Feedback-Based Flip-Flop Circuit for Higher Clock Rates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional high-speed electronic circuits, such as D-Flip-Flops, face limitations in data processing rates due to parasitic resistances and capacitances, leading to inter-symbol interference and jitter, and existing methods to enhance speed are neither cost-effective nor efficient.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of an always active (ON) negative feedback loop across D-Flip-Flops, eliminating the need for external control, creates a high pass filter that mitigates timing errors and increases data processing rates by using a master-slave configuration with latches and an amplifier stage, enhancing clock rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If devices are made wide to carry large amount of current, then current carrying capacity is improved, but input capacitance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a feedback path from the output of the second latch back to the input of the first latch. This feedback mechanism compensates for the effects of increased input capacitance by providing a corrective signal that counteracts the timing errors and inter-symbol interference caused by the capacitive loading, thereby maintaining signal integrity despite the increased capacitance from wide device structures.
2Ease of manufacture
If parasitic resistances and capacitances are present, then circuit implementation is simplified, but inter-symbol interference and jitter increase
Solution Approach 1:
The feedback path compensates for timing errors and signal degradation caused by parasitic resistances and capacitances. By feeding back a portion of the output signal to the input, the system counteracts the distorting effects of parasitics, reducing inter-symbol interference and jitter while maintaining signal integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The feedback signal acts as an intermediary that mediates between the degraded input signal (affected by parasitics) and the required clean output. The feedback path introduces a corrective component that compensates for the harmful effects of parasitic elements without requiring changes to the physical layout or component selection.
3Productivity
If setup and hold delays are reduced, then data processing speed is improved, but latch design complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The feedback path from the second latch output to the first latch input creates a corrective mechanism that compensates for setup and hold timing errors. This allows the use of conventional latch designs with moderate setup and hold times while achieving higher effective data processing speeds, as the feedback compensates for timing violations that would otherwise limit performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The feedback signal provides preliminary correction for timing errors before they propagate through the system. By anticipating and compensating for setup and hold delays in advance, the circuit can operate at higher speeds without requiring fundamentally new latch architectures.
Data Source
AI summary
A flip-flop circuit for enhancing clock rates in high speed electronic circuits, the flip-flop circuit having an input terminal, an output terminal, and a third terminal that controls the flow of signal from the input terminal to the output terminal, comprising: two latches arranged in a master-slave configuration such that the input terminal of the first latch is also the input terminal of the flip-flop and the output terminal of the second latch is also the output terminal of the flip-flop; and at least one feedback path that adds signal to the input of the flip-flop from one of the outputs of the two latches.