The invention relates generally to a retiming circuit or retimer and, more particularly, to a retimer for clock dividers.
Referring to
In operation, these differential clock signals CLK1 and CLK2 are provided to the counter 102, delay circuit 104, preconditioner 106, and retimer 108 so that a divided clock signal CLKOUT can be output from driver 110. In particular, counter 102 (which can be reset by reset signal RST and which has a programmable division to divide clock signal CLKIN) receives clock signal CLK1, along with the delay circuit 104 and preconditioner 106. Retimer 108, on the other hand, receives clock signal CLK2. A reason for this particular arrangement is power conservation because it allows counter 102, delay circuit 104, and preconditioner 106 to be “sloppy.”
Turning to
A problem with this arrangement, however, is that circuit 108 consumes too much power, is too noisy, and is too large. Generally speaking, phase noise and jitter are a function of retiming as is the power consumption. Thus, there is a need for a smaller circuit with lower power consumption and less noise.
Some other examples of conventional circuits are: U.S. Pat. No. 7,356,106; U.S. Patent Pre-Grant Publ. No. 2005/0135471; and PCT Publ. No. WO2008/132669.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention, accordingly, provides an apparatus. The apparatus comprises a preconditioner that receives a first differential clock signal and a data signal and that generates a first differential output signal and a second differential output signal; and a retimer having: a first output terminal; a second output terminal; a first differential input pair that is coupled to the first and second output terminals and that receives the first differential output signal; a second differential input pair that is coupled to the first and second output terminals and that receives the second differential output signal; a wired-OR gate that is coupled to each of the first and second differential pairs; and a pair of clock input transistors that is coupled to the first and second differential input pairs and that receives a second differential clock signal.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, each of the first and second differential pairs further comprises: a first bipolar transistor that is coupled to the wired-OR gate at its collector and that receives a first portion of one of the first and second differential output signals at its base; and a second bipolar transistor that is coupled to the wired-OR gate at its collector, that receives a second portion of one of the first and second differential output signals at its base, and that is coupled to the emitter of the first bipolar transistor at its emitter.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises: a first clock buffer that receives an input clocks signal and that outputs the second differential clock signal; and a second clock buffer that is coupled to the first delay circuit and that outputs the first differential clock signal.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the preconditioner further comprises: logic that receives the data signal; a first flip-flop that is coupled to the logic, that is receives the first differential clock signal, and that outputs the first differential output signal; and a second flip-flop that is coupled to the logic, that receives an inverse of the first differential clock signal, and that outputs the second differential output signal.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pair of clock input transistors further comprises: a third bipolar transistor that is coupled to the emitters of the first and second bipolar transistors of the first differential pair at its collector and that receives a first portion of the second differential clock signal at its base; and a fourth bipolar transistor that is coupled to the emitters of the first and second bipolar transistors of the second differential pair at its collector, that receives a second portion of the second differential clock signal at its base, and that is coupled to the emitter of the third bipolar transistor at its emitter.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises a current source that is coupled to the emitters of the third and four bipolar transistors.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pair of clock input transistors further comprises: a third bipolar transistor that is coupled to the emitters of the first and second bipolar transistors of the first differential pair at its emitter and that receives a first portion of the second differential clock signal at its base; and a fourth bipolar transistor that is coupled to the emitters of the first and second bipolar transistors of the second differential pair at its emitter and that receives a second portion of the second differential clock signal at its base.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises: a first current source that is coupled to the emitter of the third bipolar transistor; and a second current source that is coupled to the emitter of the fourth bipolar transistor.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus is provided. The apparatus comprises a preconditioner that receives a first differential clock signal and a data signal and that generates a first differential output signal and a second differential output signal; and a retimer having: a first voltage rail; a second voltage rail; a wired-OR gate a first output terminal, and a second output terminal; a first resistor coupled between the first voltage rail and the first output terminal; a second resistor coupled between the first voltage rail and the second output terminal; a first bipolar transistor that is coupled to the wired-OR gate at its collector and that receives a first portion of the first differential output signal at its base; and a second bipolar transistor that is coupled to the wired-OR gate at its collector, that receives a second portion of the first differential output signal at its base, and that is coupled to the emitter of the first bipolar transistor at its emitter; a third bipolar transistor that is coupled to the wired-OR gate at its collector and that receives a first portion of the second differential output signal at its base; and a fourth bipolar transistor that is coupled to the wired-OR gate at its collector, that receives a second portion of the second differential output signal at its base, and that is coupled to the emitter of the first bipolar transistor at its emitter; and a pair of clock input transistors, wherein each transistors from the pair of clock input transistors is coupled to the emitter of one of the first, second, third, and fourth bipolar transistors differential that receives a second differential clock signal.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, each of the first, second, third, and fourth transistors is an NPN transistor.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pair of clock input transistors further comprises: a fifth bipolar transistor that is coupled to the emitters of the first and second bipolar transistors at its collector and that receives a first portion of the second differential clock signal at its base; and a sixth bipolar transistor that is coupled to the emitters of the third and fourth bipolar transistors at its collector, that receives a second portion of the second differential clock signal at its base, and that is coupled to the emitter of the fifth bipolar transistor at its emitter.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises a current source that is coupled to the emitters of the fifth and sixth bipolar transistors.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pair of clock input transistors further comprises: a fifth bipolar transistor that is coupled to the emitters of the first and second bipolar transistors at its emitter and that receives a first portion of the second differential clock signal at its base; and a sixth bipolar transistor that is coupled to the emitters of the third and fourth bipolar transistors at its emitter and that receives a second portion of the second differential clock signal at its base.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises: a first current source that is coupled to the emitter of the fifth bipolar transistor; and a second current source that is coupled to the emitter of the sixth bipolar transistor.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus comprising: a delay chain that receives an input clock signal and that generates a plurality of differential clock signals; a counter having a programmable division and that is coupled to the delay chain to receive a first differential clock signal of the plurality of differential clock signals; a delay circuit that is coupled to the counter and that receives the first differential clock signal; a preconditioner that is coupled to the delay circuit, that receives the first differential clock signal, and that generates a first differential output signal and a second differential output signal, wherein the preconditioner includes: logic that receives the data signal; a first flip-flop that is coupled to the logic, that is receives the first differential clock signal, and that outputs the first differential output signal; and a second flip-flop that is coupled to the logic, that receives an inverse of the first differential clock signal, and that outputs the second differential output signal; a retimer having: a first voltage rail; a second voltage rail; a wired-OR gate a first output terminal, and a second output terminal; a first resistor coupled between the first voltage rail and the first output terminal; a second resistor coupled between the first voltage rail and the second output terminal; a first NPN transistor that is coupled to the wired-OR gate at its collector and that receives a first portion of the first differential output signal at its base; and a second NPN transistor that is coupled to the wired-OR gate at its collector, that receives a second portion of the first differential output signal at its base, and that is coupled to the emitter of the first bipolar transistor at its emitter; a third NPN transistor that is coupled to the wired-OR gate at its collector and that receives a first portion of the second differential output signal at its base; and a fourth NPN transistor that is coupled to the wired-OR gate at its collector, that receives a second portion of the second differential output signal at its base, and that is coupled to the emitter of the first bipolar transistor at its emitter; and a pair of clock input transistors, wherein each transistors from the pair of clock input transistors is coupled to the emitter of one of the first, second, third, and fourth bipolar transistors differential that receives a second differential clock signal; and a driver that is coupled to the first and second output terminals of the retimer so as to output a divided clock signal.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pair of clock input transistors further comprises: a fifth NPN transistor that is coupled to the emitters of the first and second NPN transistors at its collector and that receives a first portion of the second differential clock signal at its base; and a sixth bipolar transistor that is coupled to the emitters of the third and fourth NPN transistors at its collector, that receives a second portion of the second differential clock signal at its base, and that is coupled to the emitter of the fifth NPN transistor at its emitter.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises a current source that is coupled to the emitters of the fifth and sixth NPN transistors.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pair of clock input transistors further comprises: a fifth NPN transistor that is coupled to the emitters of the first and second NPN transistors at its emitter and that receives a first portion of the second differential clock signal at its base; and a sixth NPN transistor that is coupled to the emitters of the third and fourth NPN transistors at its emitter and that receives a second portion of the second differential clock signal at its base.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises: a first current source that is coupled to the emitter of the fifth NPN transistor; and a second current source that is coupled to the emitter of the sixth NPN transistor.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and the specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Refer now to the drawings wherein depicted elements are, for the sake of clarity, not necessarily shown to scale and wherein like or similar elements are designated by the same reference numeral through the several views.
Turning to
In
In operation, the “even” and “odd” signals from flip-flops 118 and 120 may not be completely aligned, and stage 212 generally enables realigning or retiming. Assuming that terminals EP and ON are logic high (or “1”) and terminals OP and EN are logic low (or “0”), the output terminals OUTP and OUTN toggle with the clock signals CLK2 input into terminals CLKP and CLKN. Additionally, assuming that terminals EN and OP are high and terminals ON and EP are low, the output terminals OUTP and OUTN toggle with the clock signals CLK2 input into terminals CLKP and CLKN. Thus, retimer 202 enables retiming with a more compact arrangement and lower power consumption compared to conventional retimers (such as retimer 108).
Turning now to
Having thus described the present invention by reference to certain of its preferred embodiments, it is noted that the embodiments disclosed are illustrative rather than limiting in nature and that a wide range of variations, modifications, changes, and substitutions are contemplated in the foregoing disclosure and, in some instances, some features of the present invention may be employed without a corresponding use of the other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention.