PHASE LOCKED LOOP (PLL) APPARATUS AND OPERATING METHOD OF PLL APPARATUS

• US 20150171874A1
• Filed: 12/04/2014
• Published: 06/18/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2013
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: RYU, Joon Gyu
• Application Number:
  US14/561,011
• Publication Number:
  US 20150171874A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H03L 7/185 using a mixer in the loop H03L7/187 - H03L7/195 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03L 7/23 with pulse counters or frequency dividers

Abstract

Provided are a phase locked loop (PLL) apparatus and an operating method of the PLL apparatus including a PLL unit to provide a fixed frequency signal, a converter to convert, using the fixed frequency signal, a frequency of a first signal oscillated by a first voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) based on a first control voltage, a first frequency divider to divide the converted frequency of the first signal, and a first phase comparator to compare the divided frequency of the first signal to an input first reference frequency and detect a first phase difference, wherein the first VCO may adjust the first control voltage based on the detected first phase difference to equalize the divided frequency of the first signal to the first reference frequency.

Claims

1. A phase locked loop (PLL) apparatus comprising:

a PLL unit to provide a fixed frequency signal;

a converter to convert, using the fixed frequency signal, a frequency of a first signal oscillated by a first voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) based on a first control voltage;

a first frequency divider to divide the converted frequency of the first signal; and

a first phase comparator to compare the divided frequency of the first signal to an input first reference frequency and detect a first phase difference,

wherein the first VCO adjusts the first control voltage based on the detected first phase difference to equalize the divided frequency of the first signal to the first reference frequency.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the PLL unit comprises:

a second frequency divider to divide a frequency of a second signal oscillated by a second VCO based on a second control voltage; and

a second phase comparator to compare the divided frequency of the second signal to an input second reference frequency and detect a second phase difference, and

the second VCO adjusts the second control voltage based on the detected second phase difference to equalize the divided frequency of the second signal to the second reference frequency, and provides another second signal oscillated based on the adjusted control voltage as the fixed frequency signal.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the PLL unit further comprises:

a loop filter to filter out a high-frequency component greater than or equal to a second bandwidth set based on the detected second phase difference.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the converter down-converts the frequency of the oscillated first signal by mixing the fixed frequency signal with the oscillated first signal.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a loop filter to filter out a high-frequency component greater than or equal to a first bandwidth set based on the detected first phase difference.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein a second bandwidth associated with a loop filter in the PLL unit is greater than the first bandwidth.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a low-pass filter (LPF) to allow a portion less than a frequency set for the frequency-converted first signal to pass, and block a portion greater than or equal to the set frequency.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first frequency divider divides the frequency of the first signal based on a set first frequency division ratio, and a second frequency division ratio associated with a second frequency divider in the PLL unit is lower than the first frequency division ratio.

9. An operating method of a phase locked loop (PLL) apparatus, the method comprising:

providing a fixed frequency signal, by a PLL unit;

converting, using the fixed frequency signal, a frequency of a first signal oscillated by a first voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) based on a first control voltage, by a converter;

dividing the converted frequency of the first signal, by a first frequency divider;

comparing the divided frequency of the first signal to an input first reference frequency and detecting a first phase difference, by a first phase comparator; and

adjusting the first control voltage based on the detected first phase difference to equalize the divided frequency of the first signal to the first reference frequency, by the first VCO.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

dividing a frequency of a second signal oscillated by a second VCO based on a second control voltage, by a second frequency divider in the PLL unit;

comparing the divided frequency of the second signal to an input second reference frequency and detecting a second phase difference, by a second phase comparator in the PLL unit; and

adjusting the second control voltage based on the detected second phase difference to equalize the divided frequency of the second signal to the second reference frequency, and providing another second signal oscillated based on the adjusted control voltage as the fixed frequency signal, by the second VCO in the PLL unit.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

filtering out a high-frequency component greater than or equal to a second bandwidth set based on the detected second phase difference, by a loop filter in the PLL unit.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the converting comprises down-converting the frequency of the oscillated first signal by mixing the fixed frequency signal with the oscillated first signal, by the converter.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

filtering out a high-frequency component greater than or equal to a first bandwidth set based on the detected first phase difference, by a loop filter.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein a second bandwidth associated with a loop filter in the PLL unit is greater than the first bandwidth.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

allowing a portion less than a frequency set for the frequency-converted first signal to pass, and blocking a portion greater than or equal to the set frequency, by a low-pass filter (LPF).

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the dividing of the converted frequency of the first signal comprises dividing the frequency of the first signal based on a set first frequency division ratio, by the first frequency divider, and

a second frequency division ratio associated with a second frequency divider in the PLL unit is lower than the first frequency division ratio.