Method of selectively programming integrated circuits to compensate for process variations and/or mask revisions

摘要

Methods of compensating for process variations and/or mask revisions in a programmable integrated circuit (IC). A non-volatile memory in the IC stores a value representing a process corner and/or mask revision for the IC. A configuration control circuit monitors a configuration bitstream provided to the programmable IC. When no code key is received, configuration data is applied to a first (e.g., digital) circuit. When a code key is identified, the code key is compared to the stored value. If there is a match, the subsequent configuration data is applied to a second (e.g., analog) circuit. If there is no match, the subsequent configuration data is ignored until an “unlock” command is detected in the bitstream. Thus, the configuration data for the digital circuit need be included only once in the bitstream, while the configuration data for the analog circuit is supplied once for each supported process corner or mask revision.