Weighted Driver Slices for Selectable Power Consumption
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-speed serial interfaces in communication systems face challenges in power consumption due to varying channel conditions, requiring complex receivers and high power transmitters, which do not scale well with voltage or current adjustments, leading to inefficiencies and data integrity issues.
Innovation Solution
A transmitter circuit divided into slices with unequal power levels, allowing for programmable power control through enable inputs and reduced control logic, enabling efficient power management across disparate link and channel conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If transmitter power is adjusted by changing driver voltage and/or current levels, then power consumption can be reduced, but internal impedances change causing mismatch and loss of power
Solution Approach 1:
The transmitter driver circuit is divided into multiple parallel slices, each capable of being independently enabled or disabled. This segmentation allows selective activation of driver stages to match channel conditions, reducing power consumption without compromising signal integrity when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The transmitter implements dynamic power adjustment by selectively enabling or disabling driver slices based on channel quality feedback. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to optimize power consumption while maintaining reliable transmission under varying conditions.
2Use of energy by moving object
If transmitter power is reduced to save energy, then power consumption decreases, but delay increases compromising data window integrity
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the driver into parallel slices with selective enablement, the system can maintain sufficient drive strength to meet timing requirements while deactivating unnecessary slices to reduce power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters (which driver slices are active) based on channel conditions, allowing optimization of the power-delay tradeoff by selecting appropriate driver configurations for different transmission scenarios.
3Reliability
If transmitter is designed for worst-case conditions, then reliability is improved, but power consumption increases and circuit complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The transmitter is segmented into multiple driver slices that can be selectively activated. This allows the system to achieve worst-case performance when needed by enabling all slices, while reducing complexity and power consumption for better channel conditions by activating only necessary slices.
Solution Approach 2:
The driver circuit is designed with multi-functionality to handle both worst-case and best-case scenarios using the same hardware infrastructure. The universal driver slice design can be selectively enabled to provide appropriate performance level for different channel conditions without requiring separate transmitter designs.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple unequally spaced power levels are required, then adaptability to different channel conditions is improved, but control logic complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The driver is segmented into slices with progressively increasing current levels, where each slice represents a specific power increment. This segmentation naturally creates unequally spaced power levels that match channel condition requirements without complex control logic.
Solution Approach 2:
Different slices provide different current levels (local quality variations) to match specific channel conditions. The unequal spacing of slice current levels optimizes the power selection range for disparate link conditions while keeping control logic simple through direct slice enablement.
Data Source
AI summary
A digital transmission circuit and method providing selectable power consumption via multiple weighted driver slices improves the flexibility of an interface while reducing transmitter power consumption, area and complexity when possible. A cascaded series of driver stages is provided by a set of parallel slices and a control logic that activates one or more of the slices, which combine to produce a cascaded active driver circuit. The power consumption/drive level selectability of the slice combination provides a driver that can be fine-tuned to particular applications to provide the required performance at a minimum power consumption level.