Thermal Management for Integrated Circuits

Abstract

A method and system for thermal management in integrated circuits and integrated circuit boards is described. In an embodiment, the circuit device board includes circuit devices, temperature sensors, and a thermal management unit. The thermal management unit receives thermal data from the temperature sensors and determines thermal reference points that define thermal regions. The thermal reference points are correlated with the operating characteristics of the circuit devices. When warranted, the thermal management unit makes independent corrective responses to each of the thermal regions. These corrective responses include modifying operating parameters, adjusting workload, and suspending operation of circuit devices within the thermal region. Thus, the disclosed method and system can preserve function in one thermal region while alleviating stress on another thermal region.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A host system for dynamic thermal adaption, the host system comprising:
 a circuit device comprising a plurality of temperature sensors; and   a computer readable medium that stores a plurality of instructions for execution by at least one computer processor, wherein the instructions are for:
 receiving data from the plurality of temperature sensors; 
 determining a temperature at a location separate from each sensor of the plurality of temperature sensors based on the received data; and 
 modifying an operational parameter of a processing device of the host system based on the determined temperature. 
   
     
     
         2 . The host system of  claim 1 , wherein the circuit device includes at least one of: an expansion card, a motherboard, or a daughtercard upon which the plurality of temperature sensors are disposed. 
     
     
         3 . The host system of  claim 1 , wherein the circuit device includes the processing device disposed thereupon. 
     
     
         4 . The host system of  claim 1 , wherein the processing device is spaced away from the circuit device. 
     
     
         5 . The host system of  claim 1 , wherein the location at which the temperature is determined corresponds a location of the processing device. 
     
     
         6 . The host system of  claim 1 , wherein the modified operational parameter includes at least one of: a voltage parameter, a clock parameter, or a workload parameter. 
     
     
         7 . The host system of  claim 1 , wherein the temperature is a first temperature, the location is a first location, and the operational parameter is a first operational parameter, and
 wherein the computer readable medium includes further instructions for:
 determining a second temperature at a second location separate from each sensor of the plurality of temperature sensors based on the received data; and 
 modifying a second operational parameter based on the second temperature, wherein the first operational parameter and the second operational parameter are independent. 
   
     
     
         8 . The host system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of temperature sensors includes at least some temperature sensors arrayed substantially in a line upon the circuit device. 
     
     
         9 . The host system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of temperature sensors includes at least some temperature sensors arrayed substantially in a rectangular arrangement upon the circuit device. 
     
     
         10 . The host system of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of temperature sensors includes at least some temperature sensors spaced substantially equidistant apart. 
     
     
         11 . An apparatus comprising:
 a computer readable medium that stores a plurality of instructions for dynamic thermal adaption, wherein the instructions, when executed by one or more computer processors, perform:
 obtaining thermal data from a plurality of temperature sensors disposed within a computing system; 
 determining a thermal map from the obtained thermal data, wherein the thermal map includes a thermal condition at a first location and a thermal condition at a second location different from the first location; 
 comparing the thermal condition at a first location to a threshold that depends on the thermal condition at the second location; and 
 making a corrective response to the thermal condition based on the comparison to the threshold. 
   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 ,
 wherein the corrective response includes modifying at least one of: a voltage parameter, a clock parameter, or a workload parameter of the computing system.   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the computing system includes a processing element directly physically coupled to the plurality of temperature sensors by a device board, and wherein at least one of: the first location or the second location corresponds to the processing element. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the device board includes at least one of: at least one expansion card, motherboard, or daughtercard upon which the plurality of temperature sensors are disposed. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the computing system includes a processing element spaced away from a device board upon which the plurality of temperature sensors are disposed. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the thermal map corresponds to locations in a three-dimensional (X-Y-Z) space. 
     
     
         17 . A method of thermal adaption, the method comprising:
 measuring thermal data conditions at a plurality of locations within a host system using a plurality of sensors disposed on a circuit board;   generating a thermal map of the host system based on the measured thermal data conditions, wherein the generating of the thermal map includes determining an interpolated thermal data condition at a location that is away from each of the plurality of sensors;   identifying a triggering event when the interpolated thermal data condition exceeds a threshold; and   modifying an operational condition of the host system based on the triggering event.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the generating of the thermal map accounts for at least one heat source that is physically separated from the circuit board. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the generating of the thermal map accounts for at least one heat source that disposed on the circuit board. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the threshold depends on a condition at another location that is different from the location of the interpolated thermal data condition.