U.S. patent application number 14/094120 was filed with the patent office on 2014-03-27 for low-power ethernet transmitter.
This patent application is currently assigned to Broadcom Corporation. The applicant listed for this patent is Broadcom Corporation. Invention is credited to Ovidiu Bajdechi, Jan Mulder, Frank van der GOES, Christopher M. Ward.
Application Number | 20140084970 14/094120 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38872967 |
Filed Date | 2014-03-27 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140084970 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
van der GOES; Frank ; et
al. |
March 27, 2014 |
LOW-POWER ETHERNET TRANSMITTER
Abstract
An electrical circuit comprising a line driver for providing
Ethernet signals is disclosed. The line driver comprises a voltage
mode line driver for producing 1000BT and 100BT Ethernet signals
and an active output impedance line driver arranged parallel to the
voltage mode line driver. The line driver is capable of producing
1000BT or 100BT or 10BT Ethernet signals, wherein either the
voltage mode line driver or the active impedance line driver is
active.
Inventors: |
van der GOES; Frank; (Den
Haag, NL) ; Ward; Christopher M.; (Utrecht, NL)
; Mulder; Jan; (Houten, NL) ; Bajdechi;
Ovidiu; (Delft, NL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Broadcom Corporation |
Irvine |
CA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Broadcom Corporation
Irvine
CA
|
Family ID: |
38872967 |
Appl. No.: |
14/094120 |
Filed: |
December 2, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
11798334 |
May 11, 2007 |
8598906 |
|
|
14094120 |
|
|
|
|
60799346 |
May 11, 2006 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
327/109 ;
327/108 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H03K 3/012 20130101;
H04L 25/0278 20130101; H03K 19/0005 20130101; H03F 3/45192
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
327/109 ;
327/108 |
International
Class: |
H03K 3/012 20060101
H03K003/012 |
Claims
1. A line driver, comprising: a multiplexer, having first and
second output ports, configured to multiplex an analog signal to
provide a first signal or a second signal in response to a
negotiated transmission speed; a first line driver, coupled to the
first output port, configured to produce a first Ethernet signal,
having a first speed, in response to the first signal; and a second
line driver, coupled to the second output port, configured to
produce a second Ethernet signal, having a second speed, in
response to the second signal.
2. The line driver of claim 1, wherein the first line driver
comprises a voltage mode line driver, and wherein the second line
driver comprises an active output impedance line driver.
3. The line driver of claim 2, wherein an output stage of the
voltage mode line driver is coupled to a calibration voltage that
is configured to calibrate a common mode voltage of the voltage
mode line driver, and wherein the output of the voltage mode line
driver and a supply voltage are fed into a calibration circuit
configured to produce the calibration voltage that is approximately
half of the supply voltage.
4. The line driver of claim 2, wherein the voltage mode line driver
comprises a first single-pole low-pass filter in a feedback path of
the voltage mode line driver, and wherein the active output
impedance line driver comprises an operational amplifier having a
second single-pole low-pass filter in a feedback path of the
operational amplifier.
5. The line driver of claim 4, wherein the first single-pole
low-pass filter comprises an adjustable capacitor that is
configured to adjust a frequency of the first single-pole low-pass
filter, and wherein a frequency of the second single-pole low-pass
filter is at a frequency of approximately 80 MHz.
6. The line driver of claim 1, wherein the first Ethernet signal
comprises a 100BT or a 1000BT Ethernet signal, and wherein the
second Ethernet signal comprises a 10BT Ethernet signal.
7. The line driver of claim 1, wherein the second line driver is
further configured to be inactive when the first line driver is
configured to produce the first Ethernet signal, and wherein the
first line driver is further configured to be inactive when the
second line driver is configured to produce the second Ethernet
signal.
8. The line driver of claim 1, wherein the first line driver is
further configured to receive the first signal being clocked by a
first clock signal corresponding to 100BT or 1000BT wired Ethernet
signals, and wherein the second line driver is further configured
to receive the second signal being clocked by a second clock signal
corresponding to a 10BT wired Ethernet signal.
9. The line driver of claim 1, further comprising: a connection pad
configured to output the first or the second Ethernet signals to a
transmission line, wherein the first line driver is further
configured to exhibit a first impedance to the transmission line
that is larger than a characteristic impedance of the transmission
line when the first line driver is configured to be inactive, and
wherein the second line driver is further configured to exhibit a
second impedance to the transmission line that is larger than the
characteristic impedance when the second line driver is configured
to be inactive.
10. A method for producing Ethernet signals, comprising:
multiplexing an analog signal by a line driver to provide a first
signal or a second signal in response to a negotiated transmission
speed; and producing, by the line driver, a first Ethernet signal,
having a first speed, in response to the first signal or a second
Ethernet signal, having a second speed, in response to the second
signal.
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: converting a
plurality of digital symbols to the analog signal.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the second signal comprises a
current-mode signal, and wherein producing comprises: converting
the second signal from a current-mode signal to a voltage mode
signal; and producing the second Ethernet signal in response to the
voltage mode signal.
13. The method of claim 10, wherein producing comprises:
introducing an intermediate step in a rising edge and a falling
edge of the analog signal when the negotiated transmission speed
comprises a 100BT mode.
14. The method of claim 10, wherein the first speed corresponds to
a 10BT mode, and wherein the second speed corresponds to a 100BT
mode or a 1000BT mode, further comprising: setting the negotiated
transmission speed to the 10BT mode to produce the second Ethernet
signal upon power up of the line driver; changing the negotiated
transmission speed to the 100BT mode or the 1000BT mode during an
ongoing transmission; ceasing production of the second Ethernet
signal in response to the changing; and commencing production of
the first Ethernet signal in response to the changing.
15. The method of claim 10, further comprising: filtering the first
signal using a first single-pole low-pass filter of adjustable
frequency in the line driver, and filtering the second signal using
a second single-pole low-pass filter in the line driver.
16. An integrated circuit, comprising: a digital-to-analog
converter (DAC) configured to output an analog signal; a
multiplexer configured to multiplex the analog signal to provide a
first signal or a second signal in response to a negotiated
transmission speed; a first line driver, coupled to the
multiplexer, configured to produce a first Ethernet signal, having
a first speed, in response to the first signal, the first line
driver comprising a first feedback path; and a second line driver,
coupled to the multiplexer, configured to produce a second Ethernet
signal, having a second speed, in response to the second signal,
the second line driver comprising a second feedback path; wherein
the first and the second feedback paths comprise a first and a
second single-pole low-pass filter, respectively.
17. The integrated circuit of claim 16, wherein the DAC comprises a
multi-level DAC.
18. The integrated circuit of claim 16, wherein the second line
driver is further configured to be inactive when the first line
driver is configured to produce the first Ethernet signal, and
wherein the first line driver is further configured to inactive
when the second line driver is configured to produce the second
Ethernet signal.
19. The integrated circuit of claim 18, further comprising: a
connection pad configured to output the first or the second
Ethernet signals to a transmission line; wherein the first line
driver is further configured to exhibit a first impedance to the
transmission line that is larger than a characteristic impedance of
the transmission line when the first line driver is configured to
be inactive, and wherein the second line driver is further
configured to exhibit a second impedance to the transmission line
that is larger than the characteristic impedance of the
transmission line when the second line driver is configured to be
inactive.
20. The integrated circuit of claim 16, wherein the first line
driver is further configured to receive the first signal clocked by
a first clock signal corresponding to 100BT or 1000BT Ethernet
signals, and wherein the second line driver is further configured
to receive the second signal clocked by a second clock signal
corresponding to a 10BT Ethernet signal.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 11/798,334, filed on May 11, 2007, which claims benefit to U.S.
Provisional Application No. 60/799,346, filed on May 11, 2006, both
of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety
herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
inter alia sets the standards for communication devices
interchanging information using the Ethernet protocol in order to
enable for example different manufacturers to produce devices
complying with the same specifications and thus being compatible to
each other. For example 10BT is a well known Ethernet standard
protocols for transmitting digital information at a transmission
speed of 10 Mbit/s, 100BT defines digital data transmission at 100
Mbit/s and 1000BT defines the transmission at 1000 Mbit/s=1
Gbit/s.
[0003] The IEEE 802.3 standard defines the requirements for the
combined 10BT/100BT/100BT transmitters using unshielded twisted
pair (UTP) lines. That is IEEE 802.3 for example defines what
voltage levels should be output on the lines, how the switching
between the different voltage levels defined for the protocols
should be handled and what termination impedance should be
guaranteed on the line.
[0004] For the transmission protocols different requirements are
specified in the standard. For example the highest transmitter
linearity is required in 1000BT in the presence of an interferer
put on the line in full duplex. The highest accuracy of signals is
required in 100BT mode when fast settling with accurate rise time
and accurate output voltage are specified. The 10BT protocol
requires the highest voltage swing.
[0005] Conventional solutions for a combined transmitter being able
to output signals according to all three protocols use a single
complex current-mode digital-to-analog converter (DAC) to shape the
edges of the 100BT and 1000BT waveforms and provide a very accurate
equalization in 10BT mode. It is known that meeting the defined
requirements of transmission speed, signal accuracy, linearity and
output voltage swing with the same transmitter proves costly in
terms of power consumption. To meet the 100BT/1000BT amplitude
requirements and to keep the proper line termination, for example
by means of a resistor parallel to the driver the current-mode DAC
need a full-scale current of 40 mA. If the driver is operated in
10BT mode the same current-mode DAC needs a full-scale current of
100 mA to meet the specifications of this protocol, which specifies
larger signal amplitude, namely 5V peak-to-peak, for 10BT. The
specification of the large amplitude in 10BT furthermore requires a
common voltage at the DAC output of at least 1.8 Volts. The power
consumption of the transmitter thus results in 72 mW when operating
in 100BT or 1000BT mode and in 180 mW in 10BT mode. Furthermore the
list of materials needed for the final assembled product is
increased by a low dropout regulator (LDO) located off the chip,
which supplies a center-tap current for the current-steering
DAC.
[0006] Following from the afore mentioned specifications there is a
need for a transmitter capable of producing output signals
according to the 10BT and the 100BT and the 1000BT specifications
with low power consumption on a small silicon area.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] The invention relates to an electrical circuit comprising a
line driver for providing Ethernet signals, the line driver
comprising a voltage mode line driver parallel to an active output
impedance line driver.
[0008] Furthermore a method is disclosed for producing an Ethernet
signal from an analog signal reflecting the symbols to be
transmitted, wherein the analog signal is fed into a voltage mode
line driver, and wherein the analog signal is fed into an active
impedance line driver.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0009] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and
form a part of the specification, illustrate the present invention
and together with the description, further serve to explain the
principles of the invention and to enable a person skilled in the
pertinent art to make and use the invention.
[0010] FIG. 1 depicts an overview of the driver circuit
[0011] FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a voltage mode line
driver
[0012] FIG. 3 depicts a circuit for a single ended amplifier
[0013] FIG. 4, a) depicts a circuit for a differential amplifier,
b) depicts a circuit for producing a calibration voltage for the
differential amplifier
[0014] FIG. 5 depicts a first implementation of an active impedance
output driver circuit
[0015] FIG. 6 depicts an alternative implementation of an active
impedance output driver circuit.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0016] The present invention will now be described in detail with
reference to a few preferred embodiments thereof as illustrated in
the accompanying drawings. In the following description, numerous
specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough
understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent,
however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may
be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In
other instances, well known processes and steps have not been
described in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the
present invention.
[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic of the invention. Elements or
processing blocks in circuit 100, which generate the symbols to be
transmitted are omitted in the drawing. Only the last elements in
the processing chain of a chip are illustrated, which process the
information to be signaled over a line before the signals leave the
chip at the connection pads 110 of the chip. The connection pads
may be coupled to a cable or line according to the standards as
defined in the IEEE 802.3 standard.
[0018] Digital symbols to be transmitted are fed into a
digital-to-analog converter (DAC) 120, which at the same time
receives suitable clock signals corresponding to the transmission
speed of the signal output at the pads 110. DAC 120 outputs analog
signals corresponding to its digital input signals, i.e. the
digital symbols. Depending on the transmission speed at which the
signal will be output at pads 110 the analog signal is processed by
either the voltage mode line driver 130 or the active impedance
line driver 140. The analog signal accordingly is multiplexed to
either of the line drivers by two current-steered FET transistors,
shown as multiplexer 170 in the drawing.
[0019] If the analog signal output of DAC 120 is to be sent as
100BT or 1000BT signals, then the voltage mode line driver 130 will
be active and will process the incoming signal to produce
corresponding 100BT or 1000BT signals respectively. The active
output impedance line driver 140 is inactive while the voltage mode
line driver 130 processes the signal to leave the 100BT or 1000BT
signal generated by the voltage mode line driver unaffected.
[0020] The signals output by the voltage mode line driver pass the
Rx block 150 unmodified and are coupled to the pads of the
chip.
[0021] As the 1000BT protocol is full duplex, i.e. signals can be
sent to and received from a remote station at the same time and on
the same line, the path from the voltage mode line driver to the
pads includes Rx block 150, which filters incoming signals, i.e. Rx
signals and forwards them for further processing.
[0022] In case that the symbols are to be sent as 10BT signals,
then DAC 120 will be clocked by an appropriate clock signal and
output a corresponding analog signal, which will be processed by
the active output impedance line driver 140 outputting a
corresponding 10BT signal. The voltage mode line driver 130 is
inactive in this case, i.e. does not produce any output in order to
keep the 10BT signal unaffected.
[0023] In this way the analog signal output by DAC 120 is processed
by one of the two line drivers, while the second line driver is
inactive, i.e. does not produce any voltage at its respective
output and provides a very high output impedance, i.e. much higher
than the impedance of the transmission line coupled to the pads, to
leave the signal generated by the first driver unaffected.
[0024] The processing of the symbols using the circuit depicted in
FIG. 1 comprises method steps according to the elements shown. In a
first step the symbols to be transmitted for example as a signal as
defined in the IEEE Ethernet standard is fed into a
digital-to-analog converter 120, which outputs an analog signal
corresponding to the input symbols. Depending on the speed of the
signal to be produced the analog signal is then fed either to the
voltage mode line driver 130 for example for generating a 100BT or
a 1000BT Ethernet signal or to the active output impedance line
driver for generating a signal according to the IEEE 10BT Ethernet
specification. Accordingly and for preventing a mix up of generated
signals either the voltage mode line driver 130 or the active
output impedance line driver 140 processes the analog signal output
from DAC 120. The Ethernet signal output from either of the line
drivers is coupled to termination pads of the chip carrying circuit
100.
[0025] Typically circuit 100 and the corresponding signal
processing method can be used in a transmission system changing
transmission speeds during a data transfer. For example an
electrical circuit comprising circuit 100 can be initially powered
up in 10BT mode. In the initial negotiation with a remote
transceiver the communication may start using 10BT mode, wherein in
circuit 100 the analog signal output from DAC 120 is fed to the
active output impedance line driver. If the remote transceiver is
capable of processing 100BT Ethernet or 1000BT Ethernet signals,
then one of these higher speed protocols may be negotiated. Circuit
100 accordingly switches the transmission speed by feeding the
signals output from DAC 120 to the voltage mode line driver 130 to
produce signals according to the protocol agreed between the
transceivers.
[0026] In a variation of the circuit depicted in FIG. 1 DAC 120 can
be a 17-level DAC followed by a low-pass filter 160, which can be
implemented in the feedback paths of the amplifiers comprised in
the voltage mode line driver and in the active output impedance
line driver.
[0027] For 1000BT mode a PAM-5 (5 level) coding scheme is followed
by a first-order partial response filter that increases the number
of levels to 17, as required by the IEEE specification. Thus the
resolution of the 17-level DAC matches the specification. Each
symbol is generated by a single step output from the DAC every 8
ns. The low-pass filter is configured to have its single pole at 94
MHz to correctly shape the output signal as given in the IEEE
specifications. To ensure this pole does not change with process
variations a calibration circuit locks the pole at 94 MHz to an
accurate time reference, which in this case is a 125 MHz clock.
[0028] The resulting 1000BT output waveform has a rise time of 3.7
ns and passes all templates and required IEEE specifications.
[0029] For 100BT mode a MLT-3 (3 level) coding scheme is given in
the specification. A first intermediate step is made to 50% of the
final amplitude, and an final step is made 2 ns later to 100% of
the final amplitude. In this case the final step is added 2 ns
after the start of the symbol time, which is 8 ns. Only 5 of the 17
available DAC levels are therefore used. The low-pass filter is
configured to have its single pole at around 141 MHz to correctly
shape the output signal. An additional clock signal is used to
start the final step at 2 ns. Note that the pole frequency is not
critical for 100BT mode. Also note that other, similar combinations
of multi-step DAC outputs, separated by a similar time delay,
followed by single or multiple pole filtering can meet the
requirements.
[0030] The resulting 100BT output waveform has a rise time of 3.7
ns, settles to 1% of its final value in 6.5 ns.
[0031] For 10BT mode an equalizer preceding the DAC creates a
shaped pulse based on a raised cosine. This pulse is quantized to
17 levels and fed to the DAC. The DAC is clocked at 160 MHz and
updates its output every 6.25 ns to create the full symbol lasting
100 ns; therefore, 16 DAC samples make up one 10BT symbol. The
low-pass filter is configured to have its single pole at around 80
MHz to correctly shape the output signal. Note that the pole
frequency is not critical for 10BT mode and that clocking rates
other than 160 MHz are suitable.
[0032] The resulting 10BT output waveform contains its highest
unwanted harmonic at -25 dB below the carrier and correctly passes
all templates and required IEEE specifications.
[0033] In this way the combination of the DAC followed by the
low-pass filter allows the use of a low-complexity DAC comprising
only 17 levels. A single-pole low-pass filter can be implemented
easily using only passive components, thus saving power. These two
analog circuits together can be configured to meet all IEEE
specifications for all 3 modes of operation without having to add
additional circuitry.
[0034] As mentioned above the single-pole low-pass filters can be
implemented in the feedback paths of the amplifiers comprised in
the line drivers. Accordingly the feedback path of the voltage mode
line driver implements an adjustable single-pole low-pass filter,
which can be adjusted to a pole frequency of around 94 MHz for
processing 1000BT Ethernet signals and to a pole frequency of
around 141 MHz for processing 100BT Ethernet signals.
[0035] Circuit 200 as depicted in FIG. 2 exemplifies a voltage mode
line driver 130. It is to be noted that other topologies of voltage
mode line drivers can be used, as long as these are line drivers of
the voltage mode type, i.e. the output impedance Zout of the line
driver is zero.
[0036] As indicated by the arrow circuit 200 is coupled to a
digital-to-analog converter, which is DAC 130 as shown in FIG. 1.
The DAC provides a current Isig as input signal to circuit 200. In
case that the DAC provides a voltage mode output, then circuit 200
is coupled by a conventional voltage-to-current converter.
[0037] Voltage mode line driver 200 consists of a
pseudo-differential transimpedance amplifier. The symbol dependent
input current Isig is coupled to the negative input terminals of a
first and a second operational amplifier 210 and 211. The positive
input terminals of the amplifiers are coupled to a common mode
voltage Vcm.
[0038] Input current flows through feedback resistors 220, 221 thus
generating the output voltage of the driver specified by the IEEE
Ethernet standard and corresponding to the digital symbol to be
transmitted.
[0039] Capacitors 230, 231 are arranged parallel to the feedback
resistors 220, 221 thus forming a 94 MHz low-pass filter limiting
the bandwidth of the signal output on the transmission line. In one
implementation example the value of a feedback resistor 220, 221 is
R=2.1 k.OMEGA. and the value of a capacitor 230, 231 is C=800 fF.
The feedback path in this way forms the single-pole low-pass filter
for filtering 1000BT output signals in case the optional 17-level
DAC is used. Furthermore and in case the 17-level DAC is used the
value of the capacitor can be adjusted via an electrical signal,
such that the frequency of the single-pole low-pass filter can be
adjusted to a frequency of around 141 MHz. That is for processing
1000BT signals the feedback path forms a single-pole low-pass
filter of around 94 MHz and for processing 100BT of around 141
MHz.
[0040] Besides forming a low-pass filter in connection with the
parallel resistor the capacitors 230, 231 help to stabilize the
operation of operational amplifiers 210, 211, because the feedback
capacitors effectuate a zero in the open loop transfer
function.
[0041] As the amplifiers 210, 211 keep the impedance Zout at their
outputs low, i.e. ideally at 0.OMEGA., the termination of the
transmission line is achieved by two resistors 240 and 241 in
series with the transmission line, each resistor having a value of
50.OMEGA.. The output swing in this way is doubled.
[0042] The operational amplifiers 210, 211 are designed as class-AB
amplifiers to save power. With their bias current being strongly
dependent on the symbol to transmit, the power consumption of the
amplifiers is very low when no signal is output. Also the power
consumption is almost directly proportional with the signal swing
of the output signal for large swings. The theoretical power
consumption limit for an ideal class-B amplifier is 16.5 mW from a
3.3 Volts supply for a random PAM-5 1000BT signal and 13.2 mW for a
PAM-5 signal plus partial response filter transmission. Although
power consumption of a class-AB amplifier is higher, it is still
about two times lower than conventional solutions.
[0043] Circuit 200 comprises resistors 250, 251 and 260, 261
forming a filter for separating signals received on the
transmission line when operating in 1000BT mode. For example the
values of the resistors can be 2.5 k.OMEGA. for resistors 250, 251
and 1.25 k.OMEGA. for resistors 260, 261. As 100BT is a half-duplex
mode the filter may also be used when receiving signals in 100BT
mode. The received, separated signals Rx are then fed to a
subsequent processing block--not shown--for further processing.
[0044] This exemplifying embodiment of the voltage mode line driver
uses two single ended operational amplifiers. In an alternative
embodiment a single differential line driver can be used, which
substitutes the two single ended amplifiers. In this case the
common mode voltage Vcm is arranged in the common mode feedback
loop circuit.
[0045] FIG. 3 shows a more detailed illustration of an embodiment
of one of the two single ended operational amplifiers comprised in
voltage mode line driver.
[0046] Operational amplifier 300 is class-AB and operated with 3.3
Volts supply voltage as indicated in the figure. The amplifier
comprises a transconductance input stage 310 implemented with NMOS
transistors 313, 314 connected through the folded cascode stage 330
to the class-AB biased output stage 350.
[0047] Stage 310 comprises two appropriately biased cascaded thick
oxide NMOS transistors 311 and 312 as a current source for biasing.
These allow a fixed (class A) current of 1.5 mA for the input
stage. The positive input voltage Vip and the negative input
voltage Vin are coupled as indicated to transistors 313 and
314.
[0048] The input transconductance stage is coupled to the
folded-cascode stage 330 comprising appropriately biased and
cascoded PMOS transistors that pass the signal 320 to the output
stage through the cascode transistor 331 and an NMOS current mirror
to invert the phase of signal 321 generated by the input stage such
that the class-AB biasing mesh made of transistors 332,333 receives
two in-phase signals at its ends, capable of driving the output
stage 340 comprising two transistors 341, 342 connected as
inverting amplifiers.
[0049] The output stage furthermore comprises a first resistor 345
in series with a miller capacitor 347 and a second resistor 346 in
series with a second miller capacitor 348, which improve the
stability of the amplifier, and wherein the value of resistors 345,
346 can be 400.OMEGA. and the value of capacitors 347, 348 can be
800 femto Farad.
[0050] The circuit can be implemented for example in 90 nm CMOS
technology, wherein a thin oxide transistor is designed to hold a
voltage of 1.2 Volts maximum and a thick oxide transistor is
designed to hold at least a voltage of 2.5 Volts.
[0051] As mentioned above circuit 200 comprises two single ended
amplifiers for example as described in FIG. 3, wherein the positive
input of each of the amplifiers is coupled to a common mode voltage
of half the supply voltage, which ideally is 1.65 Volts.
Accordingly the positive input vip of both single ended amplifiers
is coupled to the common mode voltage, whereas the negative input
of one amplifier is coupled to the positive output signal from DAC
120 and the positive input of the other amplifier is coupled to the
negative output signal from DAC 120. Analogously one of the
amplifiers outputs a positive portion Vop and the other amplifier
outputs a negative portion of the output signal Von.
[0052] Circuit 400 as illustrated in FIG. 4a exemplifies an
embodiment of a differential operational amplifier, which can be
used in the voltage mode line driver instead of the two single
ended operational amplifiers. Note that different conventional
topologies for differential operational amplifiers can be used
also.
[0053] Differential amplifier 400 is operated at a voltage of
ideally 3.3 Volts as indicated in the drawing. The amplifier is
symmetrically built up as indicated by dotted mirror line 401, such
that processing of signals for generating the negative output
voltage Von and the positive output voltage Vop is performed by
similar topologies, wherein the coupling to the supply line is
inverted between the portions, such that the circuit portion on the
left hand side of 401, which outputs the negative output voltage is
coupled to the supply voltage of 3.3 Volts where the elements of
the right hand portion of the circuit is coupled to ground or a
reference potential. Furthermore some of the NMOS transistors have
corresponding transistors formed as PMOS transistors in the other
portion.
[0054] Cascoded thick oxide PMOS transistors 410, 411 provide a
supply current to a transconductance input stage 420 comprising
transistors 421, 422, to which the positive respectively the
negative input signal from DAC 120 are coupled. Similarly cascoded
thick oxide NMOS transistors 431, 432 provide a supply current to
transconductance input stage 440 comprising transistors 441 and
442, to which the positive and respectively the negative input
signals Vip, Vin from DAC 120 are coupled. In fact the gate of
transistor 421 is shorted with gate of transistor 441 and the gate
of 422 is shorted with the gate of 442. The output signals of the
transconductance stages are passed through class-AB stages 450 and
460 to the output stages 470 and 480, wherein output stage 470
provides the negative output voltage Von and output stage 480 the
positive output voltage Vop of differential amplifier 400
respectively.
[0055] The output stages 470, 480 are of similar topology as those
described with reference to FIG. 3. For example stage 470 comprises
a cascode of a thin oxide and a thick oxide PMOS transistor 471,
472 and a cascode of a thin oxide and a thick oxide NMOS transistor
473, 474, wherein each cascode has miller capacitor 475, 476 and a
resistor 477, 478 in its feedback path.
[0056] The output stages and the class-AB stages are furthermore
coupled to transistors 490, 491, which are coupled to a voltage
vbp_d.
[0057] Voltage vbp_d is generated by a common feedback circuit as
illustrated in FIG. 4b, wherein the upper line 4100 is coupled to
supply voltage of 3.3 Volts and line 4101 is coupled to ground or
any reference potential.
[0058] The common feedback circuit comprises a first voltage
divider, which for example in this embodiment consists of a first
and a second resistor of equal value, for example both being 1
k.OMEGA. in value. The center voltage Vcm produced by the voltage
divider is half the supply voltage and is tapped as a bias voltage
for thick oxide NMOS transistor 4120. A second voltage divider
comprising resistors 4130 and 4131 is coupled to the output signal,
i.e. to the output of the differential amplifier by coupling to its
positive output voltage Vop and its negative output voltage Von
respectively. Parallel to the resistors 4130, 4131 of this voltage
divider is a capacitor 4140 and 4141 respectively. As the resistors
and transistor 4121 comprise a parasitic capacitance to ground thus
forming an unwanted RC low-pass filter, the capacitors parallel to
the resistors enables Vcm_sense to react quickly to changes in the
common mode voltage at vop and von respectively. The resistors and
the capacitors respectively are of equal value, for example of 10
k.OMEGA. resistance and 100 femto Farad capacitance. As the values
of the resistors and the capacitors are equal, the center voltage
Vcm_sense of this second voltage divider is the common mode portion
of the amplifier's output signal. The center voltage Vcm_sense is
coupled as control voltage to thick NMOS transistor 4121. The
current mirror comprising PMOS transistors 4150 to 4153 is tapped
at the gate of transistor 4152 thus providing control voltage
vbp_d, which is coupled to differential amplifier as shown in FIG.
4a.
[0059] Metaphorically speaking the circuit of FIG. 4b provides a
calibration voltage vbp_d, which ensures the common mode output of
the differential amplifier remains at half the supply voltage.
[0060] As indicated in the drawing each branch of the current
mirror takes 100 microampere as input current, which is discharged
via transistor 4160 as a 200 microampere current.
[0061] FIG. 5 depicts a first exemplary embodiment 500 of a circuit
providing active output impedance.
[0062] In the exemplary disclosed circuit the DAC 120 provides an
output current. As the active output impedance line driver as
disclosed here requires a voltage as input signal the output
current provided by the DAC must be transformed into a voltage to
be fed into the active output impedance line driver. The
current-to-voltage converter 510 as shown in FIG. 5 for example can
do this transformation.
[0063] The current-to-voltage converter comprises first and second
single ended amplifiers 511, 512, each having a resistor 513, 514
parallel to a capacitor 515, 516 in its feedback path. Exemplary
values of these elements may be 1 k.OMEGA. for resistors 513, 512
and 115 femto Farad for capacitors 515, 516. Furthermore amplifiers
511 and 512 are coupled to voltage source 517 providing a direct
voltage Vcm, which corresponds to the wanted common mode voltage of
the output signal of the driver. Converter 510 provides a voltage
at its output as the input current travels through the resistors
and appropriately gets converted into an output voltage by action
of the amplifier.
[0064] Note that any current-to-voltage topology may be used for
converting the current as output by DAC 120 to a voltage as input
for the active impedance output line driver 520. Furthermore and in
case that the DAC is voltage mode the active impedance output line
driver can be coupled directly to the DAC.
[0065] The exemplified active impedance output line driver 520 can
be seen as a pseudo-differential line driver. The driver 520
comprises two portions of identical topology, wherein one driver
portion outputs the positive portion of the output signal and the
other portion outputs the negative portion of the output
signal.
[0066] Each portion of driver 520 comprises a first resistor Rvi
521, 522 coupled to the negative input of a differential amplifier
523, 524, which can be of any topology. In the negative feedback
path of the amplifiers that is from the positive output to its
negative input a resistor Rfb 525, 526 is arranged parallel to a
capacitor Cfb 527, 528. As mentioned above the negative feedback
paths around the differential amplifiers may form a single-pole
low-pass filter of a frequency around 80 MHz, when using the
optional 17-level DAC as mentioned above.
[0067] The positive feedback path, that is from the negative output
of the amplifier to the its positive input terminal, is shorted and
coupled via resistor Rt 529, 530 to a direct voltage source Vcm
corresponding to the common mode voltage of the output signal.
[0068] Exemplary values for the passive components may be 1.5
k.OMEGA. for resistors 521, 522 and 9 k.OMEGA. for feedback
resistors 525, 526 and 16.6.OMEGA. for resistor 529, 530 and a
capacitance of 200 femto Farad for the feedback capacitors 527,
528.
[0069] For this topology the output impedance Rout for one portion
of the active output impedance line driver as shown in the drawing
is given as
Rout = Rt Rvi + Rfb Rvi + Rt ##EQU00001##
and the output voltage Vout is given as
Vout = Vsig Rt - Rfb Rvi + Rt Rcable Rcable + Rt ( Rvi + Rfb Rvi +
Rt ) ##EQU00002##
[0070] Metaphorically speaking each of the two driver portions
generates one half of the maximum output voltage required by 10BT
protocol. That is the portion outputting the positive signal
portion Vop generates a voltage above the common mode portion of
the output signal.
[0071] This topology allows the circuit to be supplied with a
supply voltage of less than the required output signal voltage
defined for 10BT protocol. Accordingly amplifiers 523, 524 can be
supplied with 3.3 Volts, which is less than maximum signal swing of
5 Volts defined for 10BT.
[0072] The topology of the optional 17-level DAC in combination
with the feedback paths of the amplifiers comprised in the line
drivers thus discloses a 17-level digital-to-analog converter (DAC)
followed by a single-pole low-pass filter for producing an analog
signal corresponding to a digital symbol, which the DAC receives as
input. This combination can be used to process signals for 1000BT
and 100BT and 10BT Ethernet signals, wherein each signal matches
the requirements set forth in the 802.3 IEEE specification. In
particular an integrated circuit (IC) is disclosed comprising a
17-level digital-to-analog converter (DAC) receiving digital
symbols and at least one clock signal and outputting corresponding
analog signals, and wherein the output of the DAC is switchable
coupled to a voltage mode line driver for producing 1000BT and
100BT Ethernet signals and to an active output impedance line
driver for producing 10BT Ethernet, wherein the feedback paths of
the line drivers each comprises a single-pole low-pass filter.
[0073] FIG. 6 depicts an alternative implementation 600 of a pseudo
differential active output impedance line driver, which may replace
the line driver 520 as illustrated in FIG. 5. Similarly this
implementation of an active output impedance line driver comprises
two portions of identical topology, the upper portion providing the
positive output signal Vop and the lower portion providing the
negative output signal Von.
[0074] Each portion comprises an input resistor R1 610, 611 coupled
to the negative input terminal of a single ended amplifier 620, 621
respectively. The negative feedback path of each amplifier
comprises a resistor R2 630, 631 and an optional capacitor 640,
641. The output of amplifiers 620, 621 is coupled via a termination
resistor Rt 650, 651 to the output pads, such that the termination
resistor is in series with the amplifier 620, 621 respectively. The
positive input of amplifiers is coupled via a resistor R3 to a
direct voltage source Vcm, which thus provides a reference
potential to the amplifiers 620, 621, such that a common mode
voltage is provided to the output signals Vop and Von.
[0075] This reference voltage Vcm is also fed forward via resistor
R4 670, 671 to the output pads of the driver, wherein optional
capacitors 680, 681 may be arranged in parallel to resistors
R4.
[0076] Example values for the elements may be 1.5 k.OMEGA. for
resistors R1, 12 k.OMEGA. for resistors R2, 1.5 k.OMEGA. for
resistors R3, 13.5 k.OMEGA. for resistors R4 and 5.OMEGA. for Rt.
Capacitors Cfb may have 200 femto Farad and capacitors 681 may have
also 200 femto Farad. Although resistor Rt is in series with the
amplifiers the output of the line driver still can be seen as an
active output impedance, because the value of Rt is at least one
order of magnitude smaller than the output impedance.
[0077] From the above illustrated examples it is apparent to those
skilled in the art that any line driver providing active output
impedance may be used in the line driver circuit.
[0078] While the invention has been described with reference to
certain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the
art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be
substituted without departing from the scope of the invention. In
addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular
situation or material to the teachings of the invention without
departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the
invention not be limited to the particular embodiments
disclosed.
* * * * *