6.4 Designing Robust Microarchitectures

A fault-tolerant approach to microprocessor design, developed at the University of Michigan, is presented. Our approach is based on the use of in-situ checker components that validate the functional and electrical characteristics of complex microprocessor designs. Two design techniques are highlighted: a low-cost double-sampling latch design capable of eliminating power-hungry voltage margins, and a formally verifiable checker co-processor that validates all computation produced by a complex microprocessor core. By adopting a “better than worstcase” approach to system design, it is possible to address reliability and uncertainty concerns that arise during design, manufacturing and system operation. Categories and Subject Descriptors B.8.1 [Performance and Reliability]: reliability, testing and fault-tolerance