High performance repeater

• US 10,050,623 B2
• Filed: 09/25/2015
• Issued: 08/14/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Xiao, Kai, Wu, Zuoguo, Iyer, Venkatraman
• Primary Examiner(s): Donovan, Lincoln
• Assistant Examiner(s): CHENG, DIANA
• Application Number:
  US14/865,682
• Publication Number:
  US 20170019105A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,054 Days
• Field of Search: 327306, 326 30, 379377, 379414, 710 7, 710 15, 710 17
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/00 Interconnection of, or transfer of information or other signals between, memories, input/output devices or central processing units interface circuits for specific input/output devices G06F3/00 ; multiprogram control therefor G06F9/46; multiprocessor systems G06F15/16
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 19/017509 Interface arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 5/08 by limiting; by thresholding; by slicing, i.e. combined limiting and thresholding H03K5/07 takes precedence; comparing one pulse with another H03K5/22; providing a determined threshold for switching H03K17/30
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/0272 Arrangements for coupling to multiple lines, e.g. for differential transmission

Abstract

A redriver device is provided to receive signals from a first device and forward the signals to a second device on a differential link. Detection circuitry is provided to detect presence of the second device on the link by detecting a pulldown voltage generated from termination of the second device on the link, and pulldown relay circuitry is provided to generate an emulated version of the pulldown voltage of the second device on pins to connect to the first device in response to detecting presence of the second device on the link.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a redriver device to receive signals from a first device on first pins of the redriver and forward the signals on second pins of the redriver to a second device on a differential link, wherein the redriver device comprises an AC-coupled redriver and each of the first and second devices comprise DC-coupled devices;

detection circuitry to detect presence of the second device on the link, wherein detecting the presence of the second device comprises detecting a pulldown voltage on the second pins generated from termination of the second device on the link; and

pulldown relay circuitry to generate an emulated version of the pulldown voltage of the second device on the first pins using a voltage source of the redriver device in response to detecting presence of the second device on the link, wherein the emulated version of the pulldown voltage identifies the presence of the second device on the link to the first device,

wherein the emulated version of the pulldown voltage is generated with characteristics defined in a interconnect protocol to cause the first device to transition from a receiver detect state defined in a link state machine of the interconnect protocol to a transmitting link state defined in the link state machine, and the redriver device is to detect signaling within the active link state and disable the pulldown relay circuitry to allow the redriver device to forward the signals from the first device to the second device during the transmitting link state.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the emulated voltage corresponds to a voltage identifiable by the first device to determine that the second device is present on the link.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the characteristics of the emulated voltage comprise amplitude and duration of the voltage.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmitting link state comprises a link training state defined in the link state machine, and the emulated voltage is to cause a transition from the receiver detect link state directly to the link training state as defined in the link state machine.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the link training state comprises one of a set of link training states preceding entry into an active link state.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the signals from the first device to the second device during the transmitting link state comprise training sequences.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the redriver device interrupts electrical propagation of the pulldown voltage from the second device to the first device on the link.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the pulldown voltage and the emulated pulldown voltage comprise DC voltages.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the emulated pulldown voltage comprises a voltage pulse having a corresponding time constant.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the emulated pulldown voltage comprises a substantially steady DC signal.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a first AC-coupling capacitor on a receive side of the redriver and a second AC-coupling capacitor on a transmit side of the redriver.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein at least one of the first and second AC-coupling capacitors is integrated in the redriver device.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the pulldown relay circuity comprises two or more pulldown resistors to generate the voltage and corresponding switches to enable generation of the emulated pulldown voltage in response to the detection of the pulldown voltage of the second device using the detection circuitry.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the pulldown relay circuity is coupled to the detection circuitry.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the second AC-coupling capacitor comprises two or more capacitors, and the detection circuitry comprises two or more pull-up resistors, two or more second resistors to form a voltage divider with the two or more pull-up resistors, and two or more particular resistors connected in parallel with the two or more second AC-coupling capacitors to provide a DC path around the second AC-coupling capacitors during a detect mode.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the voltage divider causes a signal to be generated to enable the pulldown relay circuitry in response to detection of the pulldown voltage.

17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of one of the detection circuitry and pulldown relay circuitry is provided off of a chip of the redriver device.

18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the detection circuitry and the pulldown relay circuitry are provided on-chip of the redriver device.

19. An apparatus comprising:

AC-coupled redriver circuitry to;

receive, at input pins, signals from a first endpoint device on a link,

amplify the received signals, and

forward the amplified signals on output pins to a second endpoint device on the link, wherein each of the first and second devices comprise DC-coupled devices;

detection circuitry to detect a DC pulldown voltage on the output pins corresponding to termination of the second endpoint device on the link; and

pulldown relay circuitry to generate an emulated pulldown voltage corresponding to a receiver detection state in response to detection of an instance of the pulldown voltage, wherein the pulldown voltage is generated on the input pins to be detected by the first endpoint device within the receiver detection state, wherein the pulldown voltage emulates the DC pulldown voltage to identify the termination of the second endpoint device on the link to the first endpoint device,

wherein the emulated version of the pulldown voltage is generated with characteristics defined in a interconnect protocol to cause the first device to transition from a detect state defined in a link state machine of the interconnect protocol to a transmitting link state defined in the link state machine, and the redriver device is to detect signaling within the active link state and disable the pulldown relay circuitry to allow the redriver device to forward the signals from the first device to the second device during the transmitting link state.

20. A system comprising:

a DC-coupled first device; and

an AC-coupled redriver connected to the first device on a differential link, the redriver comprising;

first pins to connect to the DC-coupled first device on the link;

second pins to connect to a second device on the link;

detection circuitry to detect termination of the second device on-the link, wherein the detection circuitry detects a pulldown voltage on the second pins generated by the termination of the second device; and

pulldown relay circuitry to generate an emulated version of the pulldown voltage on the first pins, in response to detection of the pulldown voltage, for presentation to the first device on the link, wherein the emulated version of the pulldown voltage comprises a DC voltage identifiable by the first device to determine that the second device is present, the emulated version of the pulldown voltage is generated with characteristics defined in a interconnect protocol to cause the first device to transition from a detect state defined in a link state machine of the interconnect protocol to a transmitting link state defined in the link state machine, and the redriver device is to detect signaling within the active link state and disable the pulldown relay circuitry to allow the redriver device to forward the signals from the first device to the second device during the transmitting link state.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the first device comprises state machine logic to determine whether the second device is present during a receiver detect state and the receiver detect state is one of a plurality of link configuration states.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the state machine logic is further to initialize the link for high speed communication between the first and second devices.

23. The system of claim 20, further comprising the second device.

24. The system of claim 20, wherein the second device is hot pluggable.