Clock signal distribution with reduced parasitic loading effects

This invention relates to clock signal distribution systems. More particularly, this invention relates to clock signal distribution systems with reduced parasitic loading effects.

System clock signals are typically remotely generated for distribution to various digital circuit subsystems. The system clock generator and the digital subsystems may be located in geographically disparate regions of the digital circuit. Clock signals are distributed throughout the digital circuit over traces (i.e., device interconnects; e.g., a signal wire) having characteristic parasitic capacitances. The parasitic capacitances result in loading effects (e.g., power loss and effects associated with clock jitter) that can vary in direct proportion to both clock frequency and trace length. Technology trends indicate that the physical separation of system clock generators and associated digital sub-systems will increase as digital circuits become progressively more complex, thereby resulting in increased parasitic load. Moreover, the effects of parasitic loading in digital systems are further exacerbated by ever-increasing system clock frequency.

In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide clock signal distribution systems with reduced parasitic loading effects.

It is an object of this invention to provide clock signal distribution systems with reduced parasitic loading effects.

In accordance with this invention, a clock signal distribution system is provided in which a reference clock signal is frequency-divided prior to being distributed over a long trace to one or more digital sub-systems. A frequency divider outputs a clock signal having a lower frequency than the reference clock frequency. A delay-locked loop (DLL) circuit “locks” to the lower frequency signal, and outputs a corresponding lower frequency clock signal for distribution over the trace. Power loss through the characteristic capacitive load of the trace is thereby reduced. Parasitic effects associated with clock jitter are also reduced. A frequency multiplying phase-locked loop (PLL) circuit locks to the lower frequency clock signal and outputs at least one clock signal having a higher frequency than the frequency of the lower frequency signal (e.g., outputs a signal having a frequency equal to the reference clock frequency). Multi-phase clock signals may be optionally generated by the PLL.

In some embodiments, the time required for a frequency-multiplying PLL of the invention to lock to an input signal is advantageously reduced. A frequency-multiplying PLL having voltage-controlled delay units (VCDs) is initialized with the control voltage of a DLL having substantially identical VCDs. In general, DLLs have characteristically faster lock times than do PLLs. The DLL receives the reference clock signal as input. The control voltage of the DLL is provided to the PLL, and causes the PLL to lock to a desired frequency at substantially the same time that the DLL locks. Once the PLL is locked, the control voltage that maintains the frequency lock of the PLL is locally generated by the PLL.

The invention also provides methods of distributing clock signals with reduced parasitic loading effects.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a clock signal distribution system in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of another embodiment of a clock signal distribution system in accordance with the invention;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are block diagrams illustrating portions of the clock signal distribution system of FIG. 2 in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of still another embodiment of a clock signal distribution system in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a system that incorporates the clock signal distribution system of the invention.

The invention is directed to reducing parasitic loading effects in clock signal distribution systems.

FIG. 1 shows a clock signal distribution system 100 in accordance with the invention. System 100 includes clock generator 102 , buffer 104 , frequency divider 106 , delay-locked loop (DLL) 108 and phase-locked loop (PLL) 110 . Clock generator 102 outputs a reference clock signal having a first frequency (f ref ) to buffer 104 . Frequency divider 106 receives the reference clock signal from buffer 104 , and outputs to DLL 108 a second clock signal having a frequency (f 2 ) that is equal to the reference clock frequency divided by 2 n (i.e., f 2 =f ref /2 n ) for all positive integers n. DLL 108 “locks” to the second clock signal and outputs at output 112 a third clock signal preferably having the same frequency (f 2 ) as the second clock signal. Other frequencies may of course be provided by DLL 108 . “Locking” by DLL and PLL circuits is described in greater detail below in connection with FIGS. 2-4 . Delay circuits 118 and 120 , which relate to signal “locking” in system 100 , are also described in connection with FIGS. 2-4 . The third clock signal is provided to input 114 of PLL 110 over long trace 116 , which is a device interconnect (e.g., a wire) having a parasitic capacitance (C p ). PLL 110 “locks” to the third clock signal, and then frequency multiplies this signal to generate a fourth clock signal having a frequency (f out ) that is 2 m times greater than the frequency (f 2 ) of the third clock signal (i.e., f out =f 2 *2 m ) for all positive integers m. Variables m and n may be optionally selected to be the same such that PLL 110 outputs a clock signal having the same frequency as the reference clock signal output by clock generator 102 (i.e., such that f out =f ref ).

In accordance with the invention, parasitic loading effects of clock distribution system 100 are advantageously reduced. In general, distributing a clock signal over a trace results in power loss proportional to f*C p , where f is the frequency of the clock signal and C p is a parasitic capacitance characteristic of the trace. Longer traces have larger parasitic capacitances. Therefore, it follows that circuit 100 , which distributes a clock signal having a frequency (f 2 ) lower than the reference clock frequency (f ref ) over trace 116 , advantageously has reduced power loss relative to systems that distribute the reference clock signal over such a trace. Put another way, system 100 saves power (P saved ) by reducing the frequency of the reference clock signal before the signal is transmitted over the trace, as can be represented by the following equation:

P saved ∝( f ref −f 2 )*C p

Power consumption of system 100 is further reduced relative to systems that distribute the higher frequency reference clock signal over the trace because system 100 requires fewer (if any) signal repeater circuits, which consume power, along the trace to prevent excessive signal attenuation during signal transmission. Parasitic effects associated with clock jitter are also reduced in system 100 relative to systems that distribute the reference clock signal over the trace. Generally, clock jitter is an undesirable time shift of a clock signal that can result during signal transmission. For a given time shift, higher frequency signals experience larger undesirable phase shifts than do lower frequency signals.

In some electronic systems, multi-phase clock signals may be used to control digital operations. The clock signal distribution system of the invention can be used in such systems. In particular, PLL 110 can be a frequency-multiplying PLL that generates multi-phase clock signals. For example, PLL 110 may receive a clock signal having a first frequency, and output a plurality of clock signals having a higher frequency than the first frequency, the plurality of clock signals having different phases. Multi-phase clock signals may be used, for example, in electronic systems in which complex timing requirements require multi-function operations to be completed during a single clock cycle. Multi-phase clock signals may also be used in electronic systems in which a single operation extends over more than one clock cycle. PLL multi-phase clock generators for use in the clock distribution systems of the invention are further described in connection with FIG. 4 .

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of a clock signal distribution system in accordance with the invention. System 200 includes clock generator 202 , buffer 204 , frequency divider 206 , delay-locked loop (DLL) 208 , phase-locked loop (PLL) 210 , and delay circuits 218 and 220 , which may be the same as the corresponding devices of circuit 100 . System 200 also includes DLL 212 and logic circuit 214 . In general, circuit 200 provides an additional advantage of the invention by reducing the time required for PLL 210 to “lock” to its input clock signal. PLLs typically take longer to lock to input signals than do DLLS. This is because a PLL must determine both the phase and the frequency of the input signal before the PLL can generate a “locked” output signal. DLLs need only determine the phase of the input signal to generate a “locked” output signal (for reasons described below in connection with FIG. 3 ). In accordance with the invention, PLL 210 receives a control signal from is DLL 212 that allows PLL 210 to lock to the frequency of the clock signal it receives at input 216 at substantially the same time that DLL 212 locks to the reference clock signal.

FIG. 3 shows DLL 212 of circuit 200 in accordance with the invention. DLL 212 includes phase detector 302 , charge pump 304 , loop filter 306 and one or more serially-coupled voltage-controlled delay units (VCDs) 308 , 310 , 312 and 314 . In general, DLL 212 outputs a clock signal that is “locked” to both the phase and frequency of the reference clock signal received by DLL 212 from buffer 204 . In particular, phase detector 302 receives the reference clock signal and a signal output from VCD 314 (i.e., the last VCD in the serially-coupled chain) at inputs 316 and 318 , respectively. Because VCDs 308 , 310 , 312 and 314 receive the reference clock signal as input, and because VCDs do not change the frequency of their inputs, the output of VCD 314 is substantially always frequency-locked to the reference signal. Thus, DLL 212 need only determine the phase of the reference clock signal in order to allow DLL 212 to lock to the reference clock signal.

DLL 212 locks to the phase of the reference clock signal received from buffer 204 as follows: Phase detector 302 compares the phases of input signals 316 and 318 , and outputs a signal indicating the result of this comparison to charge pump 304 . The desired relative phase shift (θ desired ) between the input signals is often 360° (i.e., one full reference clock period). Other phase relationships may of course be provided. Charge pump 304 adjusts the control voltage (V ctrl ) supplied to VCDs 308 , 310 , 312 and 314 as necessary to produce the desired phase relationship. In particular, depending on the configuration of DLL 212 , charge pump 304 either increases or decreases the control voltage to decrease the phase (i.e., time delay (tUD DLL )) of the signal output by VCD 314 . Charge pump 304 either decreases or increases the control voltage to increase the phase of the signal output by VCD 314 . DLL 212 is locked once the control voltage causes the following relationship to be satisfied:

θ desired =360°*( N*tUD DLL )/ t ref

where N is the number of VCDs in the serially-coupled chain and t ref is the clock period of the reference clock signal input to DLL 212 (i.e., 1/f ref ). If θ desired =360°, it is seen that the above equation becomes t ref =N*tUD DLL , or equivalently, f ref =1/(N*tUD DLL ).

FIG. 4 shows PLL 210 of circuit 200 in accordance with the invention. PLL 210 includes phase/frequency detector 402 , charge pump 404 , loop filter 406 , one or more serially-coupled VCDs 408 , 410 , 412 and 414 , and frequency divider 416 . Phase/frequency detector 402 , charge pump 404 and loop filter 406 operate similarly to phase detector 302 , charge pump 304 and loop filter 306 of DLL 212 , with the exception that phase/frequency detector 402 also tracks the frequencies of its input signals. Therefore, these components of PLL 210 are not described in detail. VCDs 408 , 410 , 412 and 414 of PLL 210 are preferably substantially identical to the VCDs of DLL 212 . However, the VCDs of PLL 210 are coupled differently than the VCDs of DLL 212 . In particular, VCD 408 of PLL 210 receives two differentially coupled inputs (i.e., the inverted and noninverted outputs of VCD 414 are coupled to the noninverting and inverting inputs, respectively, of the first VCD), whereas VCD 308 of DLL 212 receives the reference clock signal and its complement signal. In other words, the VCDs of PLL 210 form a differential voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) that generates an internal clock signal, whereas the VCDs of DLL 212 receive the reference clock signal. This accounts for the increased lock time of PLL 210 relative to DLL 212 .

The voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) of PLL 210 oscillates with a frequency f o =1/(2*N*tUD PLL ), where N is the number of VCDs in the serially-coupled chain and tUD PLL is determined based on the control voltage supplied to the VCDS. In general, a VCO outputs N clock signals having the same frequency f o , but having different phases (i.e., one output clock signal per each VCD). The phases of the N clock signals are typically equally-spaced apart relative to one another from about (360/N)° to about 360°. Various numbers of VCDs can be included in PLL 210 in order to obtain a desired phase distribution of output clock signals. For example, PLL 210 of FIG. 4 includes four VCDs (i.e., N=4) which provide four output clock signals with phases of about 90°, 180°, 270° and 360°. If eight VCDs are included in PLL 210 , eight output clock signals are provided with phases of about 45°, 90°, 135°, 180°, 225°, 270° and 360°. Frequency divider 416 receives the clock signal output by VCD 414 (i.e., the last VCD in the serially-coupled chain), and outputs a clock signal to phase detector 402 having a frequency (f) equal to the VCO frequency (f o ) divided by 2 m (i.e., f=f o /(2 m )) for all positive integers m. In some embodiments, m may be set equal to zero, meaning that frequency divider 416 may not be included in PLL 210 . For reasons described below, m of frequency divider 416 is preferably selected to be one less than the n of frequency divider 206 .

Operation of DLL 212 , logic circuit 214 and PLL 210 in circuit 200 is as follows: DLL 212 receives the reference clock signal output from buffer 204 . Prior to DLL 212 locking to the reference clock signal, logic circuit 214 provides a closed path between the output of loop filter 306 and the control inputs of VCDs 408 , 410 , 412 and 414 . In other words, the control voltage of DLL 212 is provided to PLL 210 prior to DLL 212 locking to the reference clock signal (i.e., locking to both frequency and phase of the reference clock signal). As described above, the control voltage of DLL 212 preferably sets the tUD DLL s of VCDs 308 , 310 , 312 and 314 such that they phase-shift the reference clock signal by 360° at the time that DLL 212 locks (i.e., such that 1/(N*tUD DLL )=f ref ). This control voltage is also provided to PLL 212 . Logic circuit 214 then “opens” the path between loop filter 306 and the control inputs of VCDs 408 , 410 , 412 and 414 . The VCDS of PLL 210 , initialized with the control voltage from DLL 212 , substantially immediately begin to oscillate with a frequency of f o =1/(2*N*tUD PLL ). Because PLL 210 and DLL 212 have substantially identical VCDs (i.e., N*tUD PLL =N*tUD DLL ), it is observed that the VCO of PLL 210 substantially immediately begins to oscillate with a frequency f o =f ref /2. The desired condition is that the inputs to phase/frequency detector 402 are substantially immediately matching in frequency at the time DLL 212 locks (i.e., that PLL 210 is substantially immediately locked to the frequency of the signal received by phase/frequency detector 402 from DLL 208 at the time DLL 212 locks). Frequency divider 416 outputs a clock signal to phase detector 402 having a frequency (f PD1 ) equal to the VCO frequency divided by 2 m (i.e., f PD1 =(f ref /2)/2 m =(f ref /2 m +1)). As described above, the signal received by phase/frequency detector 402 from DLL 208 preferably has a frequency of f=f ref /2 n , where n is characteristic of frequency divider 206 . Thus, it is seen that the frequencies of the inputs to phase/frequency detector 402 substantially immediately match one another at the time DLL 212 locks if m of frequency divider 416 is one less than n of frequency divider 206 (i.e., m=n−1). Phase/frequency detector 402 and other circuitry of PLL 210 then locks to the phase of the signal received from DLL 208 .

The signal received from DLL 208 is preferably either in-phase with the reference clock signal or phase-shifted by a predetermined phase relative to the reference clock signal. This causes the one or more clock signals output by PLL 210 to be either in-phase with or phase-shifted by a predetermined phase relative to the reference clock signal. Delay circuit 218 , delay 220 and DLL 208 operate to achieve this preferred condition as follows: Delay circuit 220 feeds back to DLL, 208 the clock signal transmitted by DLL 208 to PLL 210 after the signal has been transmitted over the long trace. Delay circuit 220 may include any suitable number of delay elements (e.g., inverter circuits) in order to produce a desired time delay (i.e., phase shift). Alternatively, delay circuit 220 can be replaced by a device interconnect (e.g., a signal wire) having a characteristic time delay. Delay circuits 218 and 220 preferably do not change the frequencies of their input signals. Circuitry of DLL 208 (e.g., a phase detector, charge pump, loop filter and VDCs) adjusts the phase of the output clock signal of DLL 208 in order to match the phases of the signals input to DLL 208 from delay circuits 218 and 220 . Other phase relationships may of course be provided. In one embodiment, delay circuit 218 delays the clock signal output by frequency divider 206 (which is preferably in-phase with the reference clock signal) by an amount equal to the delay produced by delay circuit 220 . This causes PLL 210 to output a clock signal in-phase with the reference clock signal. In another embodiment, delay circuit 218 delays the clock signal output by frequency divider 206 by an amount having a predetermined difference relative to the delay produced by delay circuit 220 . This causes PLL 210 to output a clock signal having a predetermined phase shift relative to the reference clock signal.

Logic circuit 214 may include various numbers and configurations of logic gates as needed to allow the control signal of DLL 212 to be provided to PLL 210 until DLL 212 is locked to both the frequency and phase of the reference clock signal. For example, logic circuit 214 may be a switch comprising one or more transistors (e.g., CMOS transistors) operative to close when DLL 212 is unlocked and open when DLL 212 is locked. As shown in FIG. 3 , an output signal indicating whether the DLL 212 is locked may be provided to logic circuit 214 from phase detector 302 . The design of a suitable logic circuit 214 should be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art and therefore will not be further described.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of a clock signal distribution system in accordance with the invention. System 500 includes clock generator 502 , buffer 504 , frequency divider 506 , DLLs 508 and 510 , PLL 512 , logic circuit 514 , and delay circuits 522 and 524 that may be the same as those of circuit 200 . System 500 also includes an additional PLL 516 that may be the same as PLL 512 . Such a system may be used, for example, in a digital circuit in which clock signals are distributed symmetrically to a plurality of subsystems over long traces 516 and 518 (e.g., distributed over substantially matching long traces 516 and 518 ). As shown, only one installment of DLL 508 and delay circuits 522 and 524 is needed in systems in which clock signals are distributed symmetrically to subsystems. In systems in which clock signals are distributed asymmetrically to subsystems, multiple installments of DLL 508 and delay circuits 522 and 524 may be provided (e.g., one installment per each subsystem to which signals are distributed asymmetrically). Various other numbers of PLLs such as PLLs 512 and 516 may be included in system 500 to reduce power loss and the parasitic effects of clock jitter in digital circuits that provide clock signals over corresponding numbers of long traces. Note that DLL 510 and logic circuit 514 , which provide for faster locking of PLLs 512 and 516 , may be optionally included in system 500 .

FIG. 6 shows a system 600 that incorporates the invention. System 600 includes a plurality of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips 602 , a processor 604 , a memory controller 606 , input devices 608 , output devices 610 , and optional storage devices 612 . DRAM chips 602 include an array of memory cells. One or more DRAM chips 602 also include one or more circuits of the invention to reduce power loss associated with providing clock signals over long traces. Clock signals may, for example, be distributed over traces (e.g., about 1-2 cm long) extending along the array of memory cells of DRAM chips 602 . Data and control signals are transferred between processor 604 and memory controller 606 via bus 614 . Similarly, data and control signals are transferred between memory controller 606 and DRAM chips 602 via bus 616 . Input devices 608 can include, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch-pad display screen, or any other appropriate device that allows a user to enter information into system 600 . Output devices 610 can include, for example, a video display unit, a printer, or any other appropriate device capable of providing output data to a user. Note that input devices 608 and output devices 610 can alternatively be a single input/output device. Storage devices 612 can include, for example, one or more disk or tape drives.

Thus it is seen that circuits and methods for reducing power loss and the parasitic effects of clock jitter in clock distribution systems are provided. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention can be practiced by other than the described embodiments, which are presented for purposes of illustration and not of limitation, and the present invention is limited only by the claims which follow.