Measuring Parameter Variation on an FPGA Using Ring Oscillators

As processor clock frequencies become faster, architecture-level design is becoming increasingly limited by factors such as on-chip variation. Parameter variation occurs in integrated circuits as the result of a variety of manufacturing and physical factors. In this paper, we examine the degree to which there is parameter variation on an FPGA. Data were gathered from a combinatorial logic device instantiated on the FPGA. We analyze these data with respect to variance, and provide a confidence interval for the variance and standard deviation.

Mukherjee, Anindo, and Kevin Skadron. "Measuring Parameter Variation on an FPGA Using Ring Oscillators." University of Virginia Dept. of Computer Science Tech Report (2006).