Integrated circuit device having an injection-locked oscillator
AssigneeRambus Inc.
InventorsMarko Aleksic, Brian S. Leibowitz
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A variable injection-strength injection-locked oscillator (ILO) is described. The variable injection-strength ILO can output an output clock signal based on an input clock signal. The variable injection-strength ILO can pause, restart, slow down, or speed up the output clock signal synchronously with respect to the input clock signal in response to receiving power mode information. Specifically, the variable injection-strength ILO can be operated under relatively strong injection when the input clock signal is paused, restarted, slowed down, or sped up.
Claims20
A circuit, comprising:
- an input to receive an input clock signal;
- an output to output an output clock signal, wherein at least a portion of the circuit is clocked by the output clock signal;
- an amplifier to generate an adjusted input clock signal based on the input clock signal, wherein a gain of the amplifier is changed based on power mode information associated with the portion of the circuit that is clocked by the output clock signal;
- and
- a variable injection-strength injection-locked oscillator (ILO), wherein the variable injection-strength ILO generates the output clock signal based on the adjusted input clock signal, and wherein the output clock signal pauses synchronously with respect to the input clock signal when the gain of the amplifier is sufficiently high and the input clock signal pauses.
A circuit, comprising:
- an input to receive an input clock signal;
- an output to output an output clock signal, wherein at least a portion of the circuit is clocked by the output clock signal;
- and
- a variable injection-strength injection-locked oscillator (ILO), wherein the variable injection-strength ILO generates the output clock signal based on the input clock signal, wherein the variable injection-strength ILO has multiple operating modes including a first operating mode and a second operating mode, wherein the locking range of the variable injection-strength ILO in the first operating mode is less than the locking range of the variable injection-strength ILO in the second operating mode, and wherein the operating mode of the variable injection-strength ILO is changed to the second operating mode based on power mode information that indicates that the portion of the circuit that is clocked by the output clock signal is transitioning from a high power mode to a low power mode.
A method, comprising:
- receiving power mode information at a variable injection-strength injection-locked oscillator (ILO) in a circuit, wherein at least a portion of the circuit is clocked by an output clock signal of the variable injection-strength ILO;
- and
- increasing injection strength of the variable injection-strength ILO in response to the power mode information indicating that at least the portion of the circuit is about to transition from a high power mode to a low power mode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.