TIBPAL16R4-10C, TIBPAL16R6-10C, TIBPAL16R8-10C
HIGH-PERFORMANCE IMPACT-X PAL CIRCUITS
SRPS017 – D3023, MAY 1987 – REVISED MARCH 1992
By using the described test circuit, MTBF can be determined for several different values of ∆t (see Figure 4).
Plotting this information on semilog scale demonstrates the metastable characteristics of the selected flip-flop.
Figure 6 shows the results for the TIBPAL16’-10C operating at 1 MHz.
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10 yr
1 yr
1 mo
1 wk
1 day
1 hr
1 min
10 s
f
f
= 1 MHz
clk
= 500 kHz
data
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
∆t (ns)
Figure 6. Metastable Characteristics
From the data taken in the above experiment, an equation can be derived for the metastable characteristics at
other clock frequencies.
1
(
C2 x t)
The metastable equation:
f
x f
x C1 e
SCLK
data
MTBF
The constants C1 and C2 describe the metastable characteristics of the device. From the experimental data,
–7
these constants can be solved for: C1 = 9.15 X 10 and C2 = 0.959
Therefore
1
7
( 0.959 x t)
f
x f
x 9.15 x 10
e
SCLK
data
MTBF
definition of variables
DUT (Device Under Test): The DUT is a 10-ns registered PLD programmed with the equation Q : = D.
MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures): The average time (s) between metastable occurrences that cause a
violation of the device specifications.
f
f
(system clock frequency): Actual clock frequency for the DUT.
SCLK
(data frequency): Actual data frequency for a specified input to the DUT.
data
C1: Calculated constant that defines the magnitude of the curve.
C2: Calculated constant that defines the slope of the curve.
t
(metastability recovery time): Minimum time required to guarantee recovery from metastability, at a given
rec
MTBF failure rate. t
= ∆t –
(CLK to Q, max)
rec
tpd
∆t: The time difference (ns) from when the synchronizing flip-flop is clocked to when its output is sampled.
The test described above has shown the metastable characteristics of the TIBPAL16R4/R6/R8-10C series. For
additional information on metastable characteristics of Texas Instruments logic circuits, please refer to TI
Applications publication SDAA004, ”Metastable Characteristics, Design Considerations for ALS, AS, and LS
Circuits.’’
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