A system and method for effectuating a self-timed clock (STC) loop for
memory access operations wherein an Embedded Test and Repair (ETR)
processor engine is utilized for optimizing an access margin value. Upon
compiling a semiconductor memory instance based on its configuration
data, a default access margin value is passed to a wrapper interface
associated with the memory instance. In one implementation, an adjusted
access margin value is determined by an optimization algorithm operable
to be executed on the ETR processor engine, which adjusted access margin
value is used for generating the STC signal with a particular time
setting that is optimized for a memory instance of a given size.