High bandwidth memory interface

• US 8,266,372 B2
• Filed: 10/03/2007
• Issued: 09/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: MOSAID Technologies Inc. (f/k/a Conversant Intellectual Property Management)
• Original Assignee: Mosaid Technologies Incorporated (MOSAID Technologies Inc. (f/k/a Conversant Intellectual Property Management))
• Inventors: Gillingham, Peter, Millar, Bruce
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, THAN VINH
• Application Number:
  US11/906,756
• Publication Number:
  US 20080065820A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,805 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 711/105
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/12 Synchronisation of different clock signals provided by a plurality of clock generators
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/1689 Synchronisation and timing concerns synchronisation on a memory bus G06F13/4234
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4234 being a memory bus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4243 with synchronous protocol
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 5/06 Arrangements for interconnecting storage elements electrically, e.g. by wiring
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 8/18 Address timing or clocking circuits; Address control signal generation or management, e.g. for row address strobe [RAS] or column address strobe [CAS] signals
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

A DRAM system configured for high bandwidth communication, the system includes at least one DRAM having resistive termination devices within the DRAM, and a controller connected to the DRAM through a data bus. The controller includes resistive termination devices and the data bus includes at least one clock line driven intermittently. The data bus provides write data from the controller to the DRAM, and provides read data from the DRAM to the controller.

Claims

1. A Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) controller configured for communication with at least one semiconductor device over an interface, the DRAM controller comprising:

a) data terminals for coupling to the interface and for providing data signals for transmission to the semiconductor device;

b) at least one data clock terminal for coupling to the interface and for providing at least one aperiodic data clock signal for transmission to the semiconductor device;

c) data output drivers for driving said data signals on said data terminals;

d) at least one clock driver for driving said at least one aperiodic data clock signal on said at least one data clock terminal; and

e) resistive termination devices within said DRAM controller and coupled to each of said data and data clock terminals, and said resistive termination devices being integrated with said DRAM controller on a semiconductor chip.

2. The DRAM controller as claimed in claim 1 wherein said resistive termination devices are termination resistors.

3. The DRAM controller as claimed in claim 2 wherein said termination resistors are series stub termination resistors.

4. The DRAM controller as claimed in claim 1 wherein said at least one data clock terminal is a pair of terminals.

5. The DRAM controller as claimed in claim 4 wherein said at least one aperiodic data clock signal is two clock signals.

6. The DRAM controller as claimed in claim 5 wherein a selected one of said data clock terminals is driven during a particular write operation.

7. The DRAM controller as claimed in claim 1 wherein said at least one aperiodic data clock signal is preceded by a preamble.

8. The DRAM controller as claimed in claim 7 wherein said preamble begins with an interval held to a low logic level for more than a one bit interval.

9. The DRAM controller as claimed in claim 8 wherein said preamble consists of the bit pattern ‘

0001’

.

10. The DRAM controller as claimed in claim 1 wherein said data terminals and said at least one data clock terminal are bidirectional terminals.

11. The DRAM controller as claimed in claim 1 wherein a data rate of said data signals is double data rate.

12. A Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) system comprising:

a) at least one DRAM including resistive termination devices within said at least one DRAM and integrated with said at least one DRAM on a semiconductor chip;

b) a DRAM controller; and

c) a data bus having said resistive termination devices coupled to it, said data bus for providing write data from said DRAM controller to said DRAM, and for providing read data from said DRAM to said DRAM controller, the data bus including at least one data clock line that is driven with an aperiodic data clock signal.

13. The DRAM system as claimed in claim 12 wherein said resistive termination devices are termination resistors.

14. The DRAM system as claimed in claim 13 wherein said DRAM further includes push-pull output drivers enabling device application of said read data to said data bus.

15. The DRAM system as claimed in claim 13 wherein said termination resistors are series stub termination resistors.

16. The DRAM system as claimed in claim 13 wherein said data bus is configured to carry Double Data Rate (DDR) data signals.

17. The DRAM system as claimed in claim 14 further comprising at least two power supplies electrically connected to said push-pull output drivers.

18. The DRAM system as claimed in claim 17 wherein said push-pull output drivers include p-channel pull-up transistors and n-channel pull-down transistors, and said two power supplies are a V_ss power supply electrically connected to the sources of said n-channel pull-down transistors, and a V_dd power supply electrically connected to the sources of said p-channel pull-up transistors.

19. The DRAM system as claimed in claim 12 wherein said at least one data clock line is a source synchronous data clock line.

20. The DRAM system as claimed in claim 12 wherein said at least one data clock line is a pair of data clock lines.

21. The DRAM system as claimed in claim 20 wherein a selected one of said pair of data clock lines is driven during a particular data transfer operation.

22. The DRAM system as claimed in claim 12 wherein the aperiodic data clock signal on said at least one data clock line is preceded by a preamble.

23. The DRAM system as claimed in claim 22 wherein said preamble begins with an interval held to a low logic level for more than a one bit interval.

24. The DRAM system as claimed in claim 22 wherein said preamble consists of the bit pattern ‘

0001’

.

25. A Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) comprising:

a) a first terminal for coupling to a clock line;

b) a plurality of second terminals for coupling to a command bus providing address and control information to the DRAM, said clock line and said command bus comprising a source synchronous bus;

c) resistive termination devices within the DRAM and coupled to said plurality of second terminals, and said resistive termination devices being integrated with the DRAM on a single chip; and

d) at least one third terminal for coupling to at least one data clock line that is driven with an aperiodic data clock signal.

26. The DRAM as claimed in claim 25 wherein said resistive termination devices are termination resistors.

27. The DRAM as claimed in claim 26 wherein said termination resistors are series stub termination resistors.

28. The DRAM as claimed in claim 25 wherein said resistive termination devices are termination resistors.

29. A Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) system comprising:

a) at least one DRAM including output drivers;

b) a DRAM controller including output drivers;

c) a bidirectional data bus for providing write data from said at least one DRAM controller to said at least one DRAM, and for providing read data from said at least one DRAM to said DRAM controller, said drivers of said DRAM controller and said at least one DRAM for driving write and read data, respectively, onto said data bus, and said data bus including at least one data clock line that is driven with an aperiodic data clock signal; and

d) resistive termination devices located within said at least one DRAM and coupled to said data bus, and said resistive termination devices being integrated with said at least one DRAM on a single chip.

30. The DRAM system as claimed in claim 29 wherein said resistive termination devices are termination resistors.

31. The DRAM system as claimed in claim 29 further comprising a command bus for carrying, from said DRAM controller to said at least one DRAM, address and control signals for providing address and control information.

32. In a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) controller, a method for synchronization comprising:

a) resistively terminating data bus terminals and data clock terminals of the DRAM controller with termination resistors integrated with said DRAM controller on a semiconductor chip;

b) receiving aperiodic data clock signals on said data clock terminals;

c) generating a data sampling clock with said aperiodic data clock signals;

d) receiving read data signals on said data bus terminals; and

e) sampling the received read data signals with said data sampling clock so that the data input to the device is synchronized with the aperiodic data clock signals.

33. The method as claimed in claim 32 wherein said resistively terminating said data bus terminals and said data clock terminals is accomplished with a series stub termination resistor.

34. The method as claimed in claim 32 wherein said aperiodic data clock signals is two aperiodic data clock signals.

35. The method as claimed in claim 34 wherein a selected one of said two aperiodic data clock signals generates said data sampling clock for a particular read operation.

36. The method as claimed in claim 32 wherein said data clock terminals is a pair of terminals.

37. The method as claimed in claim 36 wherein said aperiodic of data clock signals are delayed through programmable delay circuits to generate said data sampling clock.

38. The method as claimed in claim 32 wherein said aperiodic data clock signals are preceded by a preamble.

39. The method as claimed in claim 38 wherein said preamble begins with an interval held to a low logic level for more than a one bit interval.

40. The method as claimed in claim 39 wherein said preamble consists of the bit pattern ‘

0001’

.

41. The method as claimed in claim 32 wherein said write data signals are Double Data Rate (DDR) signals.

42. The method as claimed in claim 32 wherein said intermittent data clock signals are source synchronous data clock signals.

43. The method as claimed in claim 32 wherein said data bus terminals and said data clock terminals are bidirectional terminals.