JP2003203977A - Microcomputer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a microcomputer having some flexibility, to which an output potential of an input/output circuit can be arbitrarily set and changed. <P>SOLUTION: A semiconductor chip 1 of the microcomputer is equipped with a group of input/output circuits 2 using a sub power supply, pads incorporating the sub power supply, and a group of input/output circuits 4. The pads 3 are located at the corner portions of the semiconductor chip 1, the group of the input/output circuits 2 using the potential of the sub power supply as an output potential are located gathered at the surroundings of the sub power supply i.e., at the corner portions of the semiconductor chip 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a microcomputer, and more particularly to a microcomputer in which an output potential of an input / output circuit can be arbitrarily set.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, microcomputers including semiconductor chips have been manufactured and used.
This microcomputer is required to be manufactured in accordance with customer's request as much as possible according to the application, and in particular, in recent years, not only promptness but also cost is required.

For example, as an increasing demand from customers regarding microcomputers, it has been proposed that the output potential at the output terminal can be arbitrarily set. Conventionally, particularly in a digital semiconductor integrated circuit or the like, an output potential in an input / output circuit (hereinafter, also referred to as an I / O circuit) has a fixed value.

[0004]

However, in such a conventional microcomputer, when a customer requests to change the output potential, the master process in manufacturing the microcomputer is revised. Since it is indispensable, there is a problem that the revision work is a large-scale work, takes time, and is inevitably expensive.

The present invention has been made in view of the above,
An object of the present invention is to obtain a microcomputer having a certain degree of freedom in which the output potential of the input / output circuit can be arbitrarily set or changed.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, a microcomputer according to the present invention has an input / output circuit arranged on an outer peripheral portion of a semiconductor chip and has at least an input / output circuit using a main power supply and a sub power supply. A microcomputer provided with an input / output circuit to be used, wherein a terminal of the input / output circuit that requires an output of the same potential as the sub power supply is arranged at a corner portion of the semiconductor chip, In the outer peripheral part other than the corner part,
It is characterized in that terminals of the input / output circuit of the main potential which requires an output of a potential different from that of the sub power supply are arranged.

According to the present invention, the terminals of the input / output circuit that need to output the same potential as the sub-power supply are arranged at the corners of the semiconductor chip, and the peripheral portion other than the corners of the semiconductor chip is different from the sub-power supply. Since the terminals of the input / output circuit of the main potential requiring the output of the potential are arranged, the output potential of the input / output circuit can be easily and inexpensively changed for any side of the semiconductor chip.

The microcomputer according to the next invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned invention, the sub-power supplies arranged at the corners of the semiconductor chip are connected to each other using an internal circuit.

According to the present invention, since the sub power supplies arranged at the corners of the semiconductor chip are connected to each other by using the internal circuit, the number of pads for the sub power supplies can be reduced.

A microcomputer according to the next invention is a microcomputer in which an input / output circuit is arranged on an outer peripheral portion of a semiconductor chip, and at least an input / output circuit using a main power supply and an input / output circuit using a sub power supply are provided. In the corner portion of the semiconductor chip, terminals of an input / output circuit that requires output of the same potential as the main power source are arranged, and in the outer peripheral portion other than the corner portion of the semiconductor chip, the main power source is provided. It is characterized in that terminals of the input / output circuit of the sub-potential, which requires the output of a potential different from that, are arranged.

According to the present invention, the terminals of the input / output circuit that need to output the same potential as the main power source are arranged in the corner portions of the semiconductor chip, and the outer peripheral portion other than the corner portions of the semiconductor chip is different from the main power source. Since the terminals of the sub-potential input / output circuit requiring the output of the potential are arranged, the output potential of the input / output circuit can be easily and inexpensively changed for any side of the semiconductor chip.

The microcomputer according to the next invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned invention, the main power sources arranged at the corners of the semiconductor chip are connected to each other using an internal circuit.

According to the present invention, since the main power supplies arranged at the corners of the semiconductor chip are connected to each other using the internal circuit, the number of pads such as the main power supplies can be reduced.

A microcomputer according to the next invention is a microcomputer which is connected to an external circuit via an input / output path during a reset period, and which reads an output voltage from the external circuit via the input / output path. And a voltage supply unit that supplies the same output voltage as the voltage read by the voltage reading unit to the external circuit via the input / output path after the reset is released. And

According to the present invention, the voltage reading means reads the output voltage from the external circuit through the input / output path,
Since the same output voltage as the voltage read by the voltage reading means is supplied to the external circuit via the input / output path after the reset is released by the voltage supply means, the output voltage of the input / output circuit can be externally changed without changing the circuit. It becomes possible to match with the circuit.

A microcomputer according to the next invention is a microcomputer connected to an external circuit via an input / output path during a reset period, and relates to an output voltage held by the external circuit during the reset period. Voltage information fetching means for fetching information through the input / output path, and an output voltage based on the voltage information fetched by the voltage information fetching means after the reset is released to the external circuit through the input / output path. And a voltage supply unit that supplies the voltage via the voltage supply unit.

According to the present invention, the voltage information fetching means fetches the information relating to the output voltage held by the external circuit during the reset period through the input / output path, and the voltage supplying means fetches the voltage information after the reset is released. Since the output voltage based on the voltage information taken in by the means is supplied to the external circuit via the input / output path, it is possible to match the output voltage of the input / output circuit to the external circuit without changing the circuit. Become.

In the microcomputer according to the next invention, in the above invention, a plurality of input / output circuit terminals capable of outputting the same potential as the power source, which are provided in the corner portions of the semiconductor chip, are arranged, It is characterized in that it can be used as a terminal of a power source having different potentials by changing the wiring.

According to the present invention, by arranging a plurality of terminals of the input / output circuit capable of outputting the same potential as the power source provided in the corner portion of the semiconductor chip and changing the wiring of the terminals, different potentials can be obtained. Since the power supply terminal is composed of, it is possible to easily and inexpensively respond to the customer's demand for the output voltage.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a microcomputer according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an arrangement of input / output circuits of a semiconductor chip including a semiconductor integrated circuit or the like for realizing the first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1
As shown in, the semiconductor chip 1 of the microcomputer
Includes an input / output circuit group 2 that uses a sub power supply, a pad 3 for taking in the sub power supply, and an input / output circuit group 4 that uses a main power supply.

As shown in FIG. 1, the pad 3 of the sub power supply is arranged at the corner of the semiconductor chip 1 and the input / output circuit group 2 which uses the potential of the sub power supply as the output potential is provided around the sub power supply, that is, the semiconductor. By arranging them in the corner portion of the chip 1, the output potential of the I / O can be easily changed.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, since the input / output circuit group 2 that uses the sub power supply and the pad 3 of the sub power supply are placed at the corners of the semiconductor chip 1, either side of the chip A microcomputer capable of changing the output voltage of the input / output circuit can be obtained easily and inexpensively.

Embodiment 2. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an arrangement of input / output circuits of a semiconductor chip for realizing the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the sub-power supplies of FIG. 1 are connected by an internal circuit 12. As shown in FIG. 2, since the sub-power supplies are connected by the internal circuit 12, for example, one of the sub-power supplies to be placed at a plurality of corners or a plurality of pads (for example, 13 in the drawing) are placed. Without any need, it is possible to obtain the microcomputer capable of easily and inexpensively changing the output potential of the input / output circuit to any side of the chip as in the first embodiment.

Embodiment 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an arrangement of input / output circuits of a semiconductor chip for realizing the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, an input / output circuit group 22 that uses the main power supply, a pad 23 that takes in the main power supply, and an input / output circuit group 2 that uses the sub power supply.
4 and.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pad 2 of the main power supply
By grouping 3 in the corner portion of the semiconductor chip 21, the output potential of the input / output circuit can be easily changed. Therefore, by arranging the main power source at the chip corner, it is possible to obtain a microcomputer capable of changing the output potential of the I / O easily and inexpensively on either side of the semiconductor chip 21.

Incidentally, in relation to the first embodiment,
An arrangement that is easy to use may be appropriately selected according to the situation.

Fourth Embodiment FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an arrangement of input / output circuits of a semiconductor chip for realizing Embodiment 4 of the present invention. This FIG. 4 shows the third embodiment of FIG.
On the other hand, the main power supply is connected by the internal circuit 32. As shown in FIG. 4, by connecting the main power supplies on the internal circuit 32, for example, one of the main power supplies to be placed at a plurality of corners,
Alternatively, without placing a plurality of pads (for example, 33 in the figure), the output of the input / output circuit can be easily and inexpensively applied to any side of the semiconductor chip 31 as in the first to third embodiments described above. It is possible to obtain a microcomputer capable of changing the electric potential.

Embodiment 5. FIG. 5 is a system block diagram of a microcomputer and its external circuit for realizing the fifth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG.
Microcomputer 41 according to the present invention and external circuit 4
2, an input path 43 from the external circuit 42 to the microcomputer 41, and an output path 44 from the microcomputer 41 to the external circuit 42.

In FIG. 5, the microcomputer 41
During the reset period, the microcomputer 41 side reads the output voltage of the connected external circuit 42 through the input path 43, and outputs the output voltage required by the external circuit 42 from the microcomputer 41 after reset. Thus, it is possible to construct a microcomputer capable of adjusting the output potential of the input / output circuit to the external circuit 42 without changing the circuit.

Sixth Embodiment FIG. 6 is a system block diagram of a microcomputer and its external circuit for realizing the sixth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, the microcomputer 51 receives the ID information 55 of the external circuit 52 through the input path 53.
It has a latch 56 for taking in 1.

In FIG. 6, the external circuit 52 holds information such as output potential as ID information 55. Its ID
By taking the information 55 through the input path 53 into the internal latch 56 during the reset period of the microcomputer 51, the output potential desired by the external circuit 52 can be judged from the ID information 55, and the external circuit 52 can be sent through the output path 54. An output voltage can be supplied.

With this configuration, the sixth embodiment can construct a microcomputer capable of adjusting the output potential of the input / output circuit to the external circuit 52 without changing the circuit. Besides, ID information 5
5, various other information can be fetched, and information such as other signals required by the external circuit 52 can be supplied.

Embodiment 7. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an arrangement of input / output circuits of a semiconductor chip 61 for realizing Embodiment 7 of the present invention. In FIG. 7, two pads 63 and 65 for the sub power supply are prepared in addition to the first embodiment shown in FIG. By doing so, it is possible to increase the I / O of the main power supply by performing wiring as needed during assembly.

As described above, according to the seventh embodiment, by providing a plurality of pads 63 and 65 for the sub-power supply, it is possible to more finely and flexibly respond to the customer's request.
Moreover, it is possible to obtain a microcomputer which can be easily and inexpensively dealt with.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, the terminals of the input / output circuit requiring the output of the same potential as the sub power source are arranged at the corners of the semiconductor chip, and the terminals other than the corners of the semiconductor chip are arranged. The input / output circuit terminals of the main potential, which require the output of a potential different from that of the sub power supply, are placed on the outer periphery, so that the output potential of the input / output circuit can be changed easily and inexpensively on any side of the semiconductor chip. It becomes possible to do.

According to the next invention, since the sub power supplies arranged at the corners of the semiconductor chip are connected to each other by using the internal circuit, the number of pads for the sub power supplies can be reduced.

According to the next invention, the terminals of the input / output circuit that need to output the same potential as the main power source are arranged in the corner portions of the semiconductor chip, and the main power source is provided in the outer peripheral portion other than the corner portions of the semiconductor chip. Since the terminals of the sub-potential input / output circuit requiring different potential outputs are arranged, the output potential of the input / output circuit can be easily and inexpensively changed for any side of the semiconductor chip.

According to the next invention, since the main power supplies arranged at the corners of the semiconductor chip are connected to each other by using the internal circuit, the number of pads such as the main power supplies can be reduced.

According to the next invention, the output voltage from the external circuit is read through the input / output path by the voltage reading means, and the same output voltage as the voltage read by the voltage reading means after the reset is released by the voltage supplying means is external circuit. Since it is supplied to the external circuit via the input / output path, the output voltage of the input / output circuit can be adjusted to the external circuit without changing the circuit.

According to the next invention, the voltage information fetching means fetches the information about the output voltage held by the external circuit during the reset period through the input / output path, and the voltage supply means fetches the voltage information after the reset is released. Since the output voltage based on the voltage information captured by the plug-in means is supplied to the external circuit via the input / output path, the output voltage of the input / output circuit can be adjusted to the external circuit without changing the circuit. It will be possible.

According to the next invention, by arranging a plurality of terminals of the input / output circuit capable of outputting the same electric potential as the power source provided in the corner portion of the semiconductor chip and changing the wiring of the terminals, the difference occurs. Since the terminal of the power source is composed of the electric potential, it is possible to easily and inexpensively respond to the customer's demand for the output voltage.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an arrangement of input / output circuits of a semiconductor chip including a semiconductor integrated circuit or the like for realizing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an arrangement of input / output circuits of a semiconductor chip for realizing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an arrangement of input / output circuits of a semiconductor chip for realizing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an arrangement of input / output circuits of a semiconductor chip for realizing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a system block diagram of a microcomputer and its external circuit for realizing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a system block diagram of a microcomputer and its external circuit for realizing a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an arrangement of input / output circuits of a semiconductor chip for realizing a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 11, 21, 31, 61 Semiconductor chips, 2, 4,
22, 24 input / output circuit group, 3, 23 pad, 41,
51 microcomputer, 42, 52 external circuit,
43,53 input pads, 44,54 output pads.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 5F038 BE01 BE07 BE09 CA03 CA05                       CA06 CA10 DF04 EZ20                 5F064 BB10 DD16 DD34 DD44 FF08                       FF36

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A microcomputer provided with an input / output circuit arranged on an outer peripheral portion of a semiconductor chip and provided with at least an input / output circuit using a main power supply and an input / output circuit using a sub power supply. The terminals of the input / output circuit that need to output the same potential as the sub power supply are arranged in the corners of the sub-power supply, and the peripheral portion other than the corners of the semiconductor chip needs to output the potential different from that of the sub power supply. And a terminal of the input / output circuit for the main potential. 2. The microcomputer according to claim 1, wherein the sub-power supplies arranged at the corners of the semiconductor chip are connected to each other by using an internal circuit. 3. A microcomputer in which an input / output circuit is arranged on an outer peripheral portion of a semiconductor chip, and at least an input / output circuit using a main power supply and an input / output circuit using a sub power supply are provided. The terminals of the input / output circuit that require the output of the same potential as the main power supply are arranged in the corners of the semiconductor chip, and the output of the potential different from that of the main power supply is necessary in the outer peripheral portion other than the corners of the semiconductor chip. And a terminal of the input / output circuit for the sub-potential is arranged. 4. The microcomputer according to claim 3, wherein the main power supplies arranged at the corners of the semiconductor chip are connected to each other using an internal circuit. 5. A microcomputer connected to an external circuit via an input / output path during a reset period, comprising voltage reading means for reading an output voltage from the external circuit via the input / output path, and the reset. A voltage supply unit that supplies the same output voltage as the voltage read by the voltage reading unit to the external circuit via the input / output path after the release, the microcomputer. 6. A microcomputer connected to an external circuit via an input / output path during a reset period, wherein information about an output voltage held by the external circuit is reset to the input / output path during the reset period. Voltage information fetching means fetched through the voltage information fetching means, and a voltage supply means for supplying an output voltage based on the voltage information fetched by the voltage information fetching means to the external circuit via the input / output path after the reset is released. And a microcomputer. 7. A plurality of input / output circuit terminals, which are provided at the corners of the semiconductor chip and are capable of outputting the same potential as the power source, are arranged, and the wiring of the terminals is changed so that different potentials are formed. The microcomputer according to claim 1, wherein the microcomputer can be used as a power supply terminal.