Performance-temperature optimization by cooperatively varying the voltage and frequency of a circuit

TL;DR: In this paper, a system and method using thermal feedback to cooperatively vary a voltage and frequency of a circuit to control heating while maintaining synchronization is presented. But, the system is not suitable for the use of a thermal sensor.

Abstract: A system and method using thermal feedback to cooperatively vary a voltage and frequency of a circuit to control heating while maintaining synchronization. Preferably, on-chip thermal sensors are used for feedback. A system having features of the invention includes: a thermal sensor coupled to the circuit, the thermal sensor generating a temperature signal which is a function of a temperature associated with the functional unit; a temperature decoder having an input and an output, the input coupled to the thermal sensor for decoding the temperature signal; a comparator having one input coupled to the decoder for comparing a decoded temperature signal with a predetermined temperature threshold signal coupled to a second input, the comparator enabling a voltage/clock control signal as a function of the decoded temperature signal and the predetermined temperature threshold; an adjustable voltage regulator coupled to the voltage/clock control signal; and a clock selector coupled to the voltage/clock control signal; wherein the voltage regulator and the clock selector are adapted to cooperatively vary the voltage and the frequency of the circuit to a predetermined voltage-frequency pair, responsive to the voltage/clock control signal and switching factor means, coupled to the comparator, for varying the switching factor of the circuit, wherein the switching factor is the fraction of clock cycles that the circuit is dissipating power.