Idle Phase Prediction For Integrated Circuits

摘要

A method and apparatus for idle phase prediction in integrated circuits is disclosed. In one embodiment, an integrated circuit (IC) includes a functional unit configured to cycle between intervals of an active state and an idle state. The IC further includes a prediction unit configured to record a history of idle state durations for a plurality of intervals of the idle state. Based on the history of idle state durations, the prediction unit is configured to generate a prediction of the duration of the next interval of the idle state. The prediction may be used by a power management unit to, among other uses, determine whether to place the functional unit in a low power (e.g., sleep) state.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
recording a history of idle state durations for a plurality of intervals of an idle state of a functional unit of an integrated circuit (IC), the intervals of the idle states of the functional unit occurring between intervals of an active state of the functional unit; and predicting a duration of a next interval of the idle state based on the history of idle state durations.