Semiconductor Data Alignment Circuit Using Multi-Phase Clock Signals
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Solution Overview
Problem
As semiconductor systems operate at high speeds, there is a demand for high data transmission rates, but existing pre-fetch schemes struggle to efficiently align and manage data alignment sequences in response to varying internal clock signals, affecting data communication efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor device is designed with a read mode signal generation circuit and a read alignment circuit that synchronize with internal clock signals to generate and control the alignment sequence of data, and a write control circuit that aligns write data based on internal clock signals, ensuring efficient data alignment and transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If pre-fetch schemes are used to increase data transmission rates, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases due to multiple clock signals and alignment circuits
Solution Approach 1:
The data transmission process is segmented into multiple phases using multi-phase clock signals (first through fourth clock signals with 90-degree phase differences). Each phase handles specific data latching and alignment operations, allowing parallel processing of data bits while maintaining organized control flow. This segmentation enables high-speed transmission by dividing the complex pre-fetch operation into manageable sequential steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs periodic clock signals with fixed phase relationships to control data latching and alignment operations. The multi-phase clock signals repeat in a consistent cycle, creating periodic action that synchronizes data movement through the pre-fetch circuitry. This periodic timing structure allows predictable data alignment and simplifies control logic compared to asynchronous approaches.
2Manufacturing precision
If data alignment is performed using multiple clock signals, then manufacturing precision of data timing is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to complex synchronization requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates equipotential timing conditions by generating multiple clock signals with fixed phase relationships from a single source. All clock signals maintain consistent frequency and predictable phase offsets, ensuring that data latching occurs at precisely aligned moments across different circuit stages. This equipotential approach to timing eliminates timing skew issues and simplifies synchronization control.
Solution Approach 2:
The first through fourth clock signals act as intermediaries between the input data and the output aligned data. These clock signals mediate the timing and alignment of data bits as they move through the pre-fetch circuitry, providing a consistent reference framework that simplifies control logic while maintaining precise timing alignment.
3Productivity
If internal clock signals are divided to generate parallel data, then productivity increases through parallelization, but loss of time occurs during clock signal generation and distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by generating all four phase-shifted clock signals simultaneously from a single clock source before data alignment is needed. This pre-generation of synchronized clock signals eliminates sequential generation delays and ensures that all timing references are available immediately when data latching begins, minimizing time loss while enabling parallel processing.
Data Source
AI summary
A semiconductor device includes a read mode signal generation circuit and a read alignment circuit. The read mode signal generation circuit compares a read command with at least one of internal clock signal to generate a read mode signal. The read alignment circuit is synchronized with the at least one internal clock signal to generate read data in response to internal data. The read alignment circuit controls an alignment sequence of the internal data in response to the read mode signal.