METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR OPEN LOOP COMPENSATION OF DELAY VARIATIONS IN A DELAY LINE

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and system for open loop compensation of delay variations in a delay line. The method includes sensing the Process, Voltage, Temperature (PVT) variations in the delay line using a sensing circuit. A first and second sensitive current are generated based on the PVT variations. The first and second sensitive currents are mirrored currents from the sensing circuit. Then, a first compensation current is generated based on the first sensitive current and a first summing current. The first summing current is a reference current independent of the PVT variations. Further, the first compensation current is mirrored as a second summing current and a second compensation current is generated from the second sensitive current and the second summing current. The second compensation current compensates the delay variations and has a sensitivity based on the sensitivities of the first and second sensitive currents.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to delay lines. More specifically, the present invention relates to compensating delay variations in a delay line.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Delay line is a device where an input signal reaches the output of the device after a known period of time has elapsed. Delay lines are used to derive precise delay in various electronic devices based on control parameters such as voltage and current. Based on control parameters, two types of delay lines are commonly known, Voltage Controlled Delay Line (VCDL) and Current Controlled Delay line (CCDL). The delay lines are critical functional blocks in Phase-locked loops (PLLs) and Delay-locked loops (DLLs). Delay lines also find applications in programmable devices such as Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) and Complex Programmable Logic Device (CPLD). Another application of delay line is in digital direct synthesis (DDS) to reduce time jitter of the signal by using virtual clock enhancement method.

A typical delay line includes multiple delay elements. The delay element is the basic component that generates delay in a delay line. Two commonly used delay elements are CMOS delay elements and differential delay elements. A very basic example of CMOS delay element is a CMOS inverter. Each of the delay element in the delay line is configured to produce a finite delay. However, delay at any chosen tap in a delay line vary over a relatively large range due to variations in operating conditions such as effects of temperature, supply voltage, and device parameter variations. The delay varies in a delay element due to bias current variation and load capacitance variation across process, temperature and supply variations. The process variation is defined in terms of variations in gate oxide thickness, doping concentration and geometry of the delay element. The process variations change the threshold voltage and mobility of the delay element. As a result, delay varies across multiple process corners in a delay line.

Various conventional methods have been used to achieve better delay accuracy and minimize delay variation. One such method employs closed loop feedback around the delay line for PVT compensation at the cost of power in milliwatts. The delay variation is minimized by using feedback in the form of phase or delay locked loop to adjust the delay by tracking the period of a reference clock. Other methods facilitate coarse delay tuning by choosing appropriate delay element and then varying control parameter for fine tuning. However, these schemes require closed loop architecture of delay line, resulting in extra hardware overhead and high current requirement. Therefore, the closed loop architecture is not suitable for low power applications. The method and system of the present invention enable low power open loop compensation of delay variations in a delay line.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a method and system for low power open loop compensation of delay variations in a delay line. Another object of the present invention is to achieve a delay accuracy of ±10% across all process, temperature and supply voltage conditions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method and a delay compensation circuit for open loop compensation of delay variations in a delay line. The method comprises the steps of sensing the Process, Voltage, Temperature (PVT) variations in the delay line using a sensing circuit, generating a first and a second sensitive current based on the PVT variations and generating a first compensation current based on the first sensitive current and a first summing current. The first summing current is a reference current independent of the PVT variations. The method further comprises mirroring the first compensation current as a second summing current and generating a second compensation current from the second sensitive current and the second summing current. The second compensation current compensates the delay variations and has a sensitivity based on the sensitivities of the first and second sensitive currents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an NP-current controlled delay element of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a delay line architecture;

FIG. 3 illustrates a single stage delay compensation circuit;

FIG. 4 illustrates a two stage delay compensation circuit of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of open loop delay compensation in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a three stage delay compensation circuit;

FIGS. 7 a and 7b illustrate the simulation results of the input and output signal at the delay line and output at the interpolator respectively;

FIGS. 8 a and 8b illustrate variations in third sensitive current and third compensation current with process and temperature at typical supply condition;

FIGS. 9 a and 9b illustrate variations in third summing current with process and temperature at typical supply condition and delay versus process variations for compensated and uncompensated delay line; and

FIGS. 10 a and 10b illustrates delay versus temperature and supply voltage variations for compensated and uncompensated delay line.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments of the present invention are described herein in the context of delay line systems. Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following detailed description of the present invention is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other embodiments of the present invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure. Reference will now be made in detail to implementation of the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The same reference indicators will be used throughout the drawings and the following detailed description to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1 illustrates an NP-current controlled delay element 100 of the present invention. The NP-current controlled delay element 100 can be used to generate precise time delay in various integrated circuits such as Flash Memory Interface, Phase locked loop (PLL), Delay Locked Loop (DLL) and Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). FIG. 1 illustrates the architecture of a typical NP-current controlled delay element 100. The NP-current controlled delay element 100 includes PMOS transistors 102, 104, 106 and 108 and NMOS transistors 110, 112, 114 and 116. These transistors are connected based on a current starved architecture. V_in is the input voltage and V_out is the delayed voltage. The delay in the delay element can be controlled by changing the source/sink currents, hereinafter referred to as the bias current. The time delay T_d produced by the NP-current controlled delay element 100 is given by,

T _d =V _DD ·C _L/2I

where C₁ is load capacitor seen at the output node of the NP-current controlled delay element 100. ‘I’ is the bias current for the delay element and it can be changed by changing the bias voltages V_p and V_n. Further, V_dd is the voltage supply and can also be referred to as output swing (rail to rail swing).

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, one or more NP-current controlled delay elements 100 can be cascaded to form a Current Controlled Delay Line (CCDL). The total delay produced by a CCDL can be given by,

Total delay=N×T_d

Where T_d=delay/stage (Delay resolution)

• • N=Number of tap delay elements

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the CCDL described here is for 26 delay taps to choose the delay in fixed steps. The CCDL presented in the present invention is an Analog Delay line (ADL) and uses 14-tap delay elements (TD) and 2-dummy delay (DD) elements to eliminate the asymmetric loading of the delay stages. The ADL is further explained in detail with reference to a delay line architecture in the FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the delay line architecture 200 of the present invention. The delay line architecture 200 includes the delay line 202, a delay compensation circuit 204 and interpolators 206a and 206b. The delay line 202 is a current controlled ADL and can be used to generate a delayed version of the input voltage V_in. The delay line 202 includes delay elements 100a and 100b that are cascaded together to generate total delay. The delay elements 100a and 100b are NP-current controlled delay elements 100. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the delay line 202 can include more than two delay elements, however, for the sake of clarity of the description of the present invention, only two delay elements have been illustrated in the FIG. 2.

Each of the delay element has delay resolution as T_d and this resolution is limited by the delay of single NP-current controlled delay element. Therefore, one level of interpolation can be used in order to improve the delay resolution T_d. As illustrated in the figure, each delay element is connected to an interpolator, for example, delay element 100a is connected to the interpolator 206a, whereas delay element 100b is connected to the interpolator 206b. The input voltage V_in, is input to the interpolator 206a and the output of the delay element 200b is connected to the input of the interpolator 206b. Interpolation is a common technique to improve the delay resolution T_d and the architecture of the interpolator is already known in the art. Therefore, the details of the interpolator have not been mentioned in the present invention.

However, the delay resolution T_d of the NP-current controlled delay element 100 varies over a relatively large range due to variations in operating conditions such as effects of temperature, supply voltage and device parameter variations during manufacturing of the integrated circuit. As mentioned before,

Delay resolution T_d=V_DD·C_L/2I  (1)

From equation [1], the delay resolution term includes the load capacitance C_L, the bias current I and the supply voltage V_dd of the NP-current controlled delay element 100. In an integrated circuit, load capacitance C_L varies with process and temperature due to gate oxide thickness variation and geometrical variations of the device. The geometrical variations include variations in dW and dL due to oxide encroachment and lateral diffusion. Further, the bias current variation is due to variation in the supply voltage, threshold voltage and process gain of the device. These variations can be explained with reference to the following formulas:

C _L =f(P,T)

I=f(P,T,V_DD)

whereprocess, temperature and supply voltage are defined as continuous analog variables.

P: Process

T: Temperature

V_dd: Supply Voltage

From equation [1], the delay resolution T_d term consists of load capacitor, bias current and supply voltage, hence it varies with respect to process, temperature and supply voltage. As a result, T_d=f (P, T, V_DD).On the basis of above equation, the governing equation of the delay variation can be expressed as

$dT_d=\frac{\partial T_d}{\partial P}·dP+\frac{\partial T_d}{\partial T}·dT+\frac{\partial T_d}{\partial V_{\mathrm{DD}}}·dV_{\mathrm{DD}}$

Where,

delay variations with respect to process:

$\frac{\partial T_d}{\partial P}=\frac{V_{\mathrm{DD}}}{2I}·\frac{\partial C_L}{\partial P}-\frac{V_{\mathrm{DD}}·C_L}{2I^2}·\frac{\partial I}{\partial P};$

delay variations with respect to temperature:

$\frac{\partial T_d}{\partial T}=\frac{V_{\mathrm{DD}}}{2I}·\frac{\partial C_L}{\partial P}-\frac{V_{\mathrm{DD}}·C_L}{2I^2}·\frac{\partial I}{\partial T}$

and delay variations with respect to voltage supply:

$\frac{\partial T_d}{\partial V_{\mathrm{DD}}}=·\frac{C_L}{2V_{\mathrm{DD}}}-\frac{V_{\mathrm{DD}}·C_L}{2I^2}·\frac{\partial I}{\partial V_{\mathrm{DD}}}$

In order to compensate the delay variations in the delay line 202 due to Process, Voltage Supply, Temperature (PVT) variations, the present invention provides a novel delay compensation circuit 204 for low power open loop compensation of delay variations. The delay compensation circuit 204 employs a forward open loop compensation scheme where the PVT variations are sensed and a control current profile is generated which compensates any variations in the delay. The control current profile can be referred to as compensation current and is used to control the bias voltages V_p and V_n of each of the delay elements 100a and 100b. The bias voltages V_p and V_n control the bias current of the each of the delay elements 100a and 100b and therefore control the delay variations.

The delay compensation circuit 204 uses a sensing circuit to sense the PVT variations. The sensing circuit is explained in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 illustrates a single stage delay compensation circuit 300 of the present invention. The single stage delay compensation circuit 300 includes a sensing circuit 302 and a first stage circuit 308. The first stage circuit 308 is connected to the sensing circuit 302. The sensing circuit 302 is a basic voltage reference circuit and includes a PMOS 304 and an NMOS 306. The source current I_P at PMOS 304 can be written as

$I_P=\frac{{\beta }_P}{2}{\left(V_{\mathrm{GSP}}-V_{\mathrm{TP}}\right)}^2$

Where,

β_P=process gain of PMOS 304

V_GSP=Gate-source bias voltage at PMOS 304, where V_GSP=V_DD−V_S

V_DD=Voltage Supply

V_TP=Threshold voltage of PMOS 304

The sink current I_N at PMOS 304 can be written as

$I_N=\frac{{\beta }_N}{2}{\left(V_{\mathrm{GSN}}-V_{\mathrm{TN}}\right)}^2$

Where,

β_N=process gain of NMOS 306

V_GSN=Gate-source bias voltage at NMOS 306 and V_GSN=V_S

V_TN=Threshold voltage of NMOS 306

In the sensing circuit 302, both source and sink currents I_P and I_N can be referred to as bias current I. Both threshold voltages V_TP and V_TN can be commonly referred to as V_T. Further, for a NMOS/PMOS, V_GSN and V_GSP vary according to the variations in the voltage supply V_DD. As a result, the bias current I vary with variations in β, V_T, and V_DD, and can be written as,

I=(β,V_T,V_DD)

The process gain β and threshold voltage V_T varies with process and temperature, as illustrated below,

β=(P,T)

V _T=(P,T)

Therefore, it can be inferred that the bias current I across PMOS/NMOS varies with PVT variations and

I=(P,T,V_DD)

The variation of bias current I with respect to process can be illustrated as:

$\frac{\partial I}{\partial P}=\frac{{\left(V_{\mathrm{GS}}-V_T\right)}^2}{2}·\frac{\partial \beta }{\partial P}-\beta \left(V_{\mathrm{GS}}-V_T\right)·\frac{\partial V_T}{\partial P}$

The variation of bias current I with respect to temperature can be illustrated as:

$\frac{\partial I}{\partial T}=\frac{{\left(V_{\mathrm{GS}}-V_T\right)}^2}{2}·\frac{\partial \beta }{\partial T}-\beta \left(V_{\mathrm{GS}}-V_T\right)·\frac{\partial V_T}{\partial T}$

Where,

$\frac{\partial \beta }{\partial P},\frac{\partial \beta }{\partial T}$

are process gain variations with respect to process and temperature respectively, and

$\frac{\partial V_T}{\partial P},\frac{\partial \beta }{\partial T}$

are threshold voltage variations with respect to process and temperature respectively.

In the sensing circuit 302, the geometrical variations are minimized by using large transistor lengths and widths. As a result, negligible mobility and geometrical variations lead to very less variation in process gain as compared to threshold voltage variation of the device. Hence,

$\frac{\partial \beta }{\partial P}$

can be neglected and the variation in bias currents of the PMOS 304 and NMOS 306 with respect to process can be written as

$\begin{array}{cc}\frac{\partial I_P}{\partial P}\approx -{\beta }_P\left(V_{\mathrm{GSP}}-V_{\mathrm{TP}}\right)·\frac{\partial V_T}{\partial P}\frac{\partial I_N}{\partial P}\approx -{\beta }_N\left(V_{\mathrm{GSN}}-V_{\mathrm{TN}}\right)·\frac{\partial V_T}{\partial P}& \left[2\right]\end{array}$

From the equations [2], it can be inferred that the variation in the bias currents with respect to process is based on the threshold voltage variation with process.Similarly, the variation in the bias currents with respect to temperature is based on the threshold voltage variation with temperature. This is illustrated from the below equations:

$\begin{array}{cc}\frac{\partial I_P}{\partial T}\approx -{\beta }_P\left(V_{\mathrm{GSP}}-V_{\mathrm{TP}}\right)·\frac{\partial V_T}{\partial T}& \left[3\right]\\ \frac{\partial I_N}{\partial T}\approx -{\beta }_N\left(V_{\mathrm{GSN}}-V_{\mathrm{TN}}\right)·\frac{\partial V_T}{\partial T}& \left[3\right]\end{array}$

Above set of four equations [2] and [3] prove that the sensing circuit 302 acts as a threshold voltage sensor for process and temperature variations. Similarly, variation of bias currents I_P and I_N with respect to variations in the voltage supply can be given by,

$\begin{array}{cc}\frac{\partial I_P}{\partial V_{\mathrm{DD}}}={\beta }_P\left(V_{\mathrm{DD}}-V_S-V_{\mathrm{TP}}\right)\frac{\partial I_N}{\partial V_{\mathrm{DD}}}=0& \left[4\right]\end{array}$

From the equations [2], [3], and [4], it can be inferred that the current generated by the sensing circuit 302 varies according to the PVT variations and the sensing circuit 302 has non-zero sensitivity for variations in the voltage supply. As a result, the sensing circuit 302 is being used in the delay compensation circuit 204 to facilitate the generation of compensation current to compensate delay variations.

The first stage circuit 308 being connected to the sensing circuit 302 includes a first sensitive transistor 312 which is a PMOS. The first sensitive transistor 312 forms a current mirror with the sensing circuit 302 to generate a first sensitive current I_p1. I_p1 is the mirrored current from the sensing circuit 302. It can also be referred to as a first PVT sensitive current as it varies according to the PVT variations.

The first stage circuit 308 further includes a biasing transistor 310 such as a PMOS to provide a pbias (PB) voltage. The pbias voltage depends on the threshold voltage of the PMOS and is used to remove any asymmetries in the first sensitive current I_p1 due to process skew. The first stage circuit 308 also includes a constant current source to generate a reference current I_ref, The reference current I_ref is constant across all the PVT conditions and has zero sensitivity for the PVT variations. Zero sensitivity for the PVT variations implies that I_ref is independent of the PVT variations. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the constant current source generates a reference current of around 2 μA.

The first stage circuit 308 further includes a first compensating transistor 314. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the first compensating transistor 314 is a PMOS and generates a first compensation current I_c1, by subtracting the first sensitive current from the reference current. The reference current is the sum of the first compensation current and the first sensitive current. Therefore, it can also be referred to as a first summing current. Writing Kirchhoff's Current Law (KCL) at summing junction ‘z₁’ gives,

I _ref =I _p1 +I _c1  [5]

The variations of the currents I_ref, I_p1 and I_c1 with respect to process can be related by the following equation:

$\frac{\partial I_{\mathrm{ref}}}{\partial P}=\frac{\partial I_{P1}}{\partial P}+\frac{\partial I_{C1}}{\partial P}$

In the circuit analysis, the sensitivity of a first variable with respect to a second variable is a parameter that indicates the variations in the first variable with the variations in the second variable. Sensitivity analysis is usually carried out to analyze the effects of variation in one variable on other variables.

Lets consider when, S_P=Sensitivity with respect to the process

Then, the sensitivities of currents I_ref, I_p1 and I_c1 with respect to process can be related as,

I _REF ·S _P ^{I REF} =I_P1·S_P^IP1+I_C1·S_P^IC1

• • Since S_P^IREF=0As a result,

$\begin{array}{cc}{S}_P^{I_{C1}}=-\frac{I_1}{I_{C1}}S_P^I& \left[6\right]\end{array}$

For the sake of clarity, all the sensitivity analysis in the present invention is shown with respect to the process variable; however, the sensitivity equations will remain valid for temperature and supply variables as well. Further, from the equation [6], it can be inferred that the first compensation current I_c1 has a sensitivity complement to the sensitivity of the first sensitive current I_p1. As a result, the sensitivity of the first compensation current I_c1 can be designed by establishing appropriate weighting for the first sensitive current and the first compensation current.

As mentioned before, that the biasing transistor 310 is being used to remove any asymmetries in the first sensitive current due to process skew. This means that the biasing transistor 310 takes care of the variations in the process. To explain further, there are three types of process variations that can be defined, slow-slow process, typical process and fast-fast process. When the process is slow-slow, the variations in the current with respect to process are less. When the process is fast-fast, the variations in current with respect to process are large. In case of a typical process, there is no variation in current with respect to the process. As a result, the sensitivity of the current towards the fast process corner is greater than the sensitivity towards slow process corner and can be illustrated from the below equation:

S_P(SS)^IP1<S_P(FF)^IP1

The biasing transistor 310 alters the sensitivity of the first sensitive current towards fast process corner in a way such that it is equal to the sensitivity towards slow process corner. Let altered sensitivity of the first sensitive current with respect to process towards fast process corner be,

S′_P(FF)^IP

From equation [6],

$S_{P_{\left(\mathrm{SS}\right)}}^{I_{C1}}=-\frac{I_{P1}}{I_{C1}}S_{P_{\left(\mathrm{SS}\right)}}^{I_{P1}}$ $\mathrm{and}$ $S_{P_{\left(\mathrm{FF}\right)}}^{I_{C1}}=-\frac{I_{P1}}{I_{C1}}S_{P_{\left(\mathrm{FF}\right)}}^{I_{P1}}$

Altered sensitivity towards fast

$S_{P_{\left(\mathrm{FF}\right)}}^{I_{C1}}=-\frac{I_{P1}}{I_{C1}}S_{P_{\left(\mathrm{FF}\right)}}^{{\mathrm{\prime I}}_{P1}}$

process corner gives,The altered sensitivity towards fast process corner is less than the original sensitivity towards fast process corner, and can be written as,

S′_P(FF)^IP<S_P(FF)^IP

As a result, sensitivity towards slow corner is equal to sensitivity towards fast corner,

S _{P (SS)} ^{I C} =−S _{P (FF)} ^{I C}

The first compensation current I_c1 can control the bias voltages V_P and V_N and can be used to compensate the delay variations in the delay line 202. Further, the single stage delay compensation circuit 300 described in FIG. 3 is a basic delay compensation model. An advanced delay compensation model can be obtained by cascading two first stage circuits 308. For the cascaded circuit, PMOS 316 and NMOS 318 forms a current mirror and can be used to mirror the first compensation current I_c1 onto the next stage.

FIG. 4 illustrates a two stage delay compensation circuit 400 of the present invention. The two stage delay compensation circuit 400 can be used to generate a second compensation current I_c2 in order to compensate for the delay variations in the delay line 202. The two stage delay compensation circuit 400 includes the sensing circuit 302, the first stage circuit 308 and a second stage circuit 402. The architecture of the second stage circuit 402 is similar to that of the first stage circuit 308. Both the first stage circuit 308 and the second stage circuit 402 are connected to the sensing circuit 302. A second sensitive transistor 406 such as a PMOS generates a second sensitive current I_p2, where the second sensitive current I₂ is a mirrored current from the sensing circuit 302. The second stage circuit 402 further includes a biasing transistor 404 such as a PMOS to remove any asymmetries in the second sensitive current I_p2 due to process skew. The biasing transistor 404 generates a pbias voltage to take care of the process skew.

A second compensating transistor 410 such as a PMOS generates a second compensation current I_c2 by subtracting the second sensitive current I_p2 from a second summing current I₂. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, PMOS 316, NMOS 318 and NMOS 408 forms a first current mirror to mirror the first compensation current I_c1 as the second summing current I₂.

As a result, I₂=I_c1  [7]

With reference to FIG. 4, writing KCL at summing junction ‘z₂’ gives,

I ₂ =I _p2 +I _c2  [8]

Further, variations of the currents I₂, I_p2 and I_c2 with respect to process can be defined as:

$\frac{\partial I_2}{\partial P}=\frac{\partial I_{P2}}{\partial P}+\frac{\partial I_{C2}}{\partial P}$

Therefore, the sensitivities of currents I₂, I_p2 and I_c2 with respect to process can be related as,

I ₂ S _P ^{I 2} I _P2 S _P ^{I P2} +I _C2 S _P ^{I C2}

As a result,

$\begin{array}{cc}{S}_P^{I_{C2}}=\frac{I_2}{I_{c2}}S_P^{I_2}-\frac{I_{p2}}{I_{c2}}S_P^{I_{p2}}& \left(9\right)\end{array}$

From equation [9], it can be inferred that the sensitivity of the second compensation current depends on the sensitivity of the second sensitive current and the second summing current. Further, the equation [9] brings additional flexibility in adjusting sensitivity of the second compensation current by having non-zero sensitivity for the second summing current.

Further, based on the equations [5], [7] and [8],

I _c2 =I ₂ −I _p2 and I₂=I_c1

Therefore, I_c2=I_c1−I_p2

I _c1 =I _ref −I _p1

As a result, I_c2=I_ref−(I_p1+I_p2)  [10]

Since the sensitivity of I_ref is zero.Therefore, sensitivities of the second compensation current, first and second sensitive currents are related as

−I_C2·S_P^IC2I_P1·S_P^IP1+I_p2·S_P^IP2

It can now be inferred that the sensitivity of the second compensation current depends on the sensitivity of the first and second sensitive currents. This adds flexibility to the system by making the second compensation current dependent on more than one PVT sensitive currents.

The method of compensation of delay variations in the delay line 202 using the two stage delay compensation circuit is explained in with reference to FIG. 5

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of open loop delay compensation using the two stage delay compensation circuit 400. At step 502, the sensing circuit 302 senses the PVT variations. Further, at step 504, the first sensitive current I_p1 and the second sensitive currents I_p2 are generated. The first sensitive current I_p1 and the second sensitive current I_p2 are mirrored currents from the sensing circuit 302. At step 506, the first compensation current I_c1 is generated by subtracting the first sensitive current I_p1 from the reference current I_ref. The reference current I_ref can also be referred as the first summing current I₁. Further at step 508, the first compensation current I_c1 is being mirrored as the second summing current I₂. Furthermore, at step 510, the second compensation current I_c2 is generated by subtracting the second sensitive current I_p2 from the second summing current I₂.

The second compensation current I_c2 compensates the delay variations and has a sensitivity based on the sensitivity of the first sensitive current I_p1 and the second sensitive current I_p2.

The second compensation current I_c2 compensates the delay variations in the delay line 202 and can achieve ±25% delay accuracy across all the PVT conditions. To further enhance the delay accuracy, a three stage delay compensation circuit is provided by cascading three stages of the first stage circuit 308:

FIG. 6 illustrates a three stage delay compensation circuit of the present invention. The three stage delay compensation circuit 600 can be used to generate a third compensation current I_c3 in order to compensate for the delay variations in the delay line 202. The three stage delay compensation circuit 600 includes the sensing circuit 308, the first stage circuit 308, the second stage circuit 402 and a third stage circuit 602. The architecture of the third stage circuit 602 is similar to that of the second stage circuit 402. Similar to the first and second stage circuits, the third stage circuit 602 is connected to the sensing circuit 302. A third sensitive transistor 606 such as PMOS generates a third sensitive current I_p3, where the third sensitive current I_p3 is a mirrored current from the sensing circuit 302. The third stage circuit 602 also includes a biasing transistor 604 such as a PMOS to remove any asymmetries in the third sensitive current I₃ due to process skew. The biasing transistor 604 generates a pbias voltage to take care of the process skew.

A third compensating transistor 610 generates a third compensation current I_c3 by subtracting the third sensitive current I_p3 from a third summing current I₃. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, PMOS 412, NMOS 414 and NMOS 608 forms a second current mirror to mirror the second compensation current I_c2 as the third summing current I₃.

As a result, I₃=I_c2  [11]

With reference to the FIG. 7, writing KCL at summing junction ‘z₃’ gives,

I ₃ =I _p3 +I _c3  [12]

Further, based on the equations [10], [11] and [12],

I_c3=I₃−I_p3 and I₃=I_c2

Therefore, I_c3=I_c2−I_p3

I _c2 =I _ref−(I_p1+I_p2)

Therefore, I_c3=I_ref−(I_p1+I_p2+I_p3)  [13]

From equation [13], it implies that the third compensation current I_c3 is dependent on the reference current I_ref, the first sensitive current I_c3, the second sensitive current I_c3, the third sensitive current I_c3. As a result, the sensitivity of the third compensation current I_c3 is based on the sensitivity of the reference current, first, second and third sensitive currents.Since the sensitivity of I_ref is zero.

Therefore,

−I_C3·S_P^IC3=I_P1·S_P^IP1+I_p2·S_P^IP2+I_p3·S_P^IP3  [14]

From the above equation [14], the sensitivity of the third compensation current I_c3 depends on the sensitivity of the first, second and third sensitive currents. This adds flexibility to the delay compensation circuit 204 by making the third compensation current dependent on three PVT sensitive currents.

The third compensation current I_c3 performs low power compensation of the delay variations in the delay line 202 and can achieve ±10% delay accuracy across all the PVT conditions. Although various embodiments of the present invention have been explained with reference to single, two and three stages delay compensation circuit, the delay compensation circuit 202 can include more than three stages based on the process variations in the delay line.

Various simulations have been carried out for the three-stage delay compensation circuit 600 at 1.5 V, 130 nm CMOS process. The temperature range is taken as −40° C. to ±125° C. at ±10% supply variations across multiple process corners. In the simulation results, a fine delay resolution of 82 ps is achieved by inverter based interpolation technique with maximum delay spread of 2.5 ns at supply current <40 μA. Further, in typical condition of process, temperature and supply, static current consumption of the delay compensation circuit 600 is less than 30 uA (I_(W.C)<40 uA). FIG. 8a illustrates the simulation results of input and output signal at the delay line 202. The transient simulation results shows input signal Vin and the delayed versions of input signal at 26-taps as illustrated. Further, FIG. 8b illustrates the simulation results of the output signal at the interpolator 206a. A fine delay resolution of 82 ps and a delay spread of 2.5 ns can be measured from these results. FIGS. 9a and 9b illustrates variations in the third sensitive current and third summing current with process and temperature at a typical supply condition. At a typical supply condition, the third sensitive current and third compensation currents are shown at different temperatures for typical, slow and fast process corners. FIG. 10a illustrates variations in the third summing current with process and temperature at typical supply condition. At a typical supply condition, the third summing current is shown at different temperatures for typical, slow and fast process corners. The third summing current is also referred to as summing current profile and it varies least for slow process corner at different temperatures. The third summing current profile varies most for fast process corner at different temperatures. Further, FIG. 10b illustrates delay versus process variations for compensated and uncompensated delay line. Compensated delay line includes the three stage delay compensation circuit 600, whereas the uncompensated delay line does not include a delay compensation circuit. As illustrated in the figure, for uncompensated delay line, there is 260% delay variation with process variation. It can be inferred from the figure, that with the three stage delay compensation circuit 600, the delay variation is brought within 12%. Further, the delay varies from 1.41 ns to 1.57 ns with the compensated delay line. In case of the uncompensated delay line, the delay varies from 0.88 ns to 3.2 ns.

FIGS. 11 a and 11b illustrates delay versus temperature and supply variations for compensated and uncompensated delay line. As shown in the FIG. 11a, the delay varies from 1.4 ns to 1.6 ns with the compensated delay line. In case of the uncompensated delay line, the delay varies from 1.0 ns to 3.0 ns. As shown in the FIG. 11b, the delay varies from 1.4 ns to 1.5 ns with the compensated delay line. In case of the uncompensated delay line, the delay varies from 1.0 ns to 2.62 ns.

Claims

1. A method for open loop compensation of delay variations in a delay line, the method comprising the steps of a. sensing the Process, Voltage, Temperature (PVT) variations in the delay line using a sensing circuit;b. generating a first and a second sensitive current based on the PVT variations, the first and second sensitive currents being mirrored currents from the sensing circuit;c. generating a first compensation current based on the first sensitive current and a first summing current, the first summing current being a reference current independent of the PVT variations;d. mirroring the first compensation current as a second summing current; ande. generating a second compensation current from the second sensitive current and the second summing current, the second compensation current compensating the delay variations and having a sensitivity based on the sensitivities of the first and second sensitive currents.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second compensation current is generated by subtracting the sum of the first and second sensitive currents from the reference current.

3. The method according to claim 1 further comprising the steps of: a. generating a third sensitive current based on the PVT variations, the third sensitive current being a mirrored current from the sensing circuit;b. mirroring the second compensation current as a third summing current; andc. generating a third compensation current from the third sensitive current and the third summing current, the third compensation current compensating the delay variations and having a sensitivity based on the sensitivities of the first, second and third sensitive currents.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the third compensation current is generated by subtracting the sum of the first, second and third sensitive currents from the reference current.

5. A delay compensation circuit for open loop compensation of delay variations in a delay line, comprising: a. a sensing circuit for sensing the Process, Voltage, Temperature (PVT) variations in the delay line;b. a first stage circuit connected to the sensing circuit, the first stage circuit comprising: i. a first sensitive transistor for generating a first sensitive current based on the PVT variations, the first sensitive current being a mirrored current from the sensing circuit;ii. a constant current source for generating a reference current, the reference current being independent of the PVT variations;iii. a first compensating transistor for generating a first compensation current based on the first sensitive current and the reference current; andiv. a first current mirror for mirroring the first compensation current as a second summing current; andv. a second stage circuit cascaded to the first stage circuit and connected to the sensing circuit, the second stage circuit comprising:vi. a second sensitive transistor for generating a second sensitive current based on the PVT variations, the second sensitive current being a mirrored current from the sensing circuit; andvii. a second compensating transistor for generating a second compensation current based on the second sensitive current and the second summing current, the second compensation current compensating the delay variations and having a sensitivity based on the sensitivities of the first and second sensitive currents.

6. The delay compensation circuit according to claim 5, wherein the delay line is a Current Controlled Delay Line (CCDL), the delay line including at least one non-inverting NP-current controlled delay element.

7. The delay compensation circuit according to claim 5, further comprising: a. a second current mirror in the second stage circuit for mirroring the second compensation current as a third summing current; andb. a third stage circuit comprising: i. a third sensitive transistor for generating a third sensitive current based on the PVT variations, the third sensitive current being a mirrored current from the sensing circuit; andii. a third compensating transistor for generating a third compensation current based on the third sensitive current and the third summing current, the third compensation current compensating the delay variations and having a sensitivity based on the sensitivities of the first, second and third sensitive currents.

8. The delay compensation circuit according to claim 7, further comprising a biasing transistor in each of the first, second and third stage circuits, the biasing transistors compensating process skew by adjusting the sensitivity of the first, second and third sensitive currents, the sensitivity of the first compensation current being complement to the sensitivity of the first sensitive current in the presence of the biasing transistors.

9. The delay compensation circuit according to claim 5, further comprising one or more stage circuits based on the process variations in the delay line.

10. The delay compensation circuit according to claim 5, wherein the sensing circuit is a voltage reference circuit, the voltage reference circuit acting as a threshold voltage sensor for process and temperature variations and having a non-zero sensitivity for variations in the voltage supply.