Patent ID: 9172361
Filing Date: 2015-10-27
Classification: H03K

Abstract:
1. A phase detector comprising: a phase propagator circuit including a plurality of flip-flops, each flip-flop including a clock input, the plurality of flip-flops including a first flip-flop and a second flip-flop, the first flip-flop including an input to receive a signal and including an output, the second flip-flop including an input coupled to the output of the first flip-flop, the phase propagator circuit further includes an n-th flip-flop of the plurality of flip-flops, the n-th flip-flop includes an output configured to provide a phase locked output signal; a phase controller coupled to the clock input of each flip-flop in the plurality of flip-flops, the phase controller configured to provide a clock signal to the clock input of each of the plurality of flip-flops, the phase controller to apply different phases of the clock signal to the plurality of flip-flops, the different phases including a first phase applied to the clock input of the first flip-flop and a second phase applied to the clock input of the second flip-flop, the first phase is shifted non-linearly relative to the second phase; and a phase locator configured to receive a first signal at the output of the n-th flip-flop and to receive a second signal from the phase controller, the phase locator configured to determine a difference between the first signal and the second signal.