Driver supporting multiple signaling modes
First Claim
1. A driver, comprising:
- a circuit having complementary drive elements with a common tail node, the drive elements to, in a differential mode, transmit one input signal over a pair of complementary signal lines;
at least one drive control circuit for the complementary drive elements to, in a single ended mode, decouple the complementary drive elements to enable separate drive of independent input signals over respective ones of the complementary signal lines;
at least one path coupling the tail node of the complementary drive elements to a reference node in the single ended mode; and
an impedance control circuit to change an impedance provided by the at least one path in the single ended mode responsive to the independent input signals.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A driver supports differential and single-ended signaling modes. Complementary transistors with a common tail node are provided with complementary input signals in the differential mode. A current source coupled to the tail node maintains a relatively high tail impedance and a constant tail current in the differential mode. The tail node is set to a low impedance in single-ended modes to decouple the two transistors, allowing them to amplify uncorrelated input signals. The current source thaws multiple current levels in the single-ended mode to compensate for changes in tail current that result from changes in the relative values of the uncorrelated data in the single-ended modes. A termination block provides termination resistance in the differential mode, pull-up transistors in a single-ended mode that employs push-pull drivers, and is omitted in a single-ended mode that lacks driver-side termination.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A driver, comprising:
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a circuit having complementary drive elements with a common tail node, the drive elements to, in a differential mode, transmit one input signal over a pair of complementary signal lines; at least one drive control circuit for the complementary drive elements to, in a single ended mode, decouple the complementary drive elements to enable separate drive of independent input signals over respective ones of the complementary signal lines; at least one path coupling the tail node of the complementary drive elements to a reference node in the single ended mode; and an impedance control circuit to change an impedance provided by the at least one path in the single ended mode responsive to the independent input signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A driver comprising:
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a circuit having complementary drive elements interconnected at a common tail node, the drive elements to, in a differential driver mode, transmit one input signal over a pair of complementary signal lines, and, in a single ended driver mode, transmit first and second independent signals over respective ones of the complementary signal lines; at least one drive control circuit for the complementary drive elements to, in each of two single ended modes, decouple the complementary drive elements to enable separate drive of independent input signals over respective ones of the complementary signal lines; a pull-up circuit for each of the complementary drive elements to couple the respective drive circuit to a reference voltage; a termination control circuit to disable the pull-up circuit for at least one of the complementary drive elements in one of the two single ended modes and to enable the pull-up circuit for the at least one of the complementary drive elements in the other of the two single ended modes; and a current source coupled to the common tail node and receiving the first and second independent signals, the current source to convey different tail currents from the common tail node for different patterns of the first and second independent signals in at least one of the single ended modes. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A driver comprising:
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a circuit having complementary drive elements interconnected by a common tail node, the drive elements to, in a differential driver mode, transmit one input signal over a pair of complementary signal lines, and in a single ended driver mode transmit first and second independent signals over respective ones of the complementary signal lines; at least one current source coupling the common tail node of the complementary drive elements to a voltage reference; and a control circuit to vary an amount of current supplied by the at least one current source in dependence on the first and second independent signals in the single ended driver mode. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. A driver to independently amplify uncorrelated first and second input signals, the driver comprising:
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a first transistor having a first control terminal to receive the first input signal, a first current-handling terminal, and a second current-handling terminal; a second transistor having a second control terminal to receive the second input signal, a third current-handling terminal, and a fourth current-handling terminal coupled to the second current-handling terminal of the first transistor at a tail node; and a current source coupled between the tail node and a supply terminal to pass a tail current, the current source having a first and second control terminals to receive the uncorrelated first and second input signals, the current source to vary the tail current responsive to the uncorrelated first and second input signals. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A driver that supports a differential mode and first and second single-ended modes, the driver comprising:
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first and second output nodes to convey a differential signal in the differential mode and first and second uncorrelated signals in the single-ended modes; a configurable termination block connected between the output nodes and a reference node, the termination block having a control node to disable the termination block in the first single-ended mode and enable the termination block in the second single-ended mode; first and second transistors coupled between the first and second output nodes and a common tail node; and means for changing a current through the termination block and the common tail node depending upon the relative values of the uncorrelated signals in at least one of the single-ended modes. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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Specification