Apparatus and method for distributing a clock signal on a large scale integrated circuit
AssigneeSony Computer Entertainment Inc.
InventorHidetaka Magoshi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A semiconductor chip includes a plurality of regional clock distribution nodes located on the semiconductor chip; a plurality of clock buffers, each being operable to produce a respective output clock signal from an associated input clock signal in accordance with an error signal, the outputs of a subset of the plurality of clock buffers being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of regional clock distribution nodes; and a plurality of phase detectors, each being operable to produce a respective error signal indicative of phase differences between the output clock signals of at least two of the regional clock distribution nodes, wherein the clock buffers adjust the respective output clock signals in accordance with the respective error signals.
Claims23
A semiconductor chip, comprising:
- a plurality of regional clock distribution nodes located on the semiconductor chip;
- a plurality of clock buffers, and each being operable to produce a respective output clock signal from an associated input clock signal in accordance with an error signal, the outputs of a subset of the plurality of clock buffers being coupled to respective ones of the plurality of regional clock distribution nodes;
- and
- a plurality of phase detectors, each being operable to produce a respective error signal indicative of phase differences between the output clock signals of at least two of the regional clock distribution nodes,
- wherein the clock buffers adjust the respective output clock signals in accordance with the respective error signals.
A method, comprising:
- producing respective output clock signals from respective associated input clock signals in accordance with respective error signals;
- coupling a subset of the output clock signals to respective ones of a plurality of regional clock distribution nodes;
- producing the respective error signals as a function of phase differences between the output clock signals of at least two of the regional clock distribution nodes;
- and
- adjusting the respective output clock signals in accordance with the respective error signals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.