All-digital phase locked loop (ADPLL) including a digital-to-time converter (DTC) and a sampling time-to-digital converter (TDC)

• US 9,740,175 B2
• Filed: 12/06/2016
• Issued: 08/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Marvell Asia Pte Limited (Marvell Technology Group Limited)
• Original Assignee: Marvell World Trade Limited (Marvell Technology Group Limited)
• Inventors: Burg, Olivier, Wang, Haisong, Gao, Xiang
• Primary Examiner(s): LAUTURE, JOSEPH J
• Application Number:
  US15/370,796
• Publication Number:
  US 20170205772A1
• Time in Patent Office: 259 Days
• Field of Search: 341166, 341167, 341155, 341156, 327107, 327105, 327156
• CPC Class Codes: G04F 10/005 Time-to-digital converters [TDC] analog-to-digital converters with intermediate conversion to time or phase H03M1/50, H03M1/60
• CPC Class Codes: H03B 21/02 by plural beating, i.e. for frequency synthesis ; Beating in combination with multiplication or division of frequency digital frequency synthesis using a ROM G06F1/02; digital frequency synthesis in general H03K; indirect frequency synthesis using a PLL H03L7/16
• CPC Class Codes: H03L 7/0891 the up-down pulses controlling source and sink current generators, e.g. a charge pump
• CPC Class Codes: H03L 7/091 the phase or frequency detector using a sampling device H03L7/087 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03L 7/0991 the oscillator being a digital oscillator, e.g. composed of a fixed oscillator followed by a variable frequency divider H03L7/0995 takes precedence; fixed oscillators with means for selecting among various phases H03L7/0814
• CPC Class Codes: H03L 7/18 using a frequency divider or counter in the loop H03L7/20, H03L7/22 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 1/00 Analogue/digital conversion; Digital/analogue conversion conversion of analogue values to or from differential modulation H03M3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 1/12 Analogue/digital converters H03M1/001 – H03M1/10 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 1/50 with intermediate conversion to time interval H03M1/64 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H03M 7/3004 Digital delta-sigma modulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/505 signals generated in digital form

Abstract

A digital phase locked loop (DPLL) circuit includes a digital-to-time converter (DTC) configured to generate a delayed reference clock signal by delaying a reference clock signal according to a delay control signal and a time-to-digital converter (TDC) coupled to an output of the DTC. The TDC is configured to sample a value of a transition signal according to the delayed reference clock signal and to generate an output signal indicating a phase difference between the delayed clock signal and an input clock signal. A method of controlling a DPLL includes delaying a reference clock signal according to a delay control signal, sampling a value of a transition signal according to the delayed reference clock signal, generating an output signal indicating a phase difference between the delayed clock signal and an input clock signal, and generating a digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) clock signal according to the output signal.

Claims

1. A digital phase locked loop (DPLL) circuit comprising:

a digital-to-time converter (DTC) configured to generate a delayed reference clock signal by delaying a reference clock signal according to a delay control signal; and

a time-to-digital converter (TDC) coupled to an output of the DTC, the TDC being configured to sample a value of a transition signal according to the delayed reference clock signal and to generate an output signal indicating a phase difference between the delayed clock signal and an input clock signal, the transition signal transitioning between a logic high value and a logic low value.

2. The circuit of claim 1, further comprising:

a controller including a delta-sigma modulator, the controller being configured to generate the delay control signal and a divider control signal according to an output sequence from the delta-sigma modulator; and

a frequency divider configured to divide a frequency of an output clock signal of the DPLL according to the divider control signal to output the input clock signal,

wherein the DTC generates the delayed reference clock signal including a first phase error that is substantially the same as a second phase error in the input clock signal, the first phase error and the second phase error being associated with quantization errors of the delta-sigma modulator.

3. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the TDC includes:

a slope generation circuit configured to generate the transition signal according to the input clock signal; and

an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) configured to sample the value of the transition signal at a time corresponding to an edge of the delayed reference clock signal to generate the output signal from the TDC.

4. The circuit of claim 3, wherein the slope generation circuit includes:

a first buffer configured to provide a current according to the input clock signal;

a resistor having a first end coupled to an output of the first buffer to receive the current and a second end coupled to a first output node to transmit the received current; and

a first capacitor having a first end coupled to the first output node to receive the transmitted current and a second end coupled to a ground, the first capacitor being charged to generate the transition signal at the first output node, and

wherein the ADC includes;

a switching element configured to couple the first output node to a second output node in response to the delayed reference clock signal; and

a second capacitor having a first end coupled to the second output node and a second end coupled to the ground.

5. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the TDC includes:

a buffer configured to provide a current according to the delayed reference clock signal;

a resistor having a first end coupled to an output of the buffer to receive the current;

a capacitor having a first end and a second end, the first end being coupled to an output node, the second end being coupled to a ground; and

a switching element configured to couple a second end of the resistor to the first end of the capacitor in response to the delayed reference clock signal to cause the current flowing through the resistor to charge the capacitor to generate the transition signal at the output node.

6. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the DTC includes:

a first transistor;

a second transistor having a source coupled to a ground;

a first resistor having a first end coupled to a drain of the first transistor and a second end coupled to a drain of the second transistor;

a first capacitor bank coupled to the first end of the first resistor and configured to adjust a first capacitance value according to the delay control signal; and

a capacitor having a first end coupled to the first end of the first resistor and a second end coupled to the ground.

7. The circuit of claim 6, wherein the DTC further includes:

a third transistor;

a fourth transition having a source coupled to the ground;

a second resistor having a first end coupled to a drain of the third transistor and a second end coupled to a drain of the fourth transistor; and

a second capacitor bank coupled to the first end of the second resistor and configured to adjust a second capacitance value according to a complementary version of the delay control signal.

8. The circuit of claim 1, further comprising:

a loop filter configured to remove a high frequency component of the output signal from the TDC,

wherein the loop filter includes a proportional path and an integral path, the proportional path and the integral path operating in parallel.

9. The circuit of claim 8, further comprising:

a digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) configured to generate a DCO clock signal according to an output signal of the loop filter;

a controller including a delta-sigma modulator, the controller being configured to generate the delay control signal and a divider control signal according to an output sequence from the delta-sigma modulator; and

a frequency divider configured to divide a frequency of the DCO clock signal according to the divider control signal to generate a divided clock signal, the divided clock signal corresponding to the input clock signal.

10. The circuit of claim 9, wherein the controller further includes:

an accumulator configured to accumulate quantization errors of the delta-sigma modulator;

a gain correction circuit configured to generate a gain correction factor according to the output signal from the TDC and the quantization errors; and

a multiplier configured to multiply an accumulated value of the quantization errors with the gain correction factor to generate the delay control signal.

11. The circuit of claim 1, further comprising:

a digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) configured to generate a DCO clock signal according to the output signal from the TDC, the DCO clock signal being the input clock signal and having a frequency higher than a frequency of the delayed reference clock signal, the input clock signal including a portion corresponding to the transition signal; and

a controller including a delta-sigma modulator, the controller being configured to generate the delay control signal according to an output sequence from the delta-sigma modulator.

12. The circuit of claim 11, further comprising:

a frequency adjuster configured to measure a frequency of the reference clock signal and a frequency of the DCO clock signal and adjust the frequency of the DCO clock to be substantially equal to a target frequency.

13. The circuit of claim 11, wherein the controller further includes:

an accumulator configured to accumulate quantization errors of the delta-sigma modulator;

a gain correction circuit configured to generate a gain correction factor according to the output signal from the TDC and the quantization errors; and

a multiplier configured to multiply an accumulated value of the quantization errors with the gain correction factor to generate the delay control signal.

14. A method of controlling a digital phase locked loop (DPLL) comprising:

delaying a reference clock signal according to a delay control signal;

sampling a value of a transition signal according to the delayed reference clock signal and generating an output signal indicating a phase difference between the delayed clock signal and an input clock signal, the transition signal transitioning between a logic high value and a logic low value; and

generating a digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) clock signal according to the output signal.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

generating the delay control signal and a divider control signal according to an output sequence from a delta-sigma modulator;

dividing a frequency of the DCO clock signal according to the divider control signal to output the input clock signal; and

canceling out a first phase error in the delayed reference clock signal and a second phase error in the input clock signal to substantially remove a phase error in the DCO clock signal due to quantization errors of the delta-sigma modulator, the first phase error and the second phase error being associated with the quantization errors of the delta-sigma modulator.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

generating the transition signal according to the input clock signal,

wherein sampling the value of the transition signal includes sampling at a time corresponding to an edge of the delayed reference clock signal.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

causing a current to flow through a resistor to charge a first capacitor to generate the transition signal according to the input clock signal; and

coupling a first end of the first capacitor to an end of a second capacitor to sample the value of the transition signal in response to the delayed reference clock signal, a second end of the first capacitor being connected to a ground.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

providing a current to a resistor according to the input clock signal; and

coupling the resistor to a first end of a capacitor to sample the value of the transition signal in response to the delayed reference clock signal, a second end of the capacitor being coupled to a ground.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the DCO clock signal is the input clock signal and has a frequency higher than a frequency of the delayed reference clock signal, the input clock signal including a portion corresponding to the transition signal, the method further comprising:

generating the delay control signal according to an output sequence from a delta-sigma modulator.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

measuring a frequency of the reference clock signal and the frequency of the DCO clock signal; and

adjusting the frequency of the DCO clock signal to be substantially equal to a target frequency according to the measured frequency of the reference clock signal and the measured frequency of the DCO clock signal.