Clock Frequency Monitor Using Delayed Signal Comparison
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for monitoring clock signal frequencies in integrated circuits are inadequate as they fail to provide accurate results at high and low frequencies, are sensitive to input clock duty cycle, and consume high power, making them inefficient for determining whether a clock signal is within specified frequency ranges.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that divides the clock signal into components, adds a delay, and compares them to determine if the signal is within a predetermined frequency range, providing an output indicative of its condition, while being insensitive to duty cycle and minimizing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing frequency monitoring systems are used, then frequency monitoring capability is provided, but the system exhibits sensitivity to input clock duty cycle and increased power consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The clock signal is divided into multiple components using delay elements that create time-separated copies of the original signal. These segmented signal components are then processed independently through comparison operations, enabling accurate frequency monitoring while using simple, low-power logic circuits rather than complex continuous monitoring systems.
2Reliability
If existing frequency monitoring systems are used, then frequency monitoring capability is provided, but the system performs poorly at high and low frequencies
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system uses dynamic delay elements that can be adjusted to adapt to different frequency ranges. By dynamically adjusting the delay parameters, the system maintains effective operation across both high and low frequency ranges, overcoming the limitation of fixed-frequency monitoring approaches.
3Measurement precision
If complex frequency monitoring methods are used, then monitoring accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using complex analytical measurement circuits, the system creates simplified temporal copies of the clock signal through delay elements. These copied signals are then compared using simple logic operations, achieving accurate frequency monitoring without requiring complex measurement instrumentation.
4Reliability
If duty cycle sensitive monitoring is used, then existing monitoring capability is maintained, but errors occur due to duty cycle variations
Solution Approach 1:
The clock signal is segmented into multiple time-delayed components, and the system monitors the temporal relationships between these segments rather than the absolute timing relative to duty cycle edges. This segmentation approach makes the monitoring inherently insensitive to duty cycle variations, as it depends only on the period between clock cycles.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system for monitoring a frequency of a clock signal is disclosed. The method and system comprise dividing a clock signal into a plurality of clock signal components. The method and system further comprise adding a delay to each of the clock signal components and comparing the plurality of signal components with each of the delayed clock signal components to monitor whether the clock signal is within a predetermined frequency range. The method and system includes providing an output signal indicative of a condition of the clock signal based upon the comparing step.