Semiconductor Device Clock Phase Alignment Circuit
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-speed memory devices face challenges in aligning data clocks with system clocks during initial operation, leading to inefficient interface training and potential operational issues due to misalignment of reference phases for command, address, and data transfer.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor device incorporating inversion circuits, phase detection units, and inversion signal generation units to compare and align the phases of data clocks with system clocks, reducing the burden on the memory control unit by enabling efficient clock alignment training.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If interface training is performed to align data clock and system clock phases, then clock alignment accuracy is improved, but training complexity and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The memory device performs self-diagnosis of clock phase alignment by internally comparing the phase of data clock with system clock, and automatically generates inversion signals to correct misalignment without requiring complex external training procedures. This reduces training complexity while maintaining alignment accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The phase detection unit continuously monitors the phase relationship between data clock and system clock, providing feedback information to the inversion signal generation unit. This feedback mechanism enables automatic phase correction and simplifies the training process by eliminating the need for complex external training sequences.
2Reliability
If phase detection and inversion circuits are added to align clocks, then operational reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
A phase detection unit is introduced as an intermediary component that compares the phases of data clock and system clock, and an inversion signal generation unit acts as a mediator to generate correction signals. These intermediary components enable reliable clock alignment while keeping the overall circuit design straightforward and modular.
3Productivity
If data clock frequency is doubled for high-speed operation, then data transfer rate is improved, but clock alignment difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical or external training mechanisms with an electronic phase detection and inversion signal generation system. This electronic approach enables automatic clock alignment even at doubled data clock frequencies, maintaining high data transfer rates while reducing alignment difficulty.
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device includes: an inversion circuit suitable for inverting a first data clock in response to an inversion signal; a first phase detection unit suitable for comparing a phase of the first data clock transferred from the inversion circuit with a phase of a system clock and generating a first detection result; a second phase detection unit suitable for comparing a phase of a second data clock with the phase of the system clock and generating a second detection result; an inversion signal generation unit suitable for generating the inversion signal that is enabled when the first detection result and the second detection result are different from each other; a first transferring unit suitable for transferring the first detection result; and a second transferring unit suitable for transferring the second detection result.