DIGITAL PHASE LOCKED LOOP

• US 20130222026A1
• Filed: 02/23/2012
• Published: 08/29/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: LSI Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Havens, Joseph H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,692,598 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 327/158
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 21/406 Synchronisation of counters
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 23/44 using field-effect transistors H03K23/46 and H03K23/425 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03L 2207/06 Phase locked loops with a controlled oscillator having at least two frequency control terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H03L 2207/50 All digital phase-locked loop
• CPC Class Codes: H03L 7/0995 the oscillator comprising a ring oscillator
• CPC Class Codes: H03L 7/103 the additional signal being a digital signal
• CPC Class Codes: H03L 7/197 a time difference being used for locking the loop, the counter counting between numbers which are variable in time or the frequency divider dividing by a factor variable in time, e.g. for obtaining fractional frequency division H03L7/1806 takes precedence

Abstract

An apparatus comprises digitally controlled oscillator circuitry, feedback circuitry operatively coupled to the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry, and comparison circuitry operatively coupled to the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry and the feedback circuitry. The feedback circuitry, in response to a clock signal generated by the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry, generates a first digital value representing a detected phase of the clock signal for a given clock signal cycle. The comparison circuitry, in response to the first digital value and to a second digital value representing a reference phase, generates a phase error value. The phase error value is useable to generate a first digital control word provided to the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry for controlling a frequency associated with the clock signal. The digitally controlled oscillator circuitry further comprises adjustment circuitry capable of applying a phase adjustment to the clock signal in response to a second digital control word.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

digitally controlled oscillator circuitry;

feedback circuitry operatively coupled to the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry; and

comparison circuitry operatively coupled to the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry and the feedback circuitry;

wherein the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry is capable of generating a clock signal;

wherein the feedback circuitry, in response to the clock signal, is capable of generating a first digital value representing a detected phase of the clock signal for a given cycle of the clock signal;

wherein the comparison circuitry, in response to the first digital value and to a second digital value representing a reference phase, is capable of generating a phase error value which is useable to generate a first digital control word for controlling a frequency associated with the clock signal;

wherein the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry further comprises adjustment circuitry that is capable of, in response to a second digital control word, applying a phase adjustment to the clock signal.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the adjustment circuitry of the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry further comprises a digital-to-analog converter capable of applying the phase adjustment to the clock signal in response to the second digital control word.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising reference accumulator circuitry operatively coupled to the comparison circuitry, wherein the reference accumulator circuitry is capable of generating the second digital value based on a given incrementing value.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising phase accumulator circuitry which is capable of tracking an accumulated phase due to the phase adjustment applied by the adjustment circuitry of the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry in response to the second digital control word.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising loop filter circuitry operatively coupled to the comparison circuitry and the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry, wherein the loop filter circuitry is capable of generating the first digital control word in response to the phase error value.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry further comprises ring oscillator circuitry which is capable of generating the clock signal.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the ring oscillator circuitry further comprises a plurality of differential delay cells.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry further comprises a precharge capacitor, wherein a bias voltage associated with the precharge capacitor is adjustable under control of precharge circuitry so that an initial frequency of the clock signal is close to a desired target frequency.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry further comprises one or more digital-to-analog converters operatively coupled to the precharge capacitor, wherein the one or more digital-to-analog converters are capable of controlling a bias current usable by the ring oscillator circuitry to generate the clock signal.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the precharge circuitry is capable of converging on the desired target frequency based on an estimate of the initial frequency and an estimate of a gain relationship between the clock signal and the one or more digital-to-analog converters.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the precharge circuitry is capable of calibrating a gain associated with at least one of the one or more digital-to-analog converters by dithering the digital-to-analog converter and measuring a frequency variation of the clock signal.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the precharge circuitry is capable of applying a phase lock function.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the feedback circuitry further comprises counter circuitry, wherein the counter circuitry is capable of detecting a phase of the clock signal over a given range of elapsed cycles of the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the feedback circuitry further comprises fractional detector circuitry, wherein the fractional detector circuitry is capable of detecting a state of the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry at a transition of a reference clock signal.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the feedback circuitry further comprises sub-fractional detector circuitry, wherein the sub-fractional detector circuitry is capable of detecting when the transition of the reference clock signal occurs relative to a transition in the state of the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the sub-fractional detector circuitry further comprises one or more differential delay cells capable of generating one or more sub-fractional intervals.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the sub-fractional detector circuitry further comprises background trimming circuitry capable of adjusting a sub-fractional delay.

18. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the sub-fractional detector circuitry further comprises a self-calibration function capable of normalizing a sub-fractional delay using the number of sub-fractional delays between adjacent phases of the clock signal.

19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry, the feedback circuitry and the comparison circuitry are part of a digital phase locked loop circuit.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the digital phase locked loop circuit is part of at least one of read channel circuitry and write channel circuitry of a disk storage system.

21. An integrated circuit comprising the apparatus of claim 1.

22. A method, comprising:

generating a clock signal via digitally controlled oscillator circuitry;

generating a first digital value via feedback circuitry coupled to the digitally controlled oscillator circuitry, in response to the clock signal, the first digital value representing a detected phase of the clock signal for a given cycle of the clock signal;

generating a phase error value via comparison circuitry coupled to the feedback circuitry in response to the first digital value and to a second digital value representing a reference phase, wherein the phase error value is useable to generate a first digital control word for controlling a frequency associated with the clock signal; and

applying a phase adjustment to the clock signal in response to a second digital control word.