Passive Quadrature Phase Detector for Low-Power Accurate Clock Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional quadrature phase detectors implemented with active devices like XOR gates lead to high power consumption and phase detection mismatches due to semiconductor process variations.
Innovation Solution
A quadrature phase detector design utilizing passive components, including switches and filters, to selectively couple clock signals and generate detection results, thereby reducing power consumption and improving phase detection accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If active devices such as XOR gates are used to implement the quadrature phase detector, then the phase detection function is achieved, but the power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces active electronic devices (XOR gates) with passive circuit components (switches and filters) to implement the phase detection function. This substitution of active devices with passive components directly reduces power consumption while maintaining the phase detection capability through voltage sampling and filtering rather than logical XOR operations.
2Measurement precision
If four sets of circuits are designed to detect phase differences between clock signals, then comprehensive phase detection is achieved, but mismatches occur due to semiconductor process variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the four separate phase detection circuits into a single unified circuit that processes all four clock signals (0°, 90°, 180°, 270°) through common switching and filtering components. This consolidation eliminates mismatches between separate circuits by using a shared passive component structure, ensuring consistent phase detection across all quadrants.
Solution Approach 2:
The unified detection circuit performs multiple phase detection functions simultaneously using the same passive components. The switches and filters serve universal purposes across all four phase comparisons, making the circuit multi-functional while maintaining consistency through process-insensitive passive component characteristics.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a quadrature phase detector including a detection circuit. The detection circuit includes a first switch, a second switch and a first filter, wherein the first switch is controlled by a second clock signal to selectively couple a first clock signal to a first node, the second switch is controlled by the second clock signal to selectively coupled the first node to a reference voltage, and the first filter is configured to filter voltages at the first node to generate a first detection result.