Detecting distortion in spread spectrum signals

Abstract

Detecting distortion in spread spectrum signals, including: identifying, based on a reference clock signal, one or more edges in a spread spectrum clock signal; incrementing one or more counters corresponding to the one or more edges, the one or more counters included in a plurality of counters; providing each bit of a respective output of the plurality of counters to a respective OR gate of a plurality of OR gates; and outputting, based on an output of an OR gate of the plurality of OR gates corresponding to a selected bit, an indication of whether distortion exists in the spread spectrum clock signal.

Description

BACKGROUNDField of the Invention[0001]The field of the invention is data processing, or, more specifically, methods, apparatus, and products for detecting distortion in spread spectrum signals.Description Of Related Art[0002]The development of the EDVAC computer system of 1948 is often cited as the beginning of the computer era. Since that time, computer systems have evolved into extremely complicated devices. Today's computers are much more sophisticated than early systems such as the EDVAC. Computer systems typically include a combination of hardware and software components, application programs, operating systems, processors, buses, memory, input / output devices, and so on. As advances in semiconductor processing and computer architecture push the performance of the computer higher and higher, more sophisticated computer software has evolved to take advantage of the higher performance of the hardware, resulting in computer systems today that are much more powerful than just a few ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0004]A method for detecting distortion in spread spectrum signals may include: identifying, based on a reference clock signal, one or more edges in a spread spectrum clock signal; increment one or more counters corresponding to the one or more edges, the one or more counters included in a plurality of counters; providing each bit of a respective output of the plurality of counters to a respective OR gate of a plurality of OR gates; and outputting, based on an output of an OR gate of the plurality of OR gates corresponding to a selected bit, an indication of whether distortion exists in the spread spectrum clock signal. The method for detecting distortion in spread spectrum signals may be implemented in a circuit. The method for detecting distortion in spread spectrum signals may also be implemented in an apparatus including a circuit configured to perform the method. The method provides the advantage of being able to detect distortion in spread spectrum clock signals on-chip, without the need for additional and potentially expensive lab equipment.

[0005]In an optional embodiment, outputting the indication of whether distortion exists in the spread spectrum clock signal comprises: outputting, by a multiplexer coupled to the plurality of OR gates, to another OR gate, the output of the OR gate corresponding to the selected bit; outputting, by the other OR gate, an input to a latch clocked by the reference clock signal, wherein the other OR gate accepts, as input, an output of the latch; and output, as the indication of whether distortion was detected in the spread spectrum clock signal, an output of the latch. This provides the advantage of having a selected OR gate output latched until testing is concluded, after which the latched value can be provided as an indication of whether distortion was detected.

[0006]In an optional embodiment, selected bit is based on an average count across the plurality of counters and a type of distortion to detect. This provides the advantage of allowing for multiple types of distortion to be detected using a same hardware configuration, depending on which bit is selected.

Problems solved by technology

Since that time, computer systems have evolved into extremely complicated devices.

In some cases, the spread spectrum signal may be distorted and cause a non-linear distribution of power.

Existing solutions for identifying distortion in a spread spectrum signal may require prohibitively expensive external lab equipment or other complex testing methodologies.

Images