on a detected resistor-capacitor (RC) time constant at the sense input pin.
  19. 19 . A method of programming an integrated circuit (IC), the method comprising: controlling a current of a sense input pin of the IC using a controllable current source of the IC, the sense input pin connected to one or more passive components that are external to the IC; generating a measurement signal indicating a voltage of the sense input pin using a voltage measurement circuit of the IC, the voltage of the sense input pin affected by the one or more passive components; and programming one or more parameters of the IC into a memory of the IC based on the measurement signal.
  20. 20 . The method of claim 19 , further comprising detecting a slope of the voltage of the sense input pin in response to the current using a slope detector that receives the measurement signal, and programming the one or more parameters based on the slope.

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE Embodiments of the invention relate to electronic devices, and more particularly, to programming parameters of integrated circuits. BACKGROUND An integrated circuit (IC) can include one or more pins used to program the IC. For example, the IC can include pins associated with a bus used for sequentially programming a state of the IC using, for instance, a microprocessor or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). Alternatively, the pins can be selectively tied to power high or power low supply voltages to configure the IC binarily. In other implementations, the pins can be used to program the IC using analog techniques, such as by using resistor dividers and/or resistor-set (R-set) configurations. Conventional IC programming schemes can have a relatively large amount overhead and/or expense. For example, conventional IC programming schemes can occupy a relatively large circuit area, have a relatively high degree of complexity, and/or use a relatively large number of pins for programming. SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus and methods for programming multiple parameters per pin of an IC are disclosed herein. In certain embodiments, system operation parameters of an IC are set using external component(s) in conjunction with an internal detection circuit of the IC. The internal detection circuit allows for programming of multiple parameters with one pin of the IC, thereby reducing package size, board area, and/or chip complexity. In one aspect, a circuit board includes one or more passive components, and an integrated circuit (IC). The IC includes a sense input pin connected to the one or more passive components, a memory configured to store one or more parameters of the IC, and a voltage and impedance sensing circuit configured to program the one or more parameters into the memory. The voltage and impedance sensing circuit including a controllable current source configured to control a current of the sense input pin, and a voltage measurement circuit configured to generate a measurement signal indicating a voltage of the sense input pin. In another aspect, an IC includes a sense input pin configured to connect to one or more passive components that are external to the IC, a memory configured to store one or more parameters of the IC, and a voltage and impedance sensing circuit configured to program the one or more parameters into the memory. The voltage and impedance sensing circuit includes a controllable current source configured to control a current of the sense input pin, and a voltage measurement circuit configured to generate a measurement signal indicating a voltage of the sense input pin. In another aspect, a method of programming an IC is provide. The method includes controlling a current of a sense input pin of the IC using a controllable current source of the IC, the sense input pin connected to one or more passive components that are external to the IC. The method further include generating a measurement signal indicating a voltage of the sense input pin using a voltage measurement circuit of the IC, and programming one or more parameters of the IC into a memory of the IC based on the voltage of the sense input pin. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a circuit board with IC pin programming according to one embodiment. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of a circuit board with IC pin programming according to another embodiment. FIG. 2B is a first example of external components for programming the IC of FIG. 2A. FIG. 2C is a second example of external components for programming the IC of FIG. 2A. FIG. 2D is a third example of external components for programming the IC of FIG. 2A. FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of a circuit board with IC pin programming according to another embodiment. FIG. 3B is a plot of one example of signal waveforms for programming the IC of FIG. 3A. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS The following detailed description of embodiments presents various descriptions of specific embodiments of the invention. However, the invention can be embodied in a multitude of different ways. In this description, reference is made to the drawings where like reference numerals may indicate identical or functionally similar elements. It will be understood that elements illustrated in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Moreover, it will be understood that certain embodiments can include more elements than illustrated in a drawing and/or a subset of the elements illustrated in a drawing. Further, some embodiments can incorporate any suitable combination of features from two or more drawings. In many applications, it is desirable to have multiple parameters of an integrated circuit (IC) set with on-board components to assure correct operation or a part. For example, for the case in which the IC is a high phase count power supply, examples of parameters that may be set externally include device address, output vo