163results about "Pulse manipulation delay" patented technology

Adjusting a clock duty cycle. An incremental error signal is generated in response to the clock signal. A cumulative error signal is generated in response to the incremental error signal. The incremental error signal is reset and the duty cycle of the clock signal is adjusted in response to the cumulative error signal.

A current controlled delay circuit is disclosed. Two currents of constant sum are generated to control the delay of the circuit. The circuit includes a differential pair to switch one of the two currents from one leg of the circuit to another leg of the circuit. The circuit includes a cross-coupled pair to switch the other of the two currents from one leg of the circuit to another leg of the circuit. The circuit may include a fixed or variable load.

An inverter type delay circuit, voltage-controlled oscillation circuit, and voltage-controlled delay circuit capable of realizing simplification of circuit configuration, reduction of an effect of power source noise, and reduction of jitter, wherein a delay circuit, voltage-controlled oscillation circuit, and voltage-controlled delay circuit comprised of a plurality of delay stages controlled in drive current in accordance with a bias voltage or a control voltage and determined in delay time by the drive current, adding a change of a power source voltage to the above bias voltage or control voltage by a predetermined ratio and supplying a result of the addition to the above delay stages to suppress the power source voltage dependencies of the delay times of the delay stages, or connecting by a predetermined ratio a plurality of delay stages having different power source voltage dependencies, for example, power source voltage dependencies of opposite delay times, to suppress the power source voltage dependencies of delay times of the delay stages are realized.

A semiconductor memory device with a clock synchronization circuit capable of performing a desired phase / frequency locking operation, without the jitter peaking phenomenon and the pattern jitter of an oscillation control voltage signal using injection locking. The device includes a phase-locked loop that detects a phase / frequency difference between a feedback clock signal and a reference clock signal to generate an oscillation control voltage signal corresponding to the detected phase / frequency difference, and generates the feedback clock signal corresponding to the oscillation control voltage signal. An injection locking oscillation unit sets up a free running frequency in response to the oscillation control voltage signal and generates an internal clock signal which is synchronized with the reference clock signal.

In a semiconductor integrated circuit, respective semiconductor circuits are disposed in different regions partitioned in accordance with their operation probabilities per unit time, and a supply voltage and a threshold voltage are correlatively controlled in each region. A target value for controlling the threshold voltage is determined in accordance with the operation probability of the semiconductor circuit. A threshold voltage control circuit controls substrate voltages of p-type and n-type MOS transistors included in the semiconductor circuit so that the threshold voltage can be constant at the target value regardless of the temperature change occurring in use. Simultaneously, a supply voltage control circuit controls the supply voltage for the semiconductor circuit so that an objective operating frequency can be attained. As a result, a semiconductor integrated circuit with low power consumption can be obtained.

A delay cell circuit (200) is disclosed. The delay cell circuit may include a differential stage (202) and a cross-coupled stage (204). The cross-coupled stage can include resistors (210-0 and 210-1) the function to reduce a gain. The differential stage (202) and cross-coupled stage (204) can include variable currents sources (208 and 212), respectively. As frequency of operation increases, variable current source (208) provides a larger current to the differential stage (202) and variable current source (212) provides a smaller current to cross-coupled stage (204). Delay cell circuit (200) may be used in a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO). By including gain attenuating devices such as resistors (210-0 and 210-1), a frequency tuning range of the VCO may be increased.

A delay circuit in a semiconductor memory device generates a sense amplifier enable signal having a delay time with respect to the timing of selection of one of memory cells. The delay time corresponds to the largest read time for the memory cell located at the most distant position and has an irregularity reflecting an irregularity in threshold voltage of nMOSFET transfer gates in each memory cell, which affects the read time. An optimum timing for the sense amplifier enable signal can be obtained by the delay circuit irrespective of the irregularity in the threshold voltage of the nMOSFET transfer gates.

A ring oscillator having an odd number of single ended stages, each stage including two transistors connected as a current mirror. The stage provides for low-voltage performance and improved process tolerance characteristics.

A jitter generator produces a jittery test signal for use in performing a jitter test on an integrated circuit (IC) device under test (DUT). The jitter generator includes a programmable delay circuit for delaying a non-jittery input signal with a varying delay controlled by input digital delay control data to produce the test signal. A pattern generator supplies a sequence of delay control data to the programmable delay circuit causing it to produce a desired jitter pattern in the test signal. During a calibration process, a measurement unit feeds the test signal back to the input of the programmable delay circuit, causing the test signal to oscillate with a period proportional to the delay through the delay circuit. The measurement unit then measures the period of the test signal for various values of delay control data and reports measurement results. Based on the measurement results, host equipment then determines an appropriate sequence of delay control data for producing a desired jitter pattern in the test signal and programs the pattern generator to produce that sequence of delay control data during a jitter test. The jitter generator can form a part of a built-in, self-test (BIST) circuit implemented within the DUT itself.

The present invention relates to a ring oscillator including a delay stage, the delay stage includes a differential pair of input transistor, a variable resistive load coupled to the transistor, a differential output between the variable resistive load and the corresponding input transistor, a variable current source coupled to the differential pair of transistors for variably setting a bias current through the differential pair of transistors, and an input coupled to the variable resistive load and the variable current source for receiving an configuration signal, wherein the variable resistive load and the variable current source are changed in response to the configuration signal, wherein the bias current of the variable current source increases and the variable resistive load decreases, and vice versa.

A phase-combining circuit for combining cyclic timing waveforms that have been phase-controlled by control signals based on three or more input signals of different phases, has a weight signal generating circuit and a weighting circuit. The weight signal generating circuit generates weights according to the control signals, and the weighting circuit gives the weights to the respective input signals, with a positive or negative polarity for each one signal.

A phase shifting circuit that may be used as part of a quadrature clock generator. The phase shifting circuit comprises a triangle wave generator coupled to receive an input reference signal. The triangle wave generator outputs a pair of complementary triangle wave signals in response to the input reference signal. A comparator having a pair of inputs is coupled to receive the pair of complementary triangle wave signals. The comparator outputs an output signal having a predetermined phase relationship with the input reference signal in response to a comparison between the pair of complementary triangle wave signals.

In a variable frequency oscillator in a semiconductor device, as the variation of an oscillation frequency caused by the variation of temperature and supply voltage and process variation is large, it is difficult to reduce the conversion ratio of control voltage dependent upon phase noise and the oscillation frequency and therefore, phase noise is large. The variation of the oscillation frequency is suppressed and phase noise is reduced by connecting a voltage-to-current conversion circuit that converts input control voltage to control current of a ring oscillator to the ring oscillator where delay circuits a delay time of which increases and decreases according to the amplitude of input control current are cascade-connected by a plurality of stages in a ring and increasing / decreasing current dependent upon any of temperature, supply voltage and the threshold voltage of a transistor inside the voltage-to-current conversion circuit.

A differential amplifier circuit includes: a differential transistor pair composed of first and second transistors; a first resistance connected to a junction point of the first and second transistors at one terminal and to a first voltage node at the other terminal; second and third resistances provided between the first and second transistors, respectively, and a second voltage node; and first and second passive circuits respectively connected to the second and third resistances, the load characteristics of the passive circuits changing according to a control signal supplied. A ring oscillator is composed of a plurality of such differential amplifier circuits connected in a loop.

Delay locked loop circuitry for generating a predetermined phase relationship between a pair of clocks. A first delay-locked loop includes a delay elements arranged in a chain, the chain receiving an input clock and generating, from each delay element, a set of phase vectors, each shifted a unit delay from the adjacent vector. The first delay-locked loop adjusts the unit delays in the delay chain using a delay adjustment signal so that the phase vectors span a predetermined phase shift of the input clock. A second delay-locked loop selects, from the first delay-locked loop, a pair of phase vectors which brackets the phase of an input clock. A phase interpolator receives the selected pair of vectors and generates an output clock and a delayed output clock, the amount of the delay being controlled by the delay adjustment signal of the first delay-locked loop circuitry. A phase detector compares the delayed output clock with the input clock and adjusts the phase interpolator, based on the phase comparison, so that the phase of the delayed output clock is in phase with the input clock. As a result, there is a predetermined phase relationship between the output clock and the input clock, the phase relationship being the amount of delay between the output clock and the delayed output clock. Different phase relationships between the input and output clock are possible depending on the number of unit delays used in the path of the, delayed output clock or the output clock.

A receiver adapted to be coupled to a data bus and configured to receive data in accordance with a receive clock includes first and second delay-locked loops. The first delay-locked loop is configured to generate a plurality of phase vectors from a first reference clock, and the second delay-locked loop is coupled to the first delay-locked loop and configured to generate the receive clock from at least one phase vector selected from the plurality of phase vectors and a second reference clock.

A timing source for a pulse generator is disclosed, which timing source includes an input for receiving a reference clock output at a reference operating frequency. An edge generator is provided for generating a plurality of clock edges from an edge of the reference clock during one period thereof, with the spacing of the plurality of clock edges being a multiple of a predetermined divisor. As such, the resolution of such spacing emulates a higher clock frequency than the reference operating frequency. A selector then selects one of the plurality of clock edges from a reference one thereof to define the width of a pulse.

An inverter type delay circuit, voltage-controlled oscillation circuit, and voltage-controlled delay circuit capable of realizing simplification of circuit configuration, reduction of an effect of power source noise, and reduction of jitter, wherein a delay circuit, voltage-controlled oscillation circuit, and voltage-controlled delay circuit comprised of a plurality of delay stages controlled in drive current in accordance with a bias voltage or a control voltage and determined in delay time by the drive current, adding a change of a power source voltage to the above bias voltage or control voltage by a predetermined ratio and supplying a result of the addition to the above delay stages to suppress the power source voltage dependencies of the delay times of the delay stages, or connecting by a predetermined ratio a plurality of delay stages having different power source voltage dependencies, for example, power source voltage dependencies of opposite delay times, to suppress the power source voltage dependencies of delay times of the delay stages are realized.

Current-controlled CMOS (C3MOS) fully differential integrated delay cell with variable delay and high bandwidth. A novel implementation includes a wideband differential transistor pair and a cross-coupled differential transistor pair. The wideband differential transistor pair can be implemented with appropriate input and output impedances to extend its bandwidth for use in broadband applications. These two stages, (1) buffer stage (or data amplifier stage) and (2) cross-coupled differential pair stage, are both very fast operating stages. This design does not incur any increased loading to previous or subsequent stages in a device. In addition, there is no increase in the total amount of current that is required.

A jitter generator produces a jittery test signal for use in performing a jitter test on an integrated circuit (IC) device under test (DUT). The jitter generator includes a programmable delay circuit for delaying a non-jittery input signal with a varying delay controlled by input digital delay control data to produce the test signal. A pattern generator supplies a sequence of delay control data to the programmable delay circuit causing it to produce a desired jitter pattern in the test signal. During a calibration process, a measurement unit feeds the test signal back to the input of the programmable delay circuit, causing the test signal to oscillate with a period proportional to the delay through the delay circuit. The measurement unit then measures the period of the test signal for various values of delay control data and reports measurement results. Based on the measurement results, host equipment then determines an appropriate sequence of delay control data for producing a desired jitter pattern in the test signal and programs the pattern generator to produce that sequence of delay control data during a jitter test. The jitter generator can form a part of a built-in, self-test (BIST) circuit implemented within the DUT itself.

A bandpass filter circuit 10 of the present invention includes: transconductance amplifier circuits 1 to 3; a common-mode feedback circuit 4 which outputs a first control signal to the transconductance amplifier circuit 1 so that a D.C. voltage level of a differential output of the transconductance amplifier circuit 1 is at a predetermined level; a common-mode feedback circuit 5 which outputs a second control signal to the transconductance amplifier circuit 2 so that a D.C. voltage level of a differential output of the transconductance amplifier circuit 2 is at a predetermined level; and capacitors C1 to C3. Each of the members are connected as shown in FIG. 1. With the configuration, a bandpass filter circuit capable of adjusting constants such as a Q-value is realized.

A duty cycle correction circuit (10) for receiving an input clock signal (11) and generating an output clock signal (13) having a predetermined duty cycle includes a clock trigger circuit (12) generating the output clock signal (13) having a first clock edge triggered from the input clock signal and a second clock edge triggered from a delayed clock signal (22); a charge pump circuit (14) receiving the output clock signal and generating charging and discharging currents for a capacitor (C1) where a control voltage develops on the capacitor indicative of the duty cycle error of the output clock signal; a self-track bias circuit (18) receiving the control voltage and generating first and second bias voltages (23, 24) in response to the control voltage; and a delay-locked loop circuit (20) receiving the output clock signal and the first and second bias voltages and generating the delayed clock signal.

A clock generating apparatus includes a clock generator and a controllable delay line. The clock generator receives an external clock signal and generates multiple clock signals having different phases by delaying the external clock signal. The controllable delay line receives one of the multiple clock signals as a first clock signal and delays the first clock signal by a first interval in response to an externally applied control signal. The delayed first clock signal is input to the clock generator.

The clock recovery circuit includes a first oscillator and an edge detector. The first oscillator generates a plurality of clocks having different phases and a predetermined frequency. The edge detector detects two clocks, among the plurality of clocks, between edges of which an input data signal has made a transition. The first oscillator includes a plurality of delay cells connected in a ring, and outputs of the plurality of delay cells are output as the plurality of clocks. Each of the plurality of delay cells selectively delays a first-delay added input data signal or the signal output from the preceding delay cell, and outputs the selected delayed signal. The edge detector controls one delay cell among the plurality of delay cells corresponding to the result of the detection, to delay and output the first-delay added input data signal.

A delay stage for a semiconductor device includes at least one delay branch and at least one controllable switching apparatus. The at least one controllable switching apparatus is configured to connect a predefined amount of the at least one delay branch to a supply voltage.

A clock synthesis circuit (22) including a phase-locked loop (25) and one or more frequency synthesis circuits (27; 77; 227; 237) is disclosed. A disclosed implementation of the phase-locked loop (25) includes a voltage-controlled oscillator (30) having an even number of differential stages (31) to produce an even number of equally spaced clock phases. In one arrangement, the frequency synthesis circuit (27) includes two adder legs that generate select signals applied to first and second multiplexers (40a, 40b), for selecting among the clock phases from the voltage-controlled oscillator (30). The outputs of the first and second multiplexers (40a, 40b) are applied to a two-to-one multiplexer (46) which is controlled by the output clock signal (CLK1), to drive clock edges to a T flip-flop (48) to produce the output clock signals (CLK1, CLK2). In another embodiment, more than two adder and register units (55) control corresponding multiplexers (56) for selecting clock phases from the voltage-controlled oscillator (30) for application to an output multiplexer (58), which is controlled by a clock control circuit (60) to apply the selected clock phases to the T flip-flop (62). In another embodiment, primary and phase-shifted frequency synthesis circuits (227, 327) receive initialization values (INIT1, INIT2) that establish the phase differential and ensure proper initialization.

In a dead time control circuit, a delay circuit is connected to an input terminal and adapted to delay signals therethrough by a delay time corresponding to a dead time. A logic circuit has a first input connected via the delay circuit to the input terminal, a second input connected directly to the input terminal, and an output connected to an output terminal. The dead time having adjustable temperature characteristics.

Integrated circuit delay devices include a digital delay line that is configured to provide a percent-of-clock period delay to a timing signal accepted at an enabled one of a plurality of injection ports thereof. The digital delay line may be responsive to an injection control signal having a value that sets a length of the delay by specifying a location of the enabled one of the plurality of injection ports, with the end of the delay line being a fixed output port. A delay line control circuit is also provided that is responsive to a clock signal having a period from which the percent-of-clock period delay is preferably measured. The delay line control circuit is configured to generate the injection control signal by counting multiple cycles of a high frequency ring oscillator signal having a period less than, and typically substantially less than, the clock period, over a time interval having a duration greater than, and typically substantially greater than, the clock period. The ring oscillator signal may be generated by a ring oscillator having a relatively small number of stages and the time interval may be sufficiently long so that a large number of cycles of the ring oscillator signal may be counted over many periods of the clock signal.

A system and method for bitwise deskew. A DQS timing is used as reference, the delays of a plurality of transmission wires are calibrated with reference to a DQS line timing. Other embodiments are described and claimed.