Frequency divider with funnel structure

Abstract

In a frequency divider enabling the division by N of a frequency Fe and comprising at least one prescaler followed by a division chain, the prescaler has at least one input for the frequency signal Fe to be divided, one input for a command NA of the basic division rank of the prescaler and one input for a command ΔNA coming from the division chain and enabling NA to be made to vary by one unit; the division chain comprises at least one division stage (K) comprising at least one divider by 2, giving a divided frequency F(K), a switch controlled by the divider by 2, the switch having one input for a piece of programming data R(K), one input for the carry signal RX(K+1) of the next stage and one output for the carry signal RX(K) for the previous stage. Application to the field of phase-locked loop frequency synthesis.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.