An integrated circuit device having a plurality of embedded
processor/controllers and a parallel emulation trace port coupled thereto
to provide trace data for debugging the integrated circuit device. A
serializer macro is provided within the integrated circuit device to
serialize the parallel data from the emulation trace port in order to
provide trace data from the IC device in a serial data stream instead of
a parallel data stream. A high speed differential serial driver is used
to provide the bandwidth required to support the data speeds associated
with embedded processors running at high clock rates. An external serial
to parallel converter is also provided to convert the high speed serial
trace data back to parallel trace data such that the trace data can be
input into an emulator in the normal manner. In one embodiment, two
serializers are provided within the integrated circuit device to meet
data throughput requirements, such as when the IC device has more than
one embedded processor/controller. Multi-level signaling of the serial
data stream is also provided to further enhance throughput/bandwidth
capabilities.