# Patent

## Title
All digital phase lock loop and method for controlling phase lock loop

## Abstract

An all digital phase lock loop is disclosed, including a digitally controlled oscillator, a phase detector, and a loop filter. The digitally controlled oscillator is controlled by an oscillator tuning word to generate a variable signal. The oscillator tuning word includes a first tuning word and a second tuning word, where the frequency range of the digitally controlled oscillator, capable to be adjusted by the second tuning word, is broader than that capable to be adjusted by the first tuning word. The phase detector detects a phase error between the variable signal and a reference signal. The phase error is received by the loop filter to output the oscillator tuning word. The loop filter has several stages of the low pass filters and a modification circuit. The modification circuit detects two filter outputs from two low pass filters among the filters and accordingly adjusts the second tuning word.

## Background
RELATED APPLICATIONS
The present application is based on, and claims priority from, Taiwan Application Number 96147382, filed Dec. 12, 2007 the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a fast locked all digital phase lock loop and control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
All digital phase lock loop (PLL) technology is one of the major technological breakthroughs for wireless communication, because it may be implemented easier in system on chip (SOC) devices manufactured by advanced semiconductor process than the analog phase lock loop. However, designing an all digital PLL with features such as fast locking and low phase noise is challenging.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional all digital phase lock loop viewed in the phase domain. Following, a digital phase lock loop is briefly introduced. However, for a more detailed description of the digital phase lock loop in FIG. 1, reference can be made to U.S. Pat. No. 7,145,399.
The phase error φE between the variable signal fv and reference signal fref can be determined by the phase detector 115. As shown in FIG. 1, the phase detector 115 has three inputs, where one input is provided by inputting the reference signal fref to the reference phase accumulator 105 and is regarded as the phase of the reference signal fref. Another input is provided by inputting the variable signal fv to the oscillator phase accumulator 140 and the sampler 145 and is regarded as the phase of the variable signal fv. The last input is the fractional phase error between the variable signal fv and reference signal fref. The sum of the three inputs is the phase error φE.
The loop filter 120 filters the phase error φE and/or adjusts the magnitude of phase error φE. The loop filter 120 generates an oscillator tuning word (OTW) to modify the output of a digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) 125, i.e. the variable signal fv.
In the current design of the all digital phase lock loops, gear shift mechanism and type II and higher order loop filters are utilized for achieving the purposes of fast locking and low phase noise. In U.S. Pub. No. 2003/0234693, an all digital phase lock loop is disclosed.
However, designers still must design an adaptive all digital phase lock loop.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An exemplary embodiment consistent with the invention, there is provided an all digital phase lock loop is disclosed, comprising a digitally controlled oscillator, a phase detector, and a loop filter. The digitally controlled oscillator is controlled by an oscillator tuning word to generate a variable signal. The oscillator tuning word comprises a first tuning word and a second tuning word, where the frequency range of the digitally controlled oscillator capable to be adjusted by the second tuning word is broader than that capable to be adjusted by the first tuning word. The phase detector detects a phase error between the variable signal and a reference signal. The phase error is received by the loop filter to output the oscillator tuning word. The loop filter has several stages of the low pass filters and a modification circuit. The modification circuit detects two filter outputs from two low pass filters among the filters and accordingly adjusts the second tuning word.
An exemplary embodiment consistent with the invention, there is provided a control method for a phase lock loop is disclosed, comprising low pass filtering a phase error for several times to generate an oscillator tuning word to control a digitally controlled oscillator, wherein the oscillator tuning word comprises a first tuning word and a second tuning word, and the frequency range of the digitally controlled oscillator, capable to be adjusted by the second tuning word, is broader than that capable to be adjusted by the first tuning word; detecting two filter outputs of a front low pass filter and a back low pass filter; determining whether the two filter outputs meet a predetermined condition; adjusting the second tuning word when the two filter outputs meet the predetermined condition.
A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional all digital phase lock loop viewed in the phase domain.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a loop filter 600 consistent with the invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a decision circuit 700 consistent with the invention
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of part of a digitally controlled oscillator 800.
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of a loop filter 800 consistent with the invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart 900 of an exemplary embodiment of a control method for a phase lock loop consistent with the invention.



DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The following description refers to the accompanying drawings in which the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements unless otherwise represented. The implementations set forth in the following description of exemplary embodiments consistent with the present invention do not represent all implementations consistent with the invention. Instead, they are merely examples of systems and methods consistent with aspects related to the invention as recited in the appended claims.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a loop filter 600 consistent with the invention. The loop filter 600 receives the phase error φE and accordingly controls a digitally controlled oscillator. When the loop filter 120 of FIG. 1 is replaced by the loop filter 600, an all digital phase lock loop consistent with the invention is generated. The loop filter 600 of FIG. 2 outputs an oscillator tuning word comprising a process-voltage-temperature (PVT) tuning word, an acquisition (ACQ) tuning word, and a tracking (ACK) tuning word. For example, the oscillator tuning word output by the loop filter 600 has 22 bits, OTW[0:21], wherein the 8 bits OTW[14:21] is the PVT tuning word, the 8 bits OTW[6:13] is the ACQ tuning word, and the 6 bits OTW[0:5] is the ACK tuning word. The tracking tuning word is generated based on the sum of the output of a multiplier 604 and the accumulated value from an accumulator 608. The frequency range of the digitally controlled oscillator capable to be adjusted by the PVT tuning word is large and thus accordingly, the adjustment step is also large. The PVT tuning word generally reduces the bad effect due to the Process-Voltage-Temperature variations of the chip. The frequency range of the digitally controlled oscillator capable to be adjusted by the ACK tuning word is small and thus accordingly, the accuracy of adjustment is large. The ACK tuning word is used for calibrating the frequency of the all digital phase lock loop when tracking the carrier signal. The frequency range of the digitally controlled oscillator capable to be adjusted by the ACQ tuning word and corresponding accuracy of adjustment is within the average. The ACQ tuning word is used for calibrating the frequency of the all digital phase lock loop when determining the frequency channel.
The loop filter 600 of FIG. 2 has a plurality of stages of the low pass filters 602a-602c. In FIG. 2, each low pass filter is an infinite impulse response (IIR) filter or a finite impulse response (FIR) filter. The output of the low pass filter 602c can be transmitted to a multiplier 604 to be multiplied with a loop gain α. The loop gain α also can be applied to other low pass filters to adjust the filter output of each low pass filter. The phase error φE can be multiplied with a loop gain β, by a multiplier 606, and then transmitted to the accumulator 608. The sum of the multiplier 604 and accumulator 608 generates the tracking tuning word. In a word, the low pass filters 602a to 602c and the multiplier 604 forms a type II higher order filter and its time response is slower because the phase error φE is processed by several stages of the low pass filters and accordingly the tracking tuning word is affected by the phase error φE. The multiplier 606 and accumulator 608 provide a faster path for the phase error φE to affect the tracking tuning word.
The loop filter 600 of FIG. 2 further comprises two modification circuits 610a and 610b. The modification circuit 610a has two decision circuits, 6104a and 6106a, an accumulator 6102a and an adder 6108a. The modification circuit 610b has two decision circuits, 6104b and 6106b, an accumulator 6102b and an adder 6108b. Although the function block diagrams of the modification circuits 610a and 610b shown in FIG. 2 are the same as each other, the circuits of the same function block may be implemented by different circuits.
The modification circuit 610a directly detects the outputs of the low pass filters 602a and 602b. Once the modification circuit 610a detects that the outputs of the low pass filters 602a and 602b meet a predetermined condition, the modification circuit 610a modifies the PVT tuning word via the adder 612. Thus, the frequency of the all digital phase lock loop, i.e. the frequency of the variable signal fv, can be significantly changed.
The modification circuit 610b directly detects the output of the low pass filter 602b and indirectly detects the output of the last stage of the low pass filter, i.e. the low pass filter 602c, via the multiplier 604 and adder 618. Once the modification circuit 610b detects that the outputs of the low pass filters 602b and 602c meet a predetermined condition, the modification circuit 610b modifies the ACQ tuning word, wherein the predetermined condition of the modification circuit 610a may be the same as or different from the predetermined condition of the modification circuit 610b. 
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a decision circuit 700 consistent with the invention. The decision circuit shown in FIG. 3 can be applied to the decision circuit 6104a, 6104b, 6106a or 6106b. The comparator 702 compares the input of the decision circuit 700 and a predetermined upper bond (UPB), and the comparator 704 compares the input of the decision circuit 700 and a predetermined lower bond (LWB). The output of the comparator 702 or comparator 704 is 1 or −1, and the sum of the two outputs, by the adder 706, is the output of the decision circuit 700. The function of the decision circuit 700 is described in the following. If the input of the decision circuit 700 is higher than the UPB, the output of the decision circuit 700 is 1. If the input of the decision circuit 700 is lower than the LWB, the output of the decision circuit 700 is −1. If the input of the decision circuit 700 is between the LWB and UPB, the output of the decision circuit 700 is 0. If the output of the decision circuit 700 varies acutely, the input of the decision circuit 700 can be multiplied with a parameter λ to decrease the variation of the output of the decision circuit 700.
Take the modification circuit 610b in FIG. 2 for example, if the decision circuits 6104b and 6106b adopt the decision circuit 700 in FIG. 3, the UPB and LWB of the decision circuit 6104b respectively is UPBa and LWBa, and the UPB and LWB of the decision circuit 6106b respectively is UPBb and LWBb, the function of the modification circuit 610b is described in the following.
When the phase is approximately locked, i.e., the phase error φE is very small, the output of the filter 602b is substantially maintained between UPBa and LWBa, and the output of the filter 602c is substantially maintained between UPBb and LWBb. Accordingly, the outputs of the decision circuits 6104b and 6106b are 0, and the output of the accumulator 6102b does not change. Thus, the ACQ tuning word is not affected by the output of the accumulator 6102b. 
When the phase error φE increases, the output of the filter 602b may diverge from the range between UPBa and LWBa, and the output of the filter 602c may later diverge from the range between UPBb and LWBb. Since the response of the whole phase lock loop is quite slow, the described two diverging trends are substantially the same. The time delay is because the output of the low pass filter 602c is generated by low pass filtering the output of the low pass filter 602b. For example, when the output of the low pass filter 602b suddenly exceeds UPBa and the output of the low pass filter 602c is still between the UPBb and LWBb, the output of the decision circuit 6104b becomes 1, the output of the decision circuit 6106b is still 0, and the output of the accumulator 6102b periodically increases by 1 according to the input clock signal. Thus, the modification circuit 610b periodically increases the ACQ tuning word by 1. The output of the low pass filter 602c follows the output of the low pass filter 602b, but the output of the low pass filter 602c later varies. Once the output of the low pass filter 602c is larger than UPBb, the outputs of the decision circuits 6104b and 6106b are also 1, the accumulator 6102b stops increasing its output and the modification circuit 610b also stops increasing the ACQ tuning word. Similarly, when the outputs of the low pass filters 602b and 602c decrease, the modification circuit 610b may periodically decrease the ACQ tuning word and after a period of time, the modification circuit 610b stops affecting the ACQ tuning word.
In other words, the modification circuit 610b determines whether the amount of times the low pass filter 602b is output is too much according to the UPBa and LWBa. Once the amount of times the low pass filter 602b is output is too much, the modification circuit 610b roughly adjusts the output frequency of a digitally controlled oscillator. The UPBa and LWBa serve as a stop mechanism for the modification circuit 610b. In other words, the UPBa and LWBa determines the amount of frequency adjustments.
According to the above description of the modification circuit 610b, those skilled in the art can easily understand the operation of the modification circuit 610a. When the modification circuit 610a determines that the amount of times the low pass filter 602a is output is too much, the modification circuit 610a coarsely adjusts the output frequency of a digitally controlled oscillator. The UPBa and LWBa serve as a stop mechanism for the modification circuit 610a. In other words, the UPBa and LWBa determines the amount of frequency adjustments.
As to the UPB and LWB of each decision circuit, the UPB and LWB are respectively determined based on circuit design or requirement.
The modification circuits 610a and 610b quickly and coarsely adjust the output frequency of a digitally controlled oscillator. Without the modification circuits 610a and 610b in FIG. 2, the PVT tuning word can only be affected by the carry bit of the ACQ tuning word, and the ACQ tuning word only can be affected by the carry bit of the ACK tuning word. Thus, the PVT tuning word and the ACQ tuning can only be increased by 1 after each phase lock operation. Compared with FIG. 2, the modification circuits 610a and 610b provide a mechanism for quickly and coarsely adjusting the output frequency of the digitally controlled oscillator by a large margin. It can be expected that an all digital phase lock loop with the loop filter 600 in FIG. 2 can lock its phase quickly.
Although the loop filter 600 in FIG. 2 is shown by a functional block, the loop filter 600 can be implemented by hardware or software.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of part of a digitally controlled oscillator 800. The digitally controlled oscillator 800 comprises one inductor and a plurality of capacitors, and its output frequency is determined by the following equation: fDCO=1/squr(L*Ctotal), wherein the Ctotal is the sum of the capacitances of activated capacitors. The capacitors in the digitally controlled oscillator 800 are substantially divided into four banks: a PVT bank, an ACQ bank, a tracking bank and a partial tracking bank. The capacitors in the PVT bank are Δ C0P . . . ΔC7P, arranged binary-weighted, respectively selected by the control signal d0P . . . d7P. The PVT tuning word is applied to some interfaces and the control signal is generated after the PVT tuning word is processed by the interfaces. In other word, the capacitors in the PVT bank are controlled by the PVT tuning word. Similarly, the capacitors in the ACQ bank are controlled by the ACQ tuning word. The capacitors in the tracking band are the same (unit-weighted) and the capacitance of each capacitor is designed as small as possible. The signals d0TI . . . d63TI are generated after the tracking tuning word is decoded and processed by some interface. If the capacitance provided by the tracking bank cannot effectively suppress the phase noise, the capacitors in the partial tracking bank can be initiated to provide capacitance. The capacitance of each capacitor in the partial tracking bank is the same as the capacitor in the tracking bank. The partial tracking bank is controlled by a ΣΔ modulator to provide fine capacitance accuracy and the control signal d0TF . . . d7TF is generated by the ΣΔ modulator. Basically, the tracking bank and the partial tracking bank are controlled by the tracking tuning word. As previously described, the PVT tuning word coarsely adjusts the output frequency of the digitally controlled oscillator. The tracking finely adjusts tuning of the output frequency of the digitally controlled oscillator and the ACQ tuning word averagely adjusts the output frequency of the digitally controlled oscillator. Therefore, the smallest capacitor in the PVT bank is larger than the smallest capacitor in the ACQ bank and the smallest capacitor in the ACQ bank is larger than each capacitor in the tracking bank and the partial tracking bank.
Please refer to FIG. 2, wherein the modification circuit 610a is coupled to the low pass filter 602a and the low pass filter 602b, the low pass filter 602a is a front low pass filter, and the low pass filter 602b is a back low pass filter to process the filter output of the low pass filter 602a. Similarly, the modification circuit 610b is coupled to the low pass filter 602b and the low pass filter 602c, the low pass filter 602b is a front low pass filter, and the low pass filter 602c is a back low pass filter. Thus, the low pass filter 602b is the back low pass filter detected by the modification circuit 610a and the front low pass filter detected by the modification circuit 610b. However, it is not necessary that the modification circuits 610a and 610b detect the same low pass filter. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary embodiment of a loop filter 800 consistent with the invention, wherein the modification circuits 610a and 610b do not detect the same low pass filter.
Please also refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 6 for reference. FIG. 6 is a flowchart 900 of an exemplary embodiment of a control method for a phase lock loop consistent with the invention. When an all digital phase lock loop with the loop filter 600 shown in FIG. 2 starts tracking a reference signal, the coarse tracking in the step 902 is first executed, and after a period of time, the fast tracking in the step 904 is executed.
In the step 902, the modification circuits 610a and 610b are enabled, and the loop gain α and partial gain β do not change. Thus, the ACQ tuning word may be slightly affected by the carry bit of the tracking tuning word, and may be heavily affected by the modification circuit 610b. Similarly, the PVT tuning word may be slightly affected by the carry bit of the ACQ tuning word, and may be heavily affected by the modification circuit 610a. 
After a period of time or when the coarse tuning has been substantially finished, the values of the accumulators 6102a and 6102b are substantially fixed and the method goes to the step 904. In step 904, the modification circuits 610a and 610b are disabled, and the loop gain a and partial gain β can be first increased and then decreased after a period of time. In other words, when executing the step 904, the loop gain a and partial gain β can be the same as the loop gain α and partial gain β in step 902 for a period of time. After that, the phase lock operation is substantially finished, and in order to reduce the noise caused by the phase lock loop, a smaller loop gain α and partial gain β are adopted. The operation for reducing the loop gain α and partial gain β can be implemented at more than one time according to the circuit design and the phase lock speed requirement. It is recommended that the operation of reducing the loop gain α and partial gain β be executed at least two times.
An all digital phase lock loop with higher order loop filters consistent with the invention is provided. The disclosed all digital phase lock loop can reduce the phase noise that is self generated and coarsely and quickly adjust its output frequency to achieve the goal of fast phase lock.
It will be appreciated that the present invention is not limited to the exact construction that has been described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and that various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the scope thereof. It is intended that the scope of the invention only be limited by the appended claims.

## Claims

1. A digital phase lock loop, comprising:
a digitally controlled oscillator controlled by an oscillator tuning word to generate a variable signal, wherein the oscillator tuning word comprises a first tuning word and a second tuning word, wherein a second tuning word adjustable frequency range of the digitally controlled oscillator is broader than a first tuning word adjustable frequency range of the digitally controlled oscillator;
a phase detector arranged to measure a phase error between the variable signal and a reference signal; and
a loop filter arranged to generate the oscillator tuning word in response to the phase error, wherein the loop filter comprises:
a plurality of low pass filter stages, including a front low pass filter and a back low pass filter; and

a modification circuit arranged to adjust the second tuning word based on an output from at least one of the front low pass filter and the back low pass filter, wherein the modification circuit comprises a first decision circuit configured to output a first variation based on the filter output of the back low pass filter, a second decision circuit configured to output a second variation based on the filter output of the front low pass filter, and an accumulator configured to adjust the second tuning word based on accumulated differences between the first variation and the second variation.

2. The digital phase lock loop as claimed in claim 1, wherein the digitally controlled oscillator comprises:
a plurality of first capacitors with the same capacitance, controlled by the first tuning word; and
a plurality of second capacitors controlled by the second tuning word, wherein the capacitance of each second capacitor is larger than the capacitance of the first capacitor.

3. The digital phase lock loop as claimed in claim 1, wherein the oscillator tuning word further comprises a third tuning word, wherein a third tuning word adjustable frequency range of the digitally controlled oscillator is broader than the second tuning word adjustable frequency range, the modification circuit is a first modification circuit, and the digital phase lock loop further comprises:
a second modification circuit configured to directly detect two filter outputs from two low pass filters and adjust the third tuning word based upon a predetermined condition.

4. The digital phase lock loop as claimed in claim 3, wherein the output of the front low pass filter received by the first modification circuit is a back filter output received by the second modification circuit.

5. The digital phase lock loop as claimed in claim 3, wherein the front filter output received by the first modification circuit is not the back filter output received by the second modification circuit.

6. The digital phase lock loop as claimed in claim 1, wherein the loop filter further comprises a multiplier serving as a loop gain to adjust the oscillator tuning word.

7. The digital phase lock loop as claimed in claim 1, wherein each low pass filter is an infinite impulse response filter or a finite impulse response filter.

8. A control method for a phase lock loop, comprising:
low pass filtering a phase error to generate an oscillator tuning word to control a digitally controlled oscillator, wherein the oscillator tuning word comprises a first tuning word and a second tuning word, and a second tuning word adjustable frequency range of the digitally controlled oscillator being broader than a first tuning word adjustable frequency range;
generating two filter outputs, wherein a first filter output is of a front low pass filter and a second filter output is of a back low pass filter; and
adjusting the second tuning word when the two filter outputs meet a predetermined condition.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the oscillator tuning word further comprises a third tuning word, the frequency range of the digitally controlled oscillator, capable to be adjusted by the third tuning word, is broader than the adjustable range provided by the second tuning word, the method further comprises:
detecting two filter outputs of another front low pass filter and another back low pass filter; and
adjusting the third tuning word when the two filter outputs of the another front low pass filter and the another back low pass filter meet another predetermined condition.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, further comprising:
adjusting the oscillator tuning word using a loop gain.

11. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the loop gain is a first loop gain, and the method further comprises:
adjusting a last filter output by decreasing the loop gain when the predetermined condition is met.

12. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the step of adjusting the second tuning word comprises:
adjusting the second tuning word in a first direction if the output of the front low pass filter exceeds a first predetermined value;
adjusting the second tuning word in a second direction opposite to the first direction if the output of the front low pass filter is lower than a second predetermined value;
adjusting the second tuning word in the second direction if the output of the back low pass filter exceeds a third predetermined value;
adjusting the second tuning word in the first direction if the output of the back low pass filter is lower than a fourth predetermined value; and
stopping adjustment of the second tuning word if the value of an accumulator has not changed for a predetermined period of time.