U.S. patent application number 16/853076 was filed with the patent office on 2021-01-14 for phase locked circuit, method of operating the same, and transceiver.
The applicant listed for this patent is SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to JAEWON CHOI, HONGGUL HAN, SANGWOOK HAN, CHULHO KIM, MYOUNGGYUN KIM, SHINWOONG KIM, INHYO RYU.
Application Number | 20210013888 16/853076 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000004779884 |
Filed Date | 2021-01-14 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20210013888 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
KIM; SHINWOONG ; et
al. |
January 14, 2021 |
PHASE LOCKED CIRCUIT, METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME, AND
TRANSCEIVER
Abstract
A phase locked circuit includes an oscillator configured to
generate an output clock signal, a first phase detector configured
to detect a phase difference between an input clock signal and a
feedback clock signal based on the output clock signal, a second
phase detector having a wider phase locking range than that of the
first phase detector and configured to detect the phase difference
between the input clock signal and the feedback clock signal, and a
charge pump controller configured to control an output current of a
charge pump included in the second phase detector based on the
phase difference detected by the first phase detector. When the
phase difference between the input clock signal and the feedback
clock signal is within the phase locking range of the first phase
detector, the oscillator and the first phase detector are connected
to each other.
Inventors: |
KIM; SHINWOONG; (SUWON-SI,
KR) ; KIM; MYOUNGGYUN; (SEOUL, KR) ; KIM;
CHULHO; (HWASEONG-SI, KR) ; RYU; INHYO;
(HWASEONG-SI, KR) ; CHOI; JAEWON; (SUWON-SI,
KR) ; HAN; SANGWOOK; (SEOUL, KR) ; HAN;
HONGGUL; (SEOUL, KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. |
SUWON-SI |
|
KR |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000004779884 |
Appl. No.: |
16/853076 |
Filed: |
April 20, 2020 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H03L 7/0992 20130101;
H03L 7/095 20130101; H03L 7/091 20130101; H03L 7/145 20130101; H03L
7/0898 20130101; H03L 7/093 20130101; H03L 7/195 20130101; H03L
7/087 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H03L 7/089 20060101
H03L007/089; H03L 7/087 20060101 H03L007/087; H03L 7/095 20060101
H03L007/095; H03L 7/093 20060101 H03L007/093; H03L 7/091 20060101
H03L007/091; H03L 7/099 20060101 H03L007/099; H03L 7/195 20060101
H03L007/195; H03L 7/14 20060101 H03L007/14 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jul 11, 2019 |
KR |
10-2019-0083948 |
Claims
1. A phase locked circuit comprising: an oscillator configured to
generate an output clock signal; a first phase detector configured
to detect a phase difference between an input clock signal and a
feedback clock signal based on the output clock signal; a second
phase detector having a wider phase locking range than that of the
first phase detector and configured to detect the phase difference
between the input clock signal and the feedback clock signal; and a
charge pump controller configured to control an output current of a
charge pump included in the second phase detector based on the
phase difference detected by the first phase detector, wherein,
when the phase difference between the input clock signal and the
feedback clock signal is within the phase locking range of the
first phase detector, the oscillator and the first phase detector
are connected to each other.
2. The phase locked circuit of claim 1, wherein the charge pump
controller increases an amount of offset current output from the
charge pump to a loop filter when a phase of the feedback clock
signal is later than a target phase and increases an amount of
offset current received by the charge pump from the loop filter
when the phase of the feedback clock signal is earlier than the
target phase.
3. The phase locked circuit of claim 2, wherein the oscillator
increases a frequency of the output clock signal based on the
amount of the offset current output from the charge pump to the
loop filter and reduces the frequency of the output clock signal
based on the amount of the offset current received by the charge
pump from the loop filter.
4. The phase locked circuit of claim 2, wherein the charge pump
further comprises an offset circuit, wherein the charge pump
controller determines an amount and direction of the offset current
output from the offset circuit, and wherein the output current is
increased or reduced based on the offset current.
5. The phase locked circuit of claim 1, wherein the first phase
detector detects the phase difference based on a slope voltage
having a prescribed slope generated by integrating the input clock
signal in accordance with time and the feedback clock signal.
6. A phase locked circuit comprising: an oscillator configured to
generate an output clock signal; a first phase difference detector
configured to output a first voltage that indicates a phase
difference between an input clock signal and a feedback clock
signal; a phase lock detector configured to detect whether a level
of the first voltage is included in a previously set voltage level
period to output a first detection signal; a charge pump controller
configured to output a charge pump control signal that controls an
amount of output current of the charge pump based on the first
detection signal; and a second phase difference detector configured
to output a second detection signal that indicates the phase
difference between the input clock signal and the feedback clock
signal; wherein the charge pump is configured to output the output
current based on the second detection signal and the charge pump
control signal, and wherein a frequency of the output clock signal
is based on the amount of the output current, and the feedback
clock signal is based on the output clock signal.
7. The phase locked circuit of claim 6, wherein a maximum value or
a minimum value of the charge pump control signal is generated
based on a rising edge or falling edge of the first detection
signal.
8. The phase locked circuit of claim 6, wherein the first detection
signal comprises an upper limit detection signal and a lower limit
detection signal, wherein the upper limit detection signal is a
logic high when a level of the first voltage is lower than a
voltage upper limit level, and wherein the lower limit detection
signal is a logic high when the level of the first voltage is
higher than a voltage lower limit level.
9. The phase locked circuit of claim 8, wherein the phase lock
detector further comprises a first comparator and a second
comparator, wherein the first comparator compares the voltage upper
limit level with the level of the first voltage to generate a first
comparison result and outputs the upper limit detection signal in
accordance with the first comparison result, and wherein the second
comparator compares the voltage lower limit level with the level of
the first voltage to generate a second comparison result and
outputs the lower limit detection signal in accordance with the
second comparison result.
10. The phase locked circuit of claim 8, wherein the amount of the
output current is reduced or maintained when the upper limit
detection signal indicates the logic high and is increased or
maintained when the lower limit detection signal indicates a logic
low.
11. The phase locked circuit of claim 8, wherein the charge pump
controller generates a first value obtained by multiplying a minus
increment value by the upper limit detection signal, generates a
second value obtained by multiplying a plus increment value by the
lower limit detection signal, and outputs the charge pump control
signal obtained by integrating the first value and the second
value.
12. The phase locked circuit of claim 6, wherein the charge pump
further comprises an offset circuit including an offset current
source and an offset switch, wherein the offset switch determines a
direction of an offset current output from the offset circuit, and
wherein the output current is increased or reduced based on the
offset current.
13. The phase locked circuit of claim 12, wherein the charge pump
control signal further comprises an offset control signal and a
phase control signal, and wherein the offset control signal
indicates the amount of the offset current and the phase control
signal indicates an increase or reduction in the output
current.
14. The phase locked circuit of claim 6, further comprising a
digital time converter configured to receive a reference clock
signal and delay the reference clock signal to output an input
clock signal, wherein the first phase difference detector comprises
a slope generator configured to integrate a rising edge or a
falling edge of the input clock signal and to output a slope
voltage having a prescribed slope, and wherein the first voltage
has a value of the slope voltage sampled by the rising edge or
falling edge of the feedback clock signal.
15. The phase locked circuit of claim 6, wherein when the first
voltage is included in the previously set voltage level period, the
oscillator is electrically connected to the first phase difference
detector via a switch.
16. A method of operating a phase locked circuit, the method
comprising: detecting, by a first phase difference detector, a
phase difference between an input clock signal and a feedback clock
signal; outputting a logic high upper limit detection signal when
the phase difference indicates a phase of the feedback clock signal
is later than a target phase and outputting a logic high lower
limit detection signal when the phase difference indicates the
phase of the feedback clock signal is earlier than the target
phase; controlling an output current of a charge pump connected to
a second phase difference detector based on the lower limit
detection signal and the upper limit detection signal; and
controlling a frequency of an output clock signal based on the
output current.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: outputting a phase
locking confirmation signal transited to a logic high in response
to a logic high of the upper limit detection signal and the lower
limit detection signal; and establishing an electrical connection
between an oscillator outputting the output clock signal and the
first phase difference detector when the phase locking confirmation
signal is the logic high.
18. The method of claim 16, wherein the upper limit detection
signal is transited to a logic high when the phase difference is
greater than a first threshold value and the lower limit detection
signal is transited to a logic high when the phase difference is
greater than a second threshold value.
19. The method of claim 16, wherein the controlling of the output
current of the charge pump connected to the second phase difference
detector based on the lower limit detection signal and the upper
limit detection signal further comprises: increasing a frequency of
the output clock signal based on the logic high upper limit
detection signal; and reducing the frequency of the output clock
signal based on the logic high lower limit detection signal.
20. (canceled)
21. The method of claim 16, wherein the controlling of the output
current of the charge pump connected to the second phase difference
detector based on the lower limit detection signal and the upper
limit detection signal further comprises: outputting a charge pump
control signal that controls an output of an offset circuit based
on the upper limit detection signal and the lower limit detection
signal; and increasing or reducing the output current based on the
output of the offset circuit.
22-26. (canceled)
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This U.S. non-provisional patent application claims the
benefit of under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119 to Korean Patent Application
No. 10-2019-0083948, filed on Jul. 11, 2019, in the Korean
Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is
incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.
BACKGROUND
1. Technical Field
[0002] The inventive concept relates to a phase locked circuit, and
more particularly, to a phase locked circuit including a fine phase
detection circuit and a coarse phase detection circuit.
2. Discussion of Related Art
[0003] A phase locked circuit (a phase locked loop (PLL)) is a
control system that generates an output signal whose phase is
related to the phase of a reference signal. The phase locked
circuit may synchronize and fix the phase of the reference signal
with the phase of the output signal. The phase locked circuit may
include a phase detection circuit used for synchronizing and fixing
a phase difference between the reference signal and the output
signal. The phase detection circuit may include a phase difference
detector having a high gain. However, a locking range may be narrow
in the phase detection circuit. That is, when the phase difference
between the reference signal and the output signal is greater than
the locking range, the phase detection circuit may operate
abnormally.
SUMMARY
[0004] At least one embodiment of the inventive concept provides a
phase locked circuit for switching a circuit connected to an
oscillator (for example, a voltage control oscillator) from a
coarse phase detection circuit to a fine phase detection circuit by
using a detection result of the fine phase detection circuit and a
method of operating the same.
[0005] According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept, there is provided a phase locked circuit including an
oscillator configured to generate an output clock signal, a first
phase detector configured to detect a phase difference between an
input clock signal and a feedback clock signal based on the output
clock signal, a second phase detector having a wider phase locking
range than that of the first phase detector and configured to
detect the phase difference between the input clock signal and the
feedback clock signal, and a charge pump controller configured to
control an output current of a charge pump included in the second
phase detector based on the phase difference detected by the first
phase detector. When the phase difference between the input clock
signal and the feedback clock signal is within the phase locking
range of the first phase detector, the oscillator and the first
phase detector are connected to each other.
[0006] According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept, there is provided a phase locked circuit including an
oscillator configured to generate an output clock signal, a first
phase difference detector configured to output a first voltage that
indicates a phase difference between an input clock signal and a
feedback clock signal, a phase lock detector configured to detect
whether a level of the first voltage is included in a previously
set voltage level period to output a first detection signal, a
charge pump controller configured to output a charge pump control
signal that controls an amount of output current of the charge pump
based on the first detection signal, and a second phase difference
detector configured to output a second detection signal that
indicates the phase difference between the input clock signal and
the feedback clock signal. The charge pump is configured to output
the output current based on the second detection signal and the
charge pump control signal. A frequency of the output clock signal
is based on the amount of the output current, and the feedback
clock signal is based on the output clock signal.
[0007] According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept, there is provided a method of operating a phase locked
circuit, including detecting, by a first phase difference detector,
a phase difference between an input clock signal and a feedback
clock signal by a first phase difference detector, outputting a
logic high upper limit detection signal when the phase difference
indicates a phase of the feedback clock signal is later than a
target phase and outputting a logic high lower limit detection
signal when the phase difference indicates the phase of the
feedback clock signal is earlier than the target phase, controlling
an output current of a charge pump connected to a second phase
difference detector based on the lower limit detection signal and
the upper limit detection signal, and controlling a frequency of an
output clock signal based on the output current.
[0008] According to an exemplary of the inventive concept, there is
provided a transceiver including a phase locked circuit. The phase
locked circuit includes a first phase difference detector of a
first type configured to detect a phase difference between an input
clock signal and a feedback clock signal, a second phase difference
detector of a second type configured to detect the phase difference
between the input clock signal and the feedback clock signal, a
charge pump controller configured to control an amount of output
current of a charge pump, an oscillator configured to output an
output clock signal and to control a frequency of the output clock
signal based on the output current, a switch configured to
establish an electrical connection between the oscillator and one
of the first phase difference detector and the second phase
difference detector based on an output voltage of the first phase
difference detector, a transmitter configured to receive a
transmission input signal from a signal processor, to perform first
frequency mixing on a signal based on the transmission input signal
and the output clock signal, and to output a transmission output
signal through an antenna, and a receiver configured to receive a
reception input signal through the antenna, to perform second
frequency mixing on a signal based on the reception input signal
and the output clock signal, and to output a reception output
signal to the signal processor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] Embodiments of the inventive concept will be more clearly
understood from the following detailed description taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a phase locked
circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a phase locked
circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a phase locked
circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a fine phase
detection circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the
inventive concept;
[0014] FIG. 5 is a waveform diagram illustrating a reference clock
signal, an input clock signal, a slope voltage, and a feedback
clock signal;
[0015] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a charge pump
controller according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept;
[0016] FIG. 7 is a waveform diagram illustrating various voltages
and signals according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept;
[0017] FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram illustrating a charge pump that
receives a logic low phase control signal according to an exemplary
embodiment of the inventive concept;
[0018] FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram illustrating a charge pump that
receives a logic high phase control signal according to an
exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept;
[0019] FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram illustrating an offset control
signal and an offset current unit according to an exemplary
embodiment of the inventive concept;
[0020] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a
phased detection circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of
the inventive concept; and
[0021] FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless
communication device including a phase locked loop (PLL) according
to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive concept.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0022] Hereinafter, embodiments of the inventive concept will be
described in detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
[0023] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a phase locked
circuit 1 according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept.
[0024] A phase locked loop (PLL) may include a phase detector
(e.g., a phase detection circuit), a charge pump, a loop filter,
voltage control oscillator, and a divider (e.g., a voltage dividing
circuit). The phase detector is for receiving a reference signal
and a feedback signal and detecting a phase difference the
reference signal and the feedback signal. The charge pump is for
receiving a detection signal from the phase detector and outputting
a current corresponding to the received detection signal. The loop
filter is for outputting a voltage to be applied to a voltage
control oscillator based on the current output from the charge
pump. The voltage control oscillator is for outputting an output
signal. The divider is for dividing the output signal by an integer
or a fraction and outputting the feedback signal to the phase
detector.
[0025] The PLL may be implemented by an analog or digital circuit
and may be referred to as a phase locked circuit. Components
described below such as a unit, a detector, a divider, a converter,
an oscillator, or a switch may be implemented by hardware (e.g., a
circuit) according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept. However, the inventive concept is not limited thereto. The
components may be implemented by software or a combination of
hardware and software in alternate embodiments. For example, the
circuit may be implemented by a digital circuit as well as an
analog circuit.
[0026] Referring to FIG. 1, the phase locked circuit 1 includes a
phase detector 10, a switch 20, an oscillator VO, a divider DIV,
and a clock input unit 30.
[0027] According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept, the phase detector 10 includes a first phase detector 5
and a second phase detector 6. In an exemplary embodiment, the
phase detector 10 detects a phase difference between an input clock
signal CKDTC and a feedback clock signal CKFB and outputs a first
output voltage VO1 and a second output voltage VO2 corresponding to
the phase difference. Hereinafter, a phase difference between the
input clock signal CKDTC and the feedback clock signal CKFB may be
referred to as `a phase difference` for ease of discussion.
[0028] According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept, the first phase detector 5 include a fine phase detection
(PD1) circuit 11 and a first loop filter LF1. The second phase
detector 6 includes a coarse phase detection circuit 12 and a
second loop filter LF2. In an exemplary embodiment, the second
phase detector 6 has a wider phase locking range than the first
phase detector 5. In an exemplary embodiment, the first phase
detector 5 is configured to detect a finer phase difference than
the second phase detector 6. Therefore, the phase locked circuit 1
may perform a switching operation when a phase is approximately
locked in a wide range. That is, the phase locked circuit 1 may
electrically connect the oscillator VO to the second phase detector
6 in response to a control signal (for example, LCK of FIG. 2)
received by the switch 20. Hereinafter, the fine phase detection
circuit 11 may be referred to as a first phase difference detector
and the coarse phase detection circuit 12 may be referred to as a
second phase difference detector.
[0029] The fine phase detection circuit 11 detects the phase
difference between the input clock signal CKDTC and the feedback
clock signal CKFB and outputs a first voltage VC2 based on the
detected phase difference. For example, the fine phase detection
circuit 11 may include a sampling phase detector. In an embodiment,
the fine phase detection circuit 11 has a narrower locking range
than the coarse phase detection circuit 12. Since the fine phase
detection circuit 11 has a higher gain than the coarse phase
detection circuit 12, the fine phase detection circuit 11 may
detect a fine phase difference. An operation of the fine phase
detection circuit 11 detecting the phase difference will be
described later in detail with reference to FIG. 5.
[0030] A converter GM (see FIG. 3) may convert a detection voltage
(e.g., VO1) output from the fine phase detection circuit 11 into a
current. For example, the converter GM may receive the detection
voltage, multiply the received detection voltage by a prescribed
gain value to generate an internal voltage, and output a detection
current based on the internal voltage. The first loop filter LF1
may receive the detection current and may output the first output
voltage VO1 based on the received detection current.
[0031] The coarse phase detection circuit 12 detects the phase
difference between the input clock signal CKDTC and the feedback
clock signal CKFB and outputs a second detection signal (for
example, UP and DN of FIG. 3) based on the detected phase
difference. A charge pump CP may output an output current based on
the received second detection signal. The second loop filter LF2
outputs the second output voltage VO2 based on the output
current.
[0032] The charge pump CP may output the output current based on
the second detection signal (for example, UP and DN of FIG. 3) and
may control an amount of output current based on the first voltage
VC2. In an embodiment, the coarse phase detection circuit 12
synchronizes the phase difference to a locking range of the fine
phase detection circuit 11. The coarse phase detection circuit 12
may monitor the first voltage VC2 output from the fine phase
detection circuit 11 and may increase or reduce the output current
so that the first voltage VC2 is in a prescribed voltage level
period. Here, that the first voltage VC2 is in the prescribed
voltage level period may mean that the phase difference enters the
locking range of the fine phase detection circuit 11. When the
phase difference is synchronized to the locking range of the fine
phase detection circuit 11, the phase locked circuit 1 may change a
state of the switch 20. That is, the phase locked circuit 1 may
release an electrical connection between the oscillator VO and the
coarse phase detection circuit 12 and establish an electrical
connection between the oscillator VO and the fine phase detection
circuit 11.
[0033] The oscillator VO outputs an output clock signal CKVCO
having a frequency based on the first output voltage VO1 or the
second output voltage VO2. For example, when the oscillator VO
receives a high level voltage, a signal having a high frequency may
be output. In other words, the oscillator VO may be based on the
amount of current output from the converter GM or the charge pump
CP. That is, as the amount of current output from the converter GM
or the charge pump CP increases, a signal having a higher frequency
may be output. In an exemplary embodiment, the oscillator VO
includes a voltage control oscillator.
[0034] The divider DIV receives the output clock signal CKVCO, and
divides a frequency of the received output clock signal CKVCO by an
integer or a fraction to output a feedback clock signal CKFB. For
example, the divider DIV may include an integer-division divider or
a fraction-division divider.
[0035] According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept, the phase locked circuit 1 may interactively operate the
fine phase detection circuit 11 and the coarse phase detection
circuit 12 in order to efficiently synchronize and lock the phase
difference. That is, in order to synchronize and lock the phase
difference to the locking range of the fine phase detection circuit
11, which is an object of the coarse phase detection circuit 12, a
detection result of the fine phase detection circuit 11 (for
example, VC2) is monitored in real time to generate a monitoring
result. A charge pump CP may be controlled in accordance with the
monitoring result and may be rapidly and correctly switched.
[0036] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a phase locked
circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept. Descriptions previously made with reference to FIG. 1 are
omitted.
[0037] According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept, the phase locked circuit 2 includes the oscillator VO for
generating the output clock signal CKVCO and the first phase
detector 5 for detecting the phase difference of the feedback clock
signal CKFB based on the input clock signal CKDTC and the output
clock signal CKVCO. In addition, the phase locked circuit 2
includes the second phase detector 6 having a wider phase locking
range than the first phase detector 5, for detecting a phase
difference between the input clock signal CKDTC and the feedback
clock signal CKFB. In an exemplary embodiment, based on the
detection result of the first phase detector 5, the phase locked
circuit 2 includes a charge pump controller 50 (e.g., a control
circuit) for controlling the output current (for example, IO of
FIG. 8) of the charge pump CP included in the second phase detector
6. When the phase difference between the input clock signal CKDTC
and the feedback clock signal CKFB is within the phase locking
range of the fine phase detection circuit 11 (for example, a phase
locking confirmation signal LCK maintains a logic high state for a
previously set time), the switch 20 may operate so that the
oscillator VO and the first phase detector 5 are connected to each
other. For example, the phase locking range of the fine phase
detection circuit 11 may be based on a point in time TL to a point
in time TH or a point in time T12 of FIG. 5.
[0038] The phase locked circuit 2 includes the fine phase detection
circuit 11, the coarse phase detection circuit 12, the switch 20,
the oscillator VO, the divider DIV, a digital-time converter (DTC)
31, a phase locking detection circuit 40 (e.g., a phase lock
detector), and the charge pump controller 50.
[0039] The phase locking detection circuit 40 receives the first
voltage VC2 indicating a phase difference and outputs a first
detection signal DS indicating whether a level of the first voltage
VC2 is included in a previously set voltage level period. For
example, the previously set voltage level period may be lower than
a level of an upper limit voltage VH and higher than a level of a
lower limit voltage VL. For example, the upper limit voltage VH and
the lower limit voltage VL may be received from a voltage generator
included in or outside the phase locked circuit 2. In another
example, information on the level of the upper limit voltage VH and
the level of the lower limit voltage VL may be stored in
memory.
[0040] The first detection signal DS may include an upper limit
detection signal (for example, DS_L of FIG. 3) and a lower limit
detection signal (for example, DS_H of FIG. 3). For example, the
upper limit detection signal may indicate that the level of the
first voltage VC2 is lower than that of the upper limit voltage VH.
When the level of the first voltage VC2 is lower than that of the
upper limit voltage VH, the upper limit detection signal may
indicate a logic high (or an activation state). To the contrary,
when the level of the first voltage VC2 is higher than that of the
upper limit voltage VH, the upper limit detection signal may
indicate a logic low (or an inactivation state). In another
example, the lower limit detection signal may indicate that the
level of the first voltage VC2 is higher than that of the lower
limit voltage VL. When the level of the first voltage VC2 is higher
than that of the lower limit voltage VL, the lower limit detection
signal may indicate a logic high. To the contrary, when the level
of the first voltage VC2 is lower than that of the lower limit
voltage VL, the lower limit detection signal may indicate a logic
low.
[0041] According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept, the level of the first voltage VC2 means the phase
difference between the input clock signal CKDTC and the feedback
clock signal CKFB. For example, when the phase difference is small,
the level of the first voltage VC2 may be low and, when the phase
difference is large, the level of the first voltage VC2 may be
high. For example, a phase of the feedback clock signal CKFB may be
later than that of the input clock signal CKDTC by a first value.
In another example, the phase of the feedback clock signal CKFB may
be later than that of the input clock signal CKDTC by a second
value. In an exemplary embodiment, the first value is greater than
the second value. In this case, the level of the first voltage VC2
when the phase difference has the first value is higher than that
of the first voltage VC2 when the phase difference has the second
value. When the level of the first voltage VC2 is greater than the
lower limit voltage VL and less than the upper limit voltage VH,
the phase locking detection circuit 40 determines that the phase
difference between the input clock signal CKDTC and the feedback
clock signal CKFB is included in the locking range of the fine
phase detection circuit 11. The lower limit voltage VL may
correspond to the minimum phase value in a locking range in which
the fine phase detection circuit 11 may perform a phase locking
operation. To the contrary, the upper limit voltage VH may
correspond to the maximum phase value in the locking range in which
the fine phase detection circuit 11 may perform the phase locking
operation.
[0042] The phase locking detection circuit 40 may output the phase
locking confirmation signal LCK. The output of the phase locking
confirmation signal LCK may mean that the first voltage VC2 enters
the previously set voltage level period for a uniform time. For
example, the phase locked circuit 2 may further include a counter.
The counter may start counting from a point in time when the first
voltage VC2 enters the previously set voltage level period. When
counting is performed for a previously set time, the phase locked
circuit 2 may output the phase locking confirmation signal LCK to
the switch 20. The switch 20 may perform a switching operation in
response to reception of the phase locking confirmation signal
LCK.
[0043] The charge pump controller 50 may control the amount of
current output from the charge pump CP. For example, the charge
pump controller 50 may output a charge pump control signal CC for
controlling the charge pump CP based on the first detection signal
DS.
[0044] According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept, the charge pump controller 50 may receive the first
detection signal DS that indicates that the level of the first
voltage VC2 is higher than that of the upper limit voltage VH. That
is, the phase difference between the input clock signal CKDTC and
the feedback clock signal CKFB may be so large that the fine phase
detection circuit 11 does not perform the locking operation. In
this case, the charge pump controller 50 may reduce the amount of
current output from the charge pump CP. That is, the charge pump
controller 50 may output the charge pump control signal CC that
instructs reduction in the amount of current output from the charge
pump CP. In an embodiment, a current may be output in a direction
in which a charge pump circuit (for example, CPC of FIG. 9) pushes
the current to the loop filter (for example, LF2 of FIG. 9). The
charge pump controller 50 may output a current in a direction in
which an offset circuit (for example, CPO of FIG. 9) included in
the charge pump CP pulls the current from the loop filter. As a
result, the charge pump controller 50 may reduce the total amount
of current output from the charge pump CP. In another example, the
charge pump controller 50 may receive the first detection signal DS
that indicates that the level of the first voltage VC2 is lower
than that of the lower limit voltage VL. In this case, the charge
pump controller 50 may increase the amount of current output from
the charge pump CP. Since the above operation is opposite to the
operation in the previously described example, a detailed
description thereof is omitted.
[0045] According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept, the charge pump controller 50 may output charge pump
control signals CC_O and CC_P so as to increase the amount of
offset current output from the charge pump CP to the second loop
filter LF2 when the phase of the feedback clock signal CKFB is
later than a target phase and to increase the amount of offset
current received by the charge pump CP from the second loop filter
LF2 when the phase of the feedback clock signal CKFB is earlier
than the target phase. For example, the target phase may be based
on the point in time T12 or the point in time TL to the point in
time TH of FIG. 5.
[0046] The switch 20 may include an analog or digital switch. For
example, the switch 20 may include one transistor or a combination
of a plurality of transistors. In another example, the switch 20
may include a multiplexer. In this case, the phase locking
confirmation signal LCK may be input to a control terminal (which
may be referred to as a selection terminal or an enable terminal)
of the multiplexer. According to an exemplary embodiment, in
response to transition of the phase locking confirmation signal LCK
to a logic high, the switch 20 may be configured to release a
channel formed between the coarse phase detection circuit 12 and
the oscillator VO and to form a channel between the fine phase
detection circuit 11 and the oscillator VO.
[0047] A DTC (Digital-Time Converter) 31 may receive a reference
clock signal CKREF and delay the reference clock signal CKREF by a
uniform time to output the input clock signal CKDTC. The DTC 31 may
delay the reference clock signal CKREF by various methods. For
example, the DTC 31 may delay the reference clock signal CKREF
based on a command of control code received from external logic of
the DTC 31. Detailed description will be made later with reference
to FIG. 3.
[0048] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a phase locked
circuit 3 according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept.
[0049] Referring to FIG. 3, the phase locked circuit 3 includes the
fine phase detection circuit 11, the converter GM, the first loop
filter LF1, the coarse phase detection circuit 12, the second loop
filter LF2, the switch 20, the oscillator VO, the DTC 31, the phase
locking detection circuit 40, the charge pump controller 50, the
divider DIV, a modulator MDLT, and a calibration circuit CLB.
[0050] The DTC 31 may delay the reference clock signal CKREF by an
amount of delay (time delay or phase delay) corresponding to an
input code CSD to generate the input clock signal CKDTC and may
output the input clock signal CKDTC. The DTC 31 may generate the
amount of delay by various methods. For example, the DTC 31 may
generate the delay time by a method of selecting delay cells of a
number corresponding to the input code CSD among the plurality of
delay cells. In addition, the DTC 31 may generate the amount of
delay by a method of charging and pre-charging a passive device
based on a current corresponding to the input code CSD. However,
the inventive concept is not limited thereto. The DTC 31 may
operate by various methods.
[0051] The modulator MDLT receives a frequency control command FCW
and generates a control signal MCS for the divider DIV in
accordance with the frequency control command FCW. The modulator
MDLT may be implemented by various methods. For example, the
modulator MDLT may include a delta-sigma modulator.
[0052] The modulator MDLT may provide an integer division ratio to
the divider DIV. For example, when the divider DIV is configured to
divide the output clock signal CKVCO by one of division ratios K-1,
K, and K+1 (K is an integer), the modulator MDLT may select one of
the integer division ratios K-1, K, and K+1 every loop so that an
average division ratio may have a desired value and may provide the
selected integer division ratio (or a coefficient that represents
the selected integer division ratio) to the divider DIV as the
control signal MCS.
[0053] For example, assuming that the divider DIV is set to divide
the output clock signal CKVCO by one of the division ratios K and
K+1, the basic division ratio K is 2, and the average division
ratio is 2.25, the modulator MDLT may receive a decimal of 0.25 as
the frequency control command FCW. The modulator MDLT may perform a
divide by 2 threes and may perform a divide by 3 once based on set
integer division ratios 2 and 3 in order to make the average
division ratio 2.25. Therefore, the modulator MDLT may output the
control signal MCS such as `0`, `0`, `0`, or `1` that represents a
value added to the basic division ratio to the divider DIV. At this
time, one of the control signals `0`, `0`, `0`, and `1` may be
randomly selected. The divider DIV may change a division ratio
based on the received control signal MCS.
[0054] In an exemplary embodiment, as the integer division ratio
changes, a quantum error QE may occur. Quantum noise is generated
by the phase locked circuit 3 due to a difference between the
integer division ratio that is a real time division ratio and a
fraction division ratio that is the average division ratio.
Therefore, the modulator MDLT may provide the quantum error QE to
the calibration circuit CLB and the calibration circuit CLB may
adjust the input code CSD based on the quantum error QE so that the
amount of delay of the DTC 31 corresponds to the quantum error
QE.
[0055] In an embodiment, the calibration circuit CLB outputs the
input code CSD based on the first voltage VC2 and the quantum error
QE. The amount of delay of the DTC 31 may be a value obtained by
multiplying a period of the output clock signal CKVCO having a
target frequency by the quantum error QE. The amount of delay
D.sub.DTC may be represented by the following EQUATION 1.
D.sub.DTC=T.sub.OUT*QE=K.sub.D*G.sub.DTC*QE [EQUATION 1]
[0056] wherein, D.sub.DTC represents the amount of delay of the DTC
31, T.sub.OUT represents a period of the output clock signal CKVCO
having the target frequency, K.sub.D represents a unit resolution
(time that may be delayed per digital code) of the DTC 31, and
G.sub.DTC represents a gain value of the DTC 31.
[0057] The calibration circuit CLB may calculate the gain value of
the DTC 31 based on the first voltage VC2 and the quantum error QE.
For example, the calibration circuit CLB may output a correlation
value between a sign of the first voltage VC2 and a sign of the
quantum error QE, may accumulate the correlation value, and may
calculate the gain value of the DTC 31. As a result, the
calibration circuit CLB may output the input code CSD that
indicates the amount of delay of the DTC 31 by using the first
voltage VC2 and the quantum error QE.
[0058] The fine phase detection circuit 11 may detect the phase
difference between the input clock signal CKDTC and the feedback
clock signal CKFB to output the first voltage VC2 to at least one
of the converter GM, the phase locking detection circuit 40, and
the calibration circuit CLB. Hereinafter, an operation of the fine
phase detection circuit 11 will be described later with reference
to FIGS. 4 and 5.
[0059] FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the fine phase
detection circuit 11 according to an exemplary embodiment of the
inventive concept, and FIG. 5 is a waveform diagram illustrating
the reference clock signal CKREF, the input clock signal CKDTC, a
slope voltage VSG, and the feedback clock signal CKFB. The
horizontal axis of FIG. 5 represents time and the vertical axis
thereof represents a voltage level.
[0060] Referring to FIG. 4, the fine phase detection circuit 11
includes a slope generator SG, first and second switches SC1 and
SC2, a plurality of capacitors C1 and C2, an inverter IV, and a
delay unit DL (e.g., a buffer or an operational amplifier). The
fine phase detection circuit 11 may receive the input clock signal
CKDTC, may integrate the received input clock signal CKDTC in
accordance with time, and may output the slope voltage VSG.
[0061] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the slope generator SG may
generate the slope voltage VSG by integrating the input clock
signal CKDTC in accordance with time from a first point in time T11
at which a rising edge of the input clock signal CKDTC is
generated. The slope voltage VSG may have a prescribed slope. For
example, the slope may be determined by a gain value of the slope
generator SG. In addition, the slope voltage VSG may have a ground
voltage level Vss as a lowest level and may have a driving voltage
level Vdd as a highest level. For example, when the gain value of
the slope generator SG is large, a slope of the slope voltage VSG
may increase and the level of the slope voltage VSG may reach the
driving voltage level Vdd in less time. On the other hand, the
driving voltage level Vdd may be determined based on a driving
voltage applied to the slope generator SG or may be determined
based on a driving voltage applied to an inside or outside of the
phase locked circuit 3. The ground voltage level Vss may be a
voltage level of a ground terminal of the slope generator SG or may
be a voltage level of a ground terminal connected to at least one
of components of the phase locked circuit 3.
[0062] The fine phase detection circuit 11 may sample the first
voltage VC2 based on timing of a rising edge of the feedback clock
signal CKFB. In other words, at the timing of the rising edge of
the feedback clock signal CKFB, a particular voltage level of the
slope voltage VSG may be sampled. The fine phase detection circuit
11 may perform a sampling operation as follows by using the first
switch SC1 and the second switch SC2. The fine phase detection
circuit 11 may turn on the first switch SC1 so as to charge the
slope voltage VSG in a first capacitor C1. At this time, the
inverter IV may output a logic high control signal to the first
switch SC1 in response to a logic low of the feedback clock signal
CKFB. The first switch SC1 may be turned on in response to
reception of the logic high control signal. For example, the first
switch SC1 may receive the logic high control signal at the first
point in time T11 or at a previous point in time.
[0063] A level of a voltage VC1 applied to the first capacitor C1
may rise with a prescribed slope from the first point in time T11
or the previous point in time. While the level of the voltage VC1
increases, the fine phase detection circuit 11 may receive the
feedback clock signal CKFB having the rising edge. Based on the
rising edge of the feedback clock signal CKFB, the first switch SC1
may be turned off. This is because the control signal applied to
the first switch SC1 is a falling edge (that is, a logic low
signal) obtained by inverting the rising edge. In addition, the
delay unit DL may delay the rising edge of the feedback clock
signal CKFB by a prescribed time .tau.. For example, the prescribed
time .tau. may be determined based on time delayed for the slope
generator SG to generate a voltage with a prescribed slope and
prescribed delay time of the inverter IV. After the first switch
SC1 is turned off, the second switch SC2 may be turned on based on
the rising edge (that is, the logic high signal) of the feedback
clock signal CKFB. An amount of charge charged in the first
capacitor C1 may be distributed to a second capacitor C2 via the
turned on second switch SC2 and may generate the first voltage VC2.
As the second switch SC2 is turned on at a third point in time T13,
the first voltage VC2 may have a particular level. The particular
level (that is, the level of the first voltage VC2) may reflect the
phase difference (for example, T13 to T12) between the input clock
signal CKDTC and the feedback clock signal CKFB. This is because
the second point in time T12 is a locking point targeted by the
phase locked circuit 3.
[0064] Referring to FIG. 5, when the rising edge of the feedback
clock signal CKFB is generated later than a target point in time,
the phase locked circuit 3 may increase the phase of the feedback
clock signal CKFB. That is, since the rising edge of the currently
applied feedback clock signal CKFB is generated at the third point
in time T13, the phase locked circuit 3 needs to increase the phase
of the feedback clock signal CKFB to the second point in time T12.
Alternatively, the phase locked circuit 3 needs to increase the
phase of the feedback clock signal CKFB so that the level of the
first voltage VC2 enters a previously set voltage level period.
That is, the phase locked circuit 3 may increase the phase of the
feedback clock signal CKFB so that the third point in time T13 at
which the rising edge is generated is less than a point in time
corresponding to the level of the upper limit voltage VH and is
greater than a point in time corresponding to the level of the
lower limit voltage VL.
[0065] Referring to FIG. 3 again, the phase locked circuit 3 may
increase or reduce the phase of the feedback clock signal CKFB in
order to have the level of the first voltage VC2 enter the
previously set voltage level period. For example, the phase locking
detection circuit 40 and the charge pump controller 50 may generate
an offset in the charge pump CP of the coarse phase detection
circuit 12 and may increase a frequency of the oscillator VO.
[0066] The phase locking detection circuit 40 includes a first
comparator CMP1 (e.g., a first comparison circuit), a second
comparator CMP2 (e.g., a second comparison circuit), and an AND
gate AG. The phase locking detection circuit 40 may receive the
upper limit voltage VH, the lower limit voltage VL, and the first
voltage VC2, may compare levels of the received voltages, and may
output the phase locking confirmation signal LCK, an upper limit
detection signal DS_H, and a lower limit detection signal DS_L.
[0067] The phase locking detection circuit 40 may receive the first
voltage VC2 that indicates the phase difference between the input
clock signal CKDTC and the feedback clock signal CKFB. The first
comparator CMP1 may compare the level of the first voltage VC2 with
that of the upper limit voltage VH. For example, when the level of
the first voltage VC2 is lower than that of the upper limit voltage
VH, the first comparator CMP1 may output the logic high upper limit
detection signal DS_H.
[0068] To the contrary, when the level of the first voltage VC2 is
higher than that of the upper limit voltage VH, the first
comparator CMP1 may output the logic low upper limit detection
signal DS_H. That is, when the level of the first voltage VC2
reaches that of the upper limit voltage VH, the upper limit
detection signal DS_H may have a rising edge or a falling edge.
[0069] The second comparator CMP2 may compare the level of the
first voltage VC2 with that of the lower limit voltage VL. For
example, when the level of the first voltage VC2 is higher than
that of the lower limit voltage VL, the first comparator CMP1 may
output the logic high lower limit detection signal DS_L.
[0070] To the contrary, when the level of the first voltage VC2 is
lower than that of the lower limit voltage VL, the first comparator
CMP1 may output the logic low lower limit detection signal DS_L.
That is, when the level of the first voltage VC2 reaches that of
the lower limit voltage VL, the lower limit detection signal DS_L
may have a rising edge or a falling edge.
[0071] When the first voltage VC2 enters the previously set voltage
level period, the phase locking detection circuit 40 may output the
logic high phase locking confirmation signal LCK. For example, the
AND gate AG may receive the upper limit detection signal DS_H and
the lower limit detection signal DS_L, perform an AND operation on
the received signals to generate the phase locking confirmation
signal LCK, and may output the phase locking confirmation signal
LCK. When both the upper limit detection signal DS_H and the lower
limit detection signal DS_L are logic high, the AND gate AG may
output the logic high phase locking confirmation signal LCK. The
switch 20 may be switched in response to transition of the phase
locking confirmation signal LCK to logic high. The phase locked
circuit 3 may electrically connect the fine phase detection circuit
11 to the oscillator VO. For example, the phase locked circuit 3
may disconnect the coarse phase detection circuit 12 or the second
phase detector 6 from the oscillator VO and connect the fine phase
detection circuit 11 to the oscillator VO when the phase locking
confirmation signal LCK becomes set to logic high. In an exemplary
embodiment, the phase locking confirmation signal LCK becomes set
to a logic high (e.g., a first logic level) when the first voltage
VC2 is between the lower limit voltage VL and the upper limit
voltage VH and becomes set to a logic low (e.g., a second logic
level different from the first logic level) otherwise.
[0072] The phase locking detection circuit 40 may output the upper
limit detection signal DS_H and the lower limit detection signal
DS_L in order to control the charge pump controller 50. For
example, the charge pump controller 50 may reduce the amount of
current output from the charge pump CP in response to transition of
the upper limit detection signal DS_H to logic high. When the
amount of current output from the charge pump CP is reduced, a
level of the first output voltage VO1 output from the second loop
filter LF2 may be reduced. In response to reduction in the level of
the first output voltage VO1, the oscillator VO may reduce the
frequency of the output clock signal CKVCO. In another example, in
response to transition of the lower limit detection signal DS_L to
logic high, the charge pump controller 50 may increase the amount
of current output from the charge pump CP. When the amount of
current output from the charge pump CP increases, the level of the
first output voltage VO1 output from the second loop filter LF2 may
increase. In response to an increase in the level of the first
output voltage VO1, the oscillator VO may increase the frequency of
the output clock signal CKVCO. The charge pump controller 50 will
be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 6.
[0073] The second phase detector 6 may include the coarse phase
detection circuit 12 and the charge pump CP. As described later
with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, the charge pump CP may include a
charge pump circuit (CP1 of FIGS. 8 and 9) and an offset circuit
(CP2 of FIGS. 8 and 9).
[0074] A second phase difference detector PD2 may output second
detection signals UP and DN for indicating the phase difference
between the input clock signal CKDTC and the feedback clock signal
CKFB. The second detection signals may include an up detection
signal UP and a down detection signal DN. For example, when the
phase difference is earlier than a target value of the second phase
difference detector PD2, the logic high down detection signal DN
may be output and, when the phase difference is later than a target
value of the second phase difference detector PD2, the logic high
up detection signal UP may be output. The charge pump CP may output
the current from the second loop filter LF2 based on the second
detection signals UP and DN. For example, when the up detection
signal UP is received, the charge pump CP may increase the amount
of output current. In addition, the charge pump CP may adjust the
amount of output current based on the offset control signal CC_O
and the phase control signal CC_P. For example, the offset control
signal CC_O indicates an amount of adjustment of the output current
of the charge pump CP and the phase control signal CC_P may
indicate increase or reduction in the output current of the charge
pump CP.
[0075] The second loop filter LF2 may receive the current output
from the charge pump CP and may output the second output voltage
VO2. For example, the second loop filter LF2 may include various
types of filter that may convert the received current value into a
voltage, and the resistance capacitor (RC) filter illustrated in
FIG. 3 is only an example.
[0076] Based on the second output voltage VO2, the oscillator VO
may increase, reduce, or maintain an oscillation frequency. For
example, the oscillator VO may include a voltage control
oscillator. On the other hand, when a time for which the phase
locking confirmation signal LCK indicates logic high is greater
than the previously set time, the oscillator VO may control the
oscillation frequency based on the first output voltage VO1.
[0077] According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept, the phase locked circuit 3 does not additionally include
the slope generator SG and accordingly, a degree of integration may
increase. According to a comparative example, a replica circuit of
the slope generator SG may be provided between the coarse phase
detection circuit 12 and the DTC 31 in order to receive the input
clock signal CKDTC input to the fine phase detection circuit 11
including the slope generator SG and the input clock signal CKDTC
input to the coarse phase detection circuit 12 under the same
condition. However, according to an exemplary embodiment of the
inventive concept, since the charge pump CP may be controlled based
on the first voltage VC2 generated by the fine phase detection
circuit 11, even though the replica circuit of the slope generator
SG is not provided, the phase locking operation may be
performed.
[0078] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a charge pump
controller according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept.
[0079] The charge pump controller 50 includes a first multiplier
51, a second multiplier 52, an adder 53, and an integrator 54. The
charge pump controller 50 may receive the upper limit detection
signal DS_H and may generate a first value obtained by multiplying
a minus increment value -.DELTA. by the upper limit detection
signal DS_H by using the first multiplier 51. In addition, the
second multiplier 52 may receive the lower limit detection signal
DS_L and may generate a second value obtained by multiplying a plus
increment value+A by the lower limit detection signal DS_L by using
the second multiplier 52. The charge pump controller 50 may add the
first value and the second value using the adder 53 to generate an
addition result and may integrate the addition result by using the
integrator 54. The integrator 54 may output the charge pump control
signal (CC of FIG. 1), and the charge pump control signal may
include the offset control signal CC_O and the phase control signal
CC_P. The offset control signal CC_O may indicate an amount of
current output from the offset circuit (CPO of FIG. 9) to be
described later, and the phase control signal CC_P may indicate an
increase or reduction in the current output from the charge pump
(CP of FIG. 1). The offset control signal CC_O and the phase
control signal CC_P will be described later with reference to FIG.
7.
[0080] FIG. 7 is a waveform diagram illustrating various voltages
and signals according to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept. Hereinafter, description will be made together with the
reference numerals of FIG. 3. Referring to FIG. 7, the horizontal
axis represents time and the vertical axis represents levels of
respective voltages. On the other hand, the vertical axis of the
offset control signal CC_O represents absolute values of amounts of
currents output from first and second offset current sources (IF1
and IF2 of FIGS. 8 and 9). For example, a value from 0 to y1
represents the absolute value of the amount of current output from
the first offset current source (IF1 of FIGS. 8 and 9). In another
example, a value from 0 to y2 represents the absolute value of the
amount of current output from the second offset current source (IF2
of FIGS. 8 and 9).
[0081] According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept, when the upper limit detection signal DS_H is a logic high
and the lower limit detection signal DS_L is a logic low, the
offset control signal CC_O may be reduced with a prescribed slope.
To the contrary, when the upper limit detection signal DS_H is a
logic high and the lower limit detection signal DS_L is a logic
low, the offset control signal CC_O may be reduced with a
prescribed slope. At this time, the slope may correspond to the
increment value (A of FIG. 6).
[0082] According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept, the fine phase detection circuit 11 may output the first
voltage VC2 that indicates the phase difference. When the level of
the first voltage VC2 is lower than that of the upper limit voltage
VH and higher than that of the lower limit voltage VL, it may
represent that the phase difference enters the locking range of the
fine phase detection circuit 11.
[0083] The first voltage VC2 may initially have a prescribed level.
For example, the prescribed level may be lower than that of the
upper limit voltage VH. For example, the prescribed level may be a
ground voltage level. In another example, the prescribed level may
correspond to a charge amount of the discharged second capacitor
C2. In this case, the upper limit detection signal DS_H may be set
to a logic high. In response to the logic high upper limit
detection signal DS_H, a level of the offset control signal CC_O
may be reduced.
[0084] When the level of the first voltage VC2 reaches that of the
lower limit voltage VL, the lower limit detection signal DS_L may
transition to a logic high at a point in time T21. In response to
the lower limit detection signal DS_L transitioning to the logic
high, the level of the offset control signal CC_O may be maintained
without being reduced or increased. On the other hand, since both
the upper limit detection signal DS_H and the lower limit detection
signal DS_L are logic high, the phase locking confirmation signal
LCK may be transition to a logic high.
[0085] When the level of the first voltage VC2 is higher than that
of the upper limit voltage VH, the upper limit detection signal
DS_H may transition to a logic low at a point in time T22. In
response to the upper limit detection signal DS_H transitioning to
logic low, the level of the offset control signal CC_O may increase
and the phase locking confirmation signal LCK may transition to a
logic low. For example, since a time corresponding to a difference
between the point in time T21 and the point in time T22 is shorter
than time TON previously set in order for the switch 20 to perform
switching, the switch 20 does not perform switching.
[0086] When the offset control signal CC_O reaches 0, the phase
control signal CC_P transitions to a logic low at a point in time
T23. That is, the phase control signal CC_P may be set to a logic
high when the offset control signal CC_O has a negative value and
may be set to a logic low when the offset control signal CC_O has a
positive value.
[0087] When the offset control signal CC_O has the negative value,
the phase control signal CC_P may be set to a logic high. The
amount of current output from the charge pump CP may be reduced in
response to the logic high phase control signal CC_P. A reduction
in the current amount may correspond to the negative value of the
offset control signal CC_O. To the contrary, when the offset
control signal CC_O has the positive value, the phase control
signal CC_P be set to a logic low. The amount of current output
from the charge pump CP may increase in response to the logic low
phase control signal CC_P. An increase in the current amount may
correspond to the positive value of the offset control signal
CC_O.
[0088] Then, as the upper limit detection signal DS_H transitions
to a logic high at a point in time T24, the offset control signal
CC_O is maintained and the phase locking confirmation signal LCK
transitions to a logic high. Since a time corresponding to a
difference between the point in time T24 and a point in time T25 is
shorter than the time TON previously set in order for the switch 20
to perform switching, the switch 20 does not perform switching.
Since the lower limit detection signal DS_L transitions to a logic
low at the point in time T25, the offset control signal is reduced
and the phase locking confirmation signal LCK may transition to a
logic low.
[0089] A time during which the level of the first voltage VC2 is
higher than that of the lower limit voltage VL and is maintained to
be lower than that of the upper limit voltage VH may be greater
than the previously set time TON. That is, to ensure a sufficient
time, the phase difference between the input clock signal CKDTC and
the feedback clock signal CKFB may be included in the locking range
of the fine phase detection circuit 11. In this case, when the
previously set time TON passes, at a point in time T27, the phase
locked circuit 3 may control the switch 20. Since the switch 20
performs switching, an electrical connection between the fine phase
detection circuit 11 and the oscillator VO may be established.
[0090] According to the above-described example, the charge pump
control signal CC includes the offset control signal CC_O and the
phase control signal CC_P, the offset control signal CC_O indicates
an absolute value, and the phase control signal CC_P may be a logic
signal that indicates a direction of a current (that is, a sign of
a current). According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept, the charge pump control signal (CC of FIG. 1) may be
implemented by a digital signal having a sign. For example, the
charge pump control signal CC may have a negative sign from a point
in time T20 to the point in time T23 and may have a positive sign
from the point in time T23.
[0091] FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram illustrating a charge pump that
receives a logic low phase control signal according to an exemplary
embodiment of the inventive concept, and FIG. 9 is a circuit
diagram illustrating a charge pump that receives a logic high phase
control signal according to an exemplary embodiment of the
inventive concept. The charge pump depicted in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9
may be used to implement the charge pump CP illustrated in FIG. 2
or FIG. 3.
[0092] Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9, the charge pump CP includes the
charge pump circuit CP1 and the offset circuit CP2. The charge pump
circuit CP1 may receive the up detection signal UP, the down
detection signal DN, an up-bar signal UPb, and a down-bar signal
DNb and may output a pump current IP. An amount of the pump current
IP may correspond to an amount of current output from a first pump
current source ICP1 or a second pump current source ICP2. For
example, amounts of currents output from the first pump current
source ICP1 and the second pump current source ICP2 may be actually
the same. In an operation amplifier OP, a first input end (+)
(e.g., a first input terminal) may be connected to a node at the
first output voltage VO1 and a second input end (-) (e.g. a second
input terminal) may be connected to an output end of the operation
amplifier OP. For example, the operation amplifier OP may function
as a buffer. In other words, a voltage of a node in which a first
switch TA1 and a second switch TA2 are connected to each other may
be actually the same as that of a node in which a third switch TA3
and a fourth switch TA4 are connected to each other.
[0093] The offset circuit CP2 includes the first offset current
source IF1, the second offset current source IF2, a first offset
switch TB1, and a second offset switch TB2. Each of the first and
second offset current sources IF1 and IF2 may include a plurality
of current sources. The first and second offset switches TB1 and
TB2 may include transistors. For example, the first offset switch
TB1 may include a p-type metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS)
transistor and the second offset switch TB2 may include an n-type
metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) transistor.
[0094] The first and second offset switches TB1 and TB2 may
determine directions of first and second offset currents IOF1 and
IOF2 output from the first and second offset current sources IF1
and IF2 based on the offset control signal CC_O. That is, the phase
control signal CC_P may control at least one switch (for example,
TB1) that determines a direction of a current output from the
offset circuit CP2.
[0095] The output current IO of the charge pump CP may be increased
or reduced based on an output of the offset circuit CP2.
[0096] Referring to FIG. 8, when the logic low phase control signal
CC_P is received, the first offset switch TB1 is turned on and the
second offset switch TB2 is turned off. For example, the first
offset switch TB1 may be implemented by a PMOS transistor and the
second offset switch TB2 may be implemented by a NMOS transistor.
However, the inventive concept is not limited thereto. The offset
circuit CP2 outputs the first offset current IOF1 to the second
loop filter LF2. In an exemplary embodiment, when the amount of the
output current IO increases, the oscillator VO increases the
frequency of the output clock signal CKVCO.
[0097] Referring to FIG. 9, when the logic high phase control
signal CC_P is received, the first offset switch TB1 is turned off
and the second offset switch TB2 is turned on. The second offset
current IOF2 having a direction opposite to that of the first
offset current IOF1 may be output. That is, the offset circuit CP2
may output the second offset current IOF2 discharged from the
second loop filter LF2. In an exemplary embodiment, when the amount
of the output current IO is reduced, the oscillator VO reduces the
frequency of the output clock signal CKVCO.
[0098] According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept, the offset control signal CC_O may indicate amounts of the
first and second offset currents IOF1 and IOF2 output from the
offset circuit CP2 and the phase control signal CC_P may indicate
an increase or a reduction in the output current IO. On the other
hand, the first offset current IOF1 and the second offset current
IOF2 may flow in the charge pump CP in opposite directions.
[0099] According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept, the amounts of currents output from the first and second
offset current sources IF1 and IF2 may be less than those of
currents output from the first and second pump current sources ICP1
and ICP2, which is for stably maintaining a phase locking operation
performed by the coarse phase detection circuit 12 by the first and
second offset current sources IF1 and IF2. For ease of discussion,
hereinafter, one of the first and second offset current sources IF1
and IF2 is referred to as an offset current source, one of the
first and second pump current sources ICP1 and ICP2 is referred to
as a pump current source, the amounts of currents output from the
first and second offset current sources IF1 and IF2 are the same,
and the amounts of currents output from the first and second pump
current sources ICP1 and ICP2 are the same.
[0100] According to an exemplary embodiment of the inventive
concept, the current amount of the offset current source is less
than that of the pump current source. For example, a gain value of
a first loop including the fine phase detection circuit 11, the
phase locking detection circuit 40, and the charge pump controller
50 is less than a gain value of a second loop including the second
phase difference detector PD2 and the charge pump CP. When the
output of the offset circuit CP2 is excessively high, the phase
locking operation performed by the coarse phase detection circuit
12 may be prevented. An operation condition under which the offset
circuit CP2 does not deteriorate the phase locking operation and
the output clock signal CKVCO may be stably locked may be
represented by EQUATION 2.
K * .DELTA. * IOF F .ltoreq. 1 20 * IP [ EQUATION 2 ]
##EQU00001##
[0101] wherein, K represents a gain value of the slope generator
(SG of FIG. 3), A represents the increment value (refer to FIG. 6)
used for the charge pump controller 50, F represents a frequency of
the reference clock signal (CKREF of FIG. 3), IOF represents the
current amount of the offset current source, and IP represents the
current amount of the pump current source.
[0102] EQUATION 2 may be rearranged to form EQUATION 3, which may
be expressed as follows.
IOF .ltoreq. ( 1 20 * IP * F ) / ( K * .DELTA. ) [ EQUATION 3 ]
##EQU00002##
[0103] wherein, 1/20 as a coefficient having a threshold effect for
stably locking the output clock signal CKVCO may be a value
obtained by repetitive experiment data. The current amount IOF of
the offset current source may be set so that the coefficient is
1/20 or has a value similar to 1/20. In an embodiment, when K=5
[GV/s], A=1, and F=104 [MHz], the current amount IOF of the offset
current source is set to have a value of no more than 0.00104*IP.
That is, the current amount IOF of the offset current source may be
controlled to satisfy IOF.ltoreq.0.00104*IP. In another embodiment,
when K=5 [GV/s], .DELTA.=0.001, and F=104 [MHz], the current amount
IOF of the offset current source is set to have a value of no more
than 1.04*IP. That is, the current amount IOF of the offset current
source may be controlled to satisfy IOF.ltoreq.1.04*IP. In another
embodiment, when K=2.5 [GV/s], .DELTA.=0.1, and F=104 [MHz], the
current amount IOF of the offset current source is set to have a
value of no more than 0.0208*IP. That is, the current amount IOF of
the offset current source may be controlled to satisfy
IOF.ltoreq.0.0208*IP.
[0104] FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram illustrating an offset control
signal and an offset current unit according to an exemplary
embodiment of the inventive concept.
[0105] Referring to FIG. 10, an offset current source IF includes a
plurality of current sources SC_1 to SC_M (e.g., SC_1, SC_2, SC_3)
and a plurality of switches SW_1 to SW_M (e.g., SW_1, SW_2, SW_3).
Each current source SC is connected to a corresponding switch SW.
The switch SW may perform an switching operation based on the
offset control signal CC_O. That is, the offset control signal CC_O
may control at least one switch SW connected to at least one
current source SC included in the offset current source IF. For
example, the offset control signal CC_O may be a data signal
configured by a plurality of bits and may include information that
indicates operations of the plurality of switches SW_1 to SW_M. For
example, the charge pump controller 50 may turn on a higher number
of switches SW_1 to SW_M as a difference between the phase
difference between the input clock signal CKDTC and the feedback
clock signal CKFB and the target value is greater. For example, the
charge pump controller 50 may turn on switch SW_1 using a first
offset control signal CC_0_1 of the offset control signal CC_O, may
turn on SW_2 using a second offset control signal CC_0_2 of the
offset control signal CC_O, may turn on SW_3 using a third offset
control signal CC_0_3 of the offset control signal CC_O, and may
turn on SW_M using a m-th offset control signal CC_O_M of the
offset control signal CC_O.
[0106] FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of operating a
phased detection circuit according to an exemplary embodiment of
the inventive concept. Description will be made together with the
reference numerals of FIG. 3.
[0107] Referring to FIG. 11, the fine phase detection circuit 11
detects the phase difference between the input clock signal CKDTC
and the feedback clock signal CKFB in operation S610. The fine
phase detection circuit 11 outputs the first voltage VC2 that
indicates the phase difference. The first voltage VC2 has a higher
level when the phase difference is greater than the target value
and has a lower level when the phase difference is less than the
target value. For example, the first voltage VC2 has a first value
when the phase difference is greater than the target value and has
a second value when the phase difference is less than the target
value, wherein the first value is greater than the second
value.
[0108] The phase locking detection circuit 40 outputs the logic
high upper limit detection signal DS_H when the phase of the
feedback clock signal CKFB is later than the target phase and
outputs the logic high lower limit detection signal DS_L when the
phase of the feedback clock signal CKFB is earlier than the target
phase in operation S620. For example, the phase locking detection
circuit 40 may output the upper limit detection signal DS_H and the
lower limit detection signal DS_L by comparing the upper limit
voltage VH, the lower limit voltage VL, and the first voltage VC2.
The target phase may correspond to one of the point in time TL and
the point in time TH described in FIG. 5. For example, when the
rising edge of the feedback clock signal CKFB is generated at the
point in time T13, the phase of the feedback clock signal CKFB may
be later than the target phase (for example, the point in time TH).
Therefore, the phase locking detection circuit 40 may output the
logic high upper limit detection signal DS_H.
[0109] The phase locking detection circuit 40 may output the phase
locking confirmation signal LCK that transitions to a logic high in
response to logic high of the upper limit detection signal DS_H and
the lower limit detection signal DS_L. For example, the phase
locking confirmation signal LCK may be obtained by performing an
AND operation on the upper limit detection signal DS_H and the
lower limit detection signal DS_L. For a previously set time (for
example, TON of FIG. 7), when the phase locking confirmation signal
LCK is a logic high, the switch 20 may perform the switching
operation. That is, the oscillator VO for outputting the output
clock signal CKVCO may establish an electrical connection to the
fine phase detection circuit 11 and may release an electrical
connection from the coarse phase detection circuit 12. Therefore,
the phase locked circuit 3 may perform a fine phase locking
operation.
[0110] On the other hand, the upper limit detection signal DS_H may
indicate a logic high when the phase difference between the input
clock signal CKDTC and the feedback clock signal CKFB is greater
than a first threshold value and the lower limit detection signal
DS_L may indicate a logic high when the phase difference between
the input clock signal CKDTC and the feedback clock signal CKFB is
greater than a second threshold value. For example, referring to
FIG. 5, when the point in time T13 at which the rising edge of the
feedback clock signal CKFB is generated is later than the point in
time TH, the upper limit detection signal DS_H may indicate a logic
high. On the other hand, when the point in time T13 is earlier than
the point in time TL, the lower limit detection signal DS_L may
indicate a logic high.
[0111] The charge pump controller 50 controls the output current IO
of the charge pump CP connected to the coarse phase detection
circuit 12 based on the upper limit detection signal DS_H and the
lower limit detection signal DS_L in operation S630. For example,
the charge pump controller 50 may generate the charge pump control
signals (CC_O and CC_P of FIG. 8) and may output the charge pump
control signals CC_O and CC_P to the offset circuit (CP2 of FIG. 8)
based on the upper limit detection signal DS_H and the lower limit
detection signal DS_L. The charge pump controller 50 may control
the output current IO based on the logic high lower limit detection
signal DS_L. The charge pump CP may control (increase or reduce)
the output current IO based on the offset current output from the
offset circuit CP2. For example, the offset circuit CP2 may
increase the first offset current (IOF1 of FIG. 8) or may reduce
the second offset current (IOF2 of FIG. 9) in response to a logic
high of the upper limit detection signal DS_H. In another example,
the offset circuit CP2 may reduce the first offset current IOF1 or
may increase the second offset current IOF2 in response to a logic
high of the lower limit detection signal DS_L.
[0112] The oscillator VO controls the frequency of the output clock
signal CKVCO based on the output current IO in operation S640. The
second loop filter LF2 may output the second output voltage VO2
based on the output current IO to the oscillator VO. The oscillator
VO may increase the frequency of the output clock signal CKVCO
based on the logic high upper limit detection signal DS_H. To the
contrary, the oscillator VO may reduce the frequency of the output
clock signal CKVCO based on the logic high lower limit detection
signal DS_L.
[0113] FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a wireless
communication device 7000 including a PLL according to an exemplary
embodiment of the inventive concept.
[0114] The wireless communication device 7000 may include an
antenna 7400 and may communicate with another device by
transmitting or receiving a signal through the antenna 7400.
[0115] The wireless communication system in which the wireless
communication device 7000 communicates with another device may be a
wireless communication system using a cellular network such as a
5.sup.th generation (5G) wireless system, a long term evolution
(LTE) system, an LTE-advanced system, a code division multiple
access (CDMA) system, or a global system for mobile communications
(GSM) system, a wireless local area network (WLAN) system, or
another arbitrary wireless communication system.
[0116] As illustrated in FIG. 12, the wireless communication device
7000 includes a signal processor 7100, a transceiver 7200, a
transmission and reception duplexer 7300, and the antenna 7400. The
transmission and reception duplexer 7300 may provide a signal
received through the antenna 7400 as a radio frequency (RF) input
signal RFin to the transceiver 7200 and may provide an RF output
signal RFout received from the transceiver 7200 to the antenna
7400.
[0117] The signal processor 7100 may process a baseband
transmission and reception signal. The signal processor 7100
includes include a controller 7110 (e.g., a control circuit) that
controls the transceiver 7200.
[0118] In an exemplary embodiment, the transceiver 7200 includes a
transmitter 7210, a receiver 7220, and a PLL 7230. The transmitter
7210 may generate the RF output signal RFout by processing a
transmission input signal TXin received from the signal processor
7100. As illustrated in FIG. 12, the transmitter 7210 may include a
variable gain amplifier 7211, a TX filter 7212, a TX mixer 7213,
and a power amplifier 7211.
[0119] The receiver 7220 may generate a reception output signal
RXout and may provide the generated reception output signal RXout
to the signal processor 7100 by processing the RF input signal
RFin. In order to process the RF input signal RFin, the receiver
7220 may include a low noise amplifier 7221, an RX mixer 7222, a
variable gain amplifier 7223, and an RX filter 7224.
[0120] The PLL 7230 may generate a local oscillation signal, that
is, a clock signal that provides a frequency for sampling the
transmission input signal TXin and the RF input signal RFin. An
output clock signal CKVCO of the PLL 7230 may be provided to the TX
mixer 7213 and the RX mixer 7222 of the receiver 7220. The
transmitter 7210 may receive the transmission input signal TXin
from the signal processor 7100, may perform frequency mixing on a
signal TXm based on the transmission input signal TXin and the
output clock signal CKVCO, and may output the RF output signal
RFout through the antenna 7400. In addition, the receiver 7220 may
receive the RF input signal RFin through the antenna 7400, may
perform frequency mixing on a signal RFm based on the RF input
signal RFin and the output clock signal CKVCO, and may output the
reception output signal RXout to the signal processor 7100.
[0121] The phase locked circuit according to exemplary embodiments
of the inventive concept described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11
may be applied to the PLL 7230. Thus. the PLL 7230 may include a
coarse phase detection circuit and a fine phase detection circuit.
The phase difference between the input clock signal CKDTC and the
feedback clock signal CKFB may be detected by the fine phase
detection circuit. Based on the detection result, the amount of
current output from the charge pump of the coarse phase detection
circuit may be controlled. In accordance with the controlled amount
of output current, the phase difference between the input clock
signal CKDTC and the feedback clock signal CKFB may enter a locking
range in which the fine phase detection circuit may perform the
phase locking operation. Then, by performing the switching
operation, the phase locking operation may be switched so that the
PLL 7230 may perform the phase locking operation by the fine phase
detection circuit from the phase locking operation performed by the
coarse phase detection circuit.
[0122] The transmitter 7210 and the receiver 7220 in the
transceiver 7200 may time divisionally process the transmission and
reception signal in a time division duplexing mode. Frequencies of
the transmission signal and the reception signal, that is, the RF
output signal RFout and the RF input signal RFin may be different
from each other. The PLL 7230 according to at least one exemplary
embodiment of the inventive concept may stably perform the phase
locking operation and may improve performance of the wireless
communication device 7000 since the PLL 7230 may have a shorter
locking time than a conventional PLL.
[0123] While the inventive concept has been particularly shown and
described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will
be understood that various changes in form and details may be made
therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the
inventive concept.
* * * * *