Patent Description:
A Delay Loop Lock (DLL) has four clock paths with phases differing by <NUM> degrees in sequence in a Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM). However, these four clock paths may cause the problems of mismatch and noise due to phase skew, thereby affecting the performance of the memory. Background may be found in <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT>.

<CIT> discloses a semiconductor memory device including an edge detector configured to receive two pairs of complementary clocks to detect edges of the clocks, a comparator configured to compare output signals of the edge detector to detect whether clocks of the same pair have a phase difference of <NUM> degrees and detect whether clocks of different pairs have a phase difference of <NUM> degrees, a control signal generator configured to generate a control signal for controlling phases of the clocks according to an output signal of the comparator, and a phase corrector configured to correct phases of the clocks in response to the control signal.

<CIT> discloses apparatuses and methods for duty cycle error correction of clock signals. An example method includes detecting a clock period error between a first clock signal and a third clock signal and adjusting a timing of the first or third clock signals based on the clock period error there between. The method further includes detecting a clock period error between a second clock signal and a fourth clock signal and adjusting a timing of the second or fourth clock signals based on the clock period error there between. Additionally, the example method includes detecting a duty cycle error between the first, second, third, and fourth clock signals, and adjusting a timing of the first and third or second and fourth clock signals based on the duty cycle error there between.

<CIT> discloses a phase detection circuit including an edge trigger circuit and a duty detection circuit. The edge trigger circuit generates a reference pulse signal and a comparison pulse signal based on a target clock signal and at least two clock signals having phases adjacent to the phase of the target clock signal. The duty detection circuit generates a phase detection signal by detecting the duty ratio of the reference pulse signal and the comparison pulse signal.

The present disclosure provides a phase adjusting circuit, a delay locking circuit, and a memory.

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be understood that that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to illustrate the present disclosure, but are not intended to limit the present disclosure. In addition, it is to be noted that for the convenience of description, only the parts related to the present disclosure are shown in the drawings.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art of the present disclosure. The terms used herein are only for the purpose of describing the embodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure.

In the following description, reference is made to "some embodiments" which describe a subset of all possible embodiments, but it should be understood that "some embodiments" may be the same or different subsets of all possible embodiments, and may be combined with each other without conflict.

It is to be noted that the terms "first/second/third" involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure are only used to distinguish similar objects, and do not represent a specific order of the objects. It should be understood that the specific order or sequence of "first/second/third" may be interchangeable under the allowable circumstances, so that the embodiments of the disclosure described herein may be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein.

A DLL has four main clock paths in a memory. Theoretically, the phases of the four clock paths differ by <NUM> degrees in sequence, for subsequent sampling or data processing. However, there may be phase skew between the clock paths, which causes the problems of mismatch and noise, thereby affecting the performance of the memory.

Based on this, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a phase adjusting circuit. The phase adjusting circuit includes: a detection module, configured to detect a phase difference between a first clock signal and a second clock signal to obtain a first detection signal and a second detection signal; a comparison module, configured to perform duty cycle comparison of the first detection signal and the second detection signal to obtain a counting indication signal; a counting module, configured to count the number of pulses of a preset counting clock signal based on the counting indication signal to obtain a count value; and an adjustment module, configured to perform phase adjustment of the second clock signal based on the count value, so that the phase difference between the first clock signal and the second clock signal is a preset value. In this way, by detecting the phase difference between different clock signals and correcting the clock signals, the phase skew between the clock signals is improved.

Referring to <FIG>, which shows a structural diagram of a phase adjusting circuit <NUM>, which is not part of the present invention and is present for illustration purpose. As shown in <FIG>, the phase adjusting circuit <NUM> includes a detection module <NUM>, a comparison module <NUM>, a counting module <NUM>, and an adjustment module <NUM> that are connected in sequence.

The detection module <NUM> is configured to detect a phase difference between a first clock signal and a second clock signal to obtain a first detection signal and a second detection signal.

The comparison module <NUM> is configured to perform duty cycle comparison of the first detection signal and the second detection signal to obtain a counting indication signal.

The counting module <NUM> is configured to count the number of pulses of a preset counting clock signal based on the counting indication signal to obtain a count value.

The adjustment module <NUM> is configured to perform phase adjustment of the second clock signal based on the count value, so that the phase difference between the first clock signal and the second clock signal is a preset value.

It is to be noted that the phase adjusting circuit <NUM> of the embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied to a memory, such as a DRAM and a Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), to adjust the phase difference between different clock signals.

It should be understood that the preset value may be a preset range considering an allowable error range. In the memory, the preset value is generally <NUM> degrees. That is to say, the phase difference between the first clock signal and the second clock signal is the preset value, which means that the phase difference between the first clock signal which is subjected to phase delay of <NUM> degrees and the second clock signal is within the allowable error range. In the following, when reference is made to the phase difference between different signals, it refers to that the phase difference is within the preset range considering the allowable error range.

In this way, in a case that the second clock signal has phase skew, the phase adjusting circuit <NUM> may perform phase adjustment of the second clock signal, so as to ensure that the phase of the second clock signal is delayed by <NUM> degrees compared to the phase of the first clock signal within the allowable error range, thereby improving the accuracy of the clock signal.

In practical application, the memory may also involve a third clock signal and a fourth clock signal, a phase difference between the third clock signal and the first clock signal is <NUM> degrees, and a phase difference between the fourth clock signal and the third clock signal is <NUM> degrees.

In some embodiments, the adjustment module <NUM> is further configured to perform phase adjustment of the fourth clock signal based on the count value, so that the phase difference between the third clock signal and the fourth clock signal is the preset value.

It should be understood that since the third clock signal and the first clock signal are a pair of signals with opposite phases, it can be considered that the third clock signal falls behind the first clock signal by fixed <NUM> degrees in phase, and there is no need to adjust the phase of the third clock signal. Similarly, it can be considered that the fourth clock signal falls behind the second clock signal by fixed <NUM> degrees in phase, so that the fourth clock signal and the second clock signal may be adjusted synchronously, and phase adjustment of the fourth clock signal is also performed based on the aforementioned count value.

In this way, the phase adjusting circuit <NUM> may perform phase adjustment of a group of four-phase clock signals to cancel the phase skew between the clock signals, so as to ensure that the first clock signal, the second clock signal, the third clock signal, and the fourth clock signal differ in phase by <NUM> degrees in sequence within the allowable error range, which improves the problem of mismatch and noise, and improves the performance of the memory.

In addition, upon detecting that the phase difference between the first clock signal and the second clock signal (as well as the third clock signal and the fourth clock signal) has met the expectation, the count value may be latched to maintain this state.

It is to be noted that the first detection signal is configured to indicate a phase difference between a rising edge of the first clock signal and a rising edge of the second clock signal, and the second detection signal is configured to indicate a phase difference between the rising edge of the second clock signal and a falling edge of the first clock signal. Specifically, in some embodiments, the detection module <NUM> is configured to receive any three signals of the first clock signal, the second clock signal, the third clock signal, and the fourth clock signal, and output the first detection signal and the second detection signal based on the received signals.

In the following, assuming that the detection module <NUM> is configured to receive the first clock signal CLKOI, the second clock signal CLKOQ and the third clock signal CLKOIB, and a specific structure of the detection module <NUM> is provided. As shown in <FIG>, the detection module <NUM> may include a first detection unit <NUM> and a second detection unit <NUM>.

The first detection unit <NUM> is configured to receive the first clock signal CLKOI and the second clock signal CLKOQ, and perform logical operation of the first clock signal CLKOI and the second clock signal CLKOQ to obtain the first detection signal Detection_clkoi_q.

The second detection unit <NUM> is configured to receive the third clock signal CLKOIB and the second clock signal CLKOQ, and perform logical operation of the third clock signal CLKOIB and the second clock signal CLKOQ to obtain the second detection signal Detection_clkoi_ib.

In some embodiments, the first detection unit <NUM> may include a first inverter <NUM>, a first transmission gate <NUM>, and a first NAND gate <NUM>. The second detection unit <NUM> may include a second inverter <NUM>, a second transmission gate <NUM>, and a second NAND gate <NUM>. An input terminal of the first inverter <NUM> is configured to receive the second clock signal CLKOQ, an input terminal of the first transmission gate <NUM> is configured to receive the first clock signal CLKOI, and two input terminals of the first NAND gate <NUM> are connected to an output terminal of the first inverter <NUM> and an output terminal of the first transmission gate <NUM> respectively, and an output terminal of the first NAND gate <NUM> is configured to output the first detection signal Detection_clkoi_q. An input terminal of the second inverter <NUM> is configured to receive the third clock signal CLKOIB, an input terminal of the second transmission gate <NUM> is configured to receive the second clock signal CLKOQ, and two input terminals of the second NAND gate <NUM> are connected to an output terminal of the second inverter <NUM> and an output terminal of the second transmission gate <NUM> respectively, and an output terminal of the second NAND gate <NUM> is configured to output the second detection signal Detection_clkoi_ib.

It is to be noted that both the first inverter <NUM> and the second inverter <NUM> may adopt conventional inverter structures. Exemplarily, the inverter may include an N-channel field effect transistor (N-Channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor (NMOS)) and a P-channel field effect transistor (P-Channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor (PMOS). Herein, a gate electrode of the NMOS and a gate electrode of the PMOS are connected to form the input terminal of the inverter, a drain electrode of the NMOS is configured to receive a power supply signal VDD, a drain electrode of the PMOS is configured to receive a ground signal VSS, and a source electrode of the NMOS and a source electrode of the PMOS are connected to form the output terminal of the inverter.

It should be understood that in the first detection unit <NUM>, the second clock signal CLKOQ passes through the first inverter <NUM>, to not only invert its phase but also produce a certain delay. Therefore, the first clock signal CLKOI passes through the first transmission gate <NUM> to produce the same delay, so that the first NAND gate <NUM> may synchronously perform NAND operation of the inverted signal of the second clock signal CLKOQ and the first clock signal CLKOI to obtain the first detection signal Detection_clkoi_q. The function of the second transmission gate <NUM> may be understood by reference.

Both the second transmission gate <NUM> and the second transmission gate <NUM> may adopt conventional transmission gate structures. As shown in <FIG>, the transmission gate may include an NMOS and a PMOS. Herein, a gate electrode of the NMOS is connected to the power supply signal VDD, and a gate electrode of the PMOS is connected to the ground signal VSS, that is, the NMOS and the PMOS are in an on state, a drain electrode of the NMOS and a drain electrode of the PMOS are connected to form the input terminal of the transmission gate, and a source electrode of the NMOS and a source electrode of the PMOS are connected to form the output terminal of the transmission gate.

It is to be noted that based on <FIG>, <FIG> shows a diagram of signal timing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, in the part between the rising edge of the first clock signal CLKOI and the rising edge of the second clock signal CLKOQ, the first detection signal Detection _clkoi_q is in a low level state. In the part between the rising edge of the second clock signal CLKOQ and the falling edge of the first clock signal CLKOI, the second detection signal Detection_clkoi_ib is in the low level state. It should be understood that the falling edge of the first clock signal CLKOI is coincident with the rising edge of the third clock signal CLKOIB.

It should be understood that the circuit structure shown in <FIG> is only a specific embodiment of the detection module <NUM>. Due to the diversity of circuit elements, the detection module <NUM> may also adopt other circuit structures on the premise that phase difference information may be obtained. For example, the detection module <NUM> may only include the first NAND gate and the second NAND gate. The first NAND gate is configured to perform NAND operation of the first clock signal CLKOI and the fourth clock signal CLKOQB to obtain the first detection signal Detection_clkoi_q. The second NAND gate is configured to perform NAND operation of the first clock signal CLKOI and the second clock signal CLKOQ to obtain the second detection signal Detection_clkoi_ib.

In this way, by means of the first detection signal Detection_clkoi_q and the second detection signal Detection_clkoi_ib, the phase difference between the first clock signal CLKOI and the second clock signal CLKOQ may be reflected for subsequent the phase adjustment.

In some embodiments, as shown in <FIG>, the comparison module <NUM> includes a duty cycle unit <NUM>, a preprocessing unit <NUM> and a sampling unit <NUM>.

The duty cycle unit <NUM> is configured to receive the first detection signal Detection_clkoi_q and the second detection signal Detection_clkoi_ib, and perform duty cycle comparison of the first detection signal Detection_clkoi_q and the second detection signal Detection_clkoi_ib to obtain a comparison result signal DCD_Com. Herein, when a duty cycle of the first detection signal Detection_clkoi_q is higher than a duty cycle of the second detection signal Detection_clkoi_ib, the comparison result signal DCD_Com is in a first level state. When the duty cycle of the first detection signal Detection_clkoi_q is lower than the duty cycle of the second detection signal Detection_clkoi_ib, the comparison result signal DCD_Com is in a second level state.

The preprocessing unit <NUM> is configured to receive a main clock signal Main CLK of the memory, and perform frequency division of the main clock signal Main CLK to obtain a sampling clock signal DCD_LAT.

The sampling unit <NUM> is configured to receive the sampling clock signal DCD_LAT and the comparison result signal DCD_Com, and perform sampling of the comparison result signal DCD_Com based on the sampling clock signal DCD_LAT to obtain the counting indication signal DCD_OUT.

Here, the first level state and the second level state are different, depending on the actual application scenario.

It is to be noted that if the duty cycle of the first detection signal Detection_clkoi_q is higher than the duty cycle of the second detection signal Detection_clkoi_ib, it may be considered that the phase difference between the second clock signal CLKOQ and the first clock signal CLKOI is less than <NUM> degrees, that is, the phase of the second clock signal CLKOQ needs to be adjusted backward. If the duty cycle of the first detection signal Detection_clkoi_q is lower than duty cycle of the second detection signal Detection_clkoi_ib, it may be considered that the phase difference between the second clock signal CLKOQ and the first clock signal CLKOI is greater than <NUM> degrees, that is, the phase of the second clock signal CLKOQ needs to be adjusted forward. That is to say, the comparison result signal DCD_Com indicates a direction of phase adjustment of the second clock signal CLKOQ.

The sampling clock signal DCD_LAT is obtained by the frequency division of the main clock signal Main CLK, that is, a clock period of the sampling clock signal DCD_LAT is greater than a clock period of the main clock signal Main CLK, and the clock period of the sampling clock signal DCD_LAT is an integer multiple of the clock period of the main clock signal Main CLK. Here, the frequency division is to give sufficient response time to the sampling unit <NUM>.

Taking the first level signal being a high level signal and the second level signal being a low level signal as an example, the specific structure of the duty cycle unit <NUM> is provided.

As shown in <FIG>, the duty cycle unit <NUM> includes a first switch transistor <NUM>, a second switch transistor <NUM>, a third switch transistor <NUM>, a fourth switch transistor <NUM>, a first current source <NUM>, a second current source <NUM>, a third current source <NUM>, a fourth current source <NUM>, a first capacitor <NUM>, a second capacitor <NUM>, and an operational amplifier <NUM>. Herein, a control terminal of the first switch transistor <NUM> and a control terminal of the second switch transistor <NUM> form a connection point configured to receive the first detection signal Detection_clkoi_q. A first terminal of the first switch transistor <NUM> is connected to an output terminal of the first current source <NUM>, an input terminal of the first current source <NUM> is connected to the power supply signal VDD, a second terminal of the second switch transistor <NUM> is connected to an input terminal of the second current source <NUM>, and an output terminal of the second current source <NUM> is connected to the ground signal VSS. A second terminal of the first switch transistor <NUM> and a first terminal of the second switch transistor <NUM> are both connected to a first terminal of the first capacitor <NUM>, and a second terminal of the first capacitor <NUM> is connected to the ground signal VSS. A control terminal of the third switch transistor <NUM> and a control terminal of the fourth switch transistor <NUM> form a connection point configured to receive the second detection signal Detection_clkoi_ib. A first terminal of the third switch transistor <NUM> is connected to an output terminal of the third current source <NUM>, an input terminal of the third current source <NUM> is connected to the power supply signal, a second terminal of the fourth switch transistor <NUM> is connected to an input terminal of the fourth current source <NUM>, and an output terminal of the fourth current source <NUM> is connected to the ground signal. A second terminal of the third switch transistor <NUM> and a first terminal of the fourth switch transistor <NUM> are both connected to a first terminal of the second capacitor <NUM>, and a second terminal of the second capacitor <NUM> is connected to the ground signal VSS. The first terminal of the first capacitor <NUM> is further connected to an inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier <NUM>, the first terminal of the second capacitor <NUM> is further connected to a non-inverting input terminal of the operational amplifier <NUM>, and an output terminal of the operational amplifier <NUM> is configured to output the comparison result signal DCD_Com.

As shown in <FIG>, if the first detection signal Detection_clkoi_q is in a high level state, the first switch transistor <NUM> is turned off and the second switch transistor <NUM> is turned on, at this time, a first charging node Charge signal A, the second switch transistor <NUM>, the second current source <NUM>, and the ground signal VSS form a current path, that is, the first charging node Charge signal A discharges to the ground VSS. If the first detection signal Detection _clkoi_q is in a low level state, the first switch transistor <NUM> is turned on and the second switch transistor <NUM> is turned off, at this time, the power signal VDD, the first current source <NUM>, the first switch transistor <NUM>, and the first charging node Charge signal A form a current path, that is, the first charging node Charge signal A is charged by the power signal VDD. The rest may be understood by reference.

In this way, if the duty cycle of the first detection signal Detection_clkoi_q is higher than the duty cycle of the second detection signal Detection_clkoi_ib, a charging speed of the first capacitor <NUM> is less than a charging speed of the second capacitor <NUM>, at this time, a voltage of the first charging node Charge signal A is less than a voltage of a second charging node Charge signal B, and the operational amplifier <NUM> is configured to output a high-level comparison result signal DCD_Com. If the duty cycle of the first detection signal Detection_clkoi_q is lower than the duty cycle of the second detection signal Detection_clkoi_ib, the charging speed of the first capacitor <NUM> is greater than the charging speed of the second capacitor <NUM>, at this time, the voltage of the first charging node Charge signal A is greater than the voltage of the second charging node Charge signal B, and the operational amplifier <NUM> is configured to output a low-level comparison result signal DCD_Com.

It is to be noted that as shown in <FIG>, the preprocessing unit <NUM> may include a frequency divider <NUM>, configured to perform the frequency division of the main clock signal Main CLK to obtain the sampling clock signal DCD_LAT. The frequency divider <NUM> may be a conventional frequency division circuit. In addition, the sampling unit <NUM> may be implemented by a D Flip Flop (DFF).

In some embodiments, the preprocessing unit <NUM> is further configured to delay the sampling clock signal DCD_LAT to obtain the preset counting clock signal CLK_CNT. Exemplarily, as shown in <FIG>, the preprocessing unit <NUM> further includes a delay <NUM>, configured to delay the sampling clock signal DCD_LAT to obtain the preset counting clock signal CLK_CNT. Besides, the preset counting clock signal CLK_CNT may also be directly obtained by the frequency division of the main clock signal Main_CLK.

As shown in <FIG>, the counting module <NUM> is configured to add one to the count value Q<n:<NUM>> every time one pulse of the preset counting clock signal CLK_CNT is detected in a case that the counting indication signal DCD_OUT is in the first level state (taking the high level state as an example in <FIG>); or, subtract one from the count value Q<n:<NUM>> every time one pulse of the preset counting clock signal CLK_CNT is detected in a case that the counting indication signal DCD_OUT is in the second level state (taking the low level state as an example in <FIG>). Here, the counting module <NUM> may adopt a conventional counter structure.

That is, a change direction of the count value Q<n:<NUM>> may be determined based on the counting indication signal DCD_OUT. Taking the circuits shown in <FIG> as an example, the larger the count value Q<n:<NUM>> is, the smaller the phase difference between the first clock signal CLKOI and the second clock signal CLKOQ is, and the phase of the second clock signal CLKOQ needs to be adjusted backward. The smaller the count value Q<n:<NUM>> is, the larger the phase difference between the first clock signal CLKOI and the second clock signal CLKOQ is, the phase of the second clock signal CLKOQ needs to be adjusted forward, so that the first clock signal CLKOI and the second clock signal CLKOQ maintain the phase difference of <NUM> degrees.

In some embodiments, when the counting indication signal DCD_OUT produces a state transition (jumping from the first level state to the second level state, or jumping from the second level state to the first level state), it indicates that the phase difference between the first clock signal and the second clock signal (as well as the third clock signal and the fourth clock signal) has met the requirements, and the count value is latched to maintain the state of the clock signal.

In one embodiment, only the first clock signal CLKOI and the second clock signal CLKOQ are considered. As shown in <FIG>, the adjustment module <NUM> may include a first adjustment module <NUM> and a second adjustment module <NUM>.

The first adjustment module <NUM> is configured to receive a preset fixed value P<n:<NUM>> and a first original clock signal CLKI, and perform transmission of the first original clock signal CLKI based on the preset fixed value P<n:<NUM>> to obtain the first clock signal CLKOI.

The second adjustment module <NUM> is configured to receive the count value Q<n:<NUM>> and a second original clock signal CLKQ, and perform transmission of the second original clock signal CLKQ based on the count value Q<n:<NUM>> to obtain the second clock signal CLKOQ.

Here, shapes of the first original clock signal CLKI and the first clock signal CLKOI are the same, but there is a certain transmission delay between the first original clock signal CLKI and the first clock signal CLKOI; and shapes of the second original clock signal CLKQ and the second clock signal CLKOQ are the same, but there is a certain transmission delay between the second original clock signal CLKQ and the second clock signal CLKOQ.

It is to be noted that the preset fixed value P<n:<NUM>> should be greater than a minimum value that the count value Q<n:<NUM>> may take, and less than a maximum value that the count value Q<n:<NUM>> may take, so as to avoid phase adjustment in only one direction.

In a case that the count value Q<n:<NUM>> is greater than the preset fixed value P<n:<NUM>>, the rising edge of the second clock signal CLKOQ moves in a first direction relative to the rising edge of the first clock signal CLKOI. In a case that the count value Q<n:<NUM>> is less than the preset fixed value P<n:<NUM>>, the rising edge of the second clock signal CLKOQ moves in a second direction relative to the rising edge of the first clock signal CLKOI. Here, the first direction and the second direction are opposite, which may be specifically determined according to the actual application scenario.

In another embodiment, if the first clock signal CLKOI, the second clock signal CLKOQ, the third clock signal CLKOIB and the fourth clock signal CLKOQB are considered, as shown in <FIG>, the adjustment module <NUM> further includes a third adjustment module <NUM> and a fourth adjustment module <NUM>.

The third adjustment module <NUM> is configured to receive the preset fixed value P<n:<NUM>> and a third original clock signal CLKIB, and perform transmission of the third original clock signal CLKIB based on the preset fixed value P<n:<NUM>> to obtain the third clock signal CLKOIB. A phase difference between the third original clock signal CLKIB and the first original clock signal CLKI is <NUM> degrees.

The fourth adjustment module <NUM> is configured to receive the count value Q<n:<NUM>> and a fourth original clock signal CLKQB, and perform transmission of the fourth original clock signal CLKQB based on the count value Q<n:<NUM>> to obtain the fourth clock signal CLKOQB. A phase difference between the fourth original clock signal CLKQB and the second original clock signal CLKIB is <NUM> degrees.

Similarly, in a case that the count value Q<n:<NUM>> is greater than the preset fixed value P<n:<NUM>>, the rising edge of the fourth clock signal CLKOQB moves in the first direction relative to the rising edge of the third clock signal CLKOIB. In a case that the count value Q<n:<NUM>> is less than the preset fixed value P<n:<NUM>>, the rising edge of the fourth clock signal CLKOQB moves in the second direction relative to the rising edge of the third clock signal CLKOIB.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first adjustment module <NUM>, the second adjustment module <NUM>, the third adjustment module <NUM>, and the fourth adjustment module <NUM> all adopt the same circuit structure.

Exemplarily, as shown in <FIG>, each of the first adjustment module <NUM>, the second adjustment module <NUM>, the third adjustment module <NUM>, and the fourth adjustment module <NUM> includes a preset number of adjustment units <NUM> (only one adjustment unit is labeled in <FIG>) It should be understood that in <FIG>, the adjustment unit is implemented by an adjustable NOT gate. That is, for each adjustment unit, the output signal of the adjustment unit is inverted in phase with respect to the input signal of the adjustment unit. Therefore, the preset number should be an even number.

An example of the specific structure of the adjustment unit <NUM> is provided below.

As shown in <FIG>, in some embodiments, the adjustment unit <NUM> includes a plurality of inverting units (an example of <NUM> inverting units are shown in <FIG>), and is configured to determine: whether each of the plurality of inverting units is turned on based on the preset fixed value P<n:<NUM>> or the count value Q<n:<NUM>>; and perform inverting transmission processing for a corresponding one of the first clock signal CLKOI, the second clock signal CLKOQ, the third clock signal CLKOIB and the fourth clock signal CLKOQB using the turned-on inverting unit.

It is to be noted that for the first adjustment module <NUM>, the second adjustment module <NUM>, the third adjustment module <NUM>, and the fourth adjustment module <NUM>, at least one of the plurality of inverting units in each adjustment unit is turned on. For each adjustment unit, control terminals of the plurality of the inverting units together form a control terminal of the adjustment unit, and a control terminal of one of the plurality of inverting units is configured to receive one of bits of the count value or one of bits of the fixed value; input terminals of the plurality of inverting units together form an input terminal of the adjusting unit, which is configured to receive an input signal A; and output terminals of the plurality of the inverting units together form an output terminal of the adjustment unit, which is configured to determine an output signal Y.

Here, if more inverting units are turned on, the signal transmission speed of the adjustment unit <NUM> is faster, and the rising edge of the output signal of the adjustment unit <NUM> is adjusted forward. If fewer inverting units are turned on, the signal transmission speed of the adjustment unit <NUM> is slower, and the rising edge of the output signal of the adjustment unit <NUM> is adjusted backward.

It is to be noted that if the adjustment unit <NUM> is located in the first adjustment module <NUM>, the input signal A is the first original clock signal CLKI, and the output signal Y is the first clock signal CLKOI. If the adjustment unit <NUM> is located in the second adjustment module <NUM>, the input signal A is the second original clock signal CLKQ, and the output signal Y is the second clock signal CLKOQ. If the adjustment unit <NUM> is located in the third adjustment module <NUM>, the input signal A is the third original clock signal CLKIB, and the output signal Y is the third clock signal CLKOIB. If the adjustment unit <NUM> is located in the fourth adjustment module <NUM>, the input signal A is the fourth original clock signal CLKQB, and the output signal Y is the fourth clock signal CLKOQB.

In some embodiments, the number of the bits of the preset fixed value and the number of the bits of the count value are identical, and both are n. The adjustment unit includes (n+<NUM>) inverting units, and the first inverting unit is always in an on state. If the adjustment unit <NUM> belongs to the first adjustment module <NUM> or the third adjustment module <NUM>, whether the (i+<NUM>)-th inverting unit is turned on depends on the i-th bit of the preset fixed value. If the adjustment unit <NUM> belongs to the second adjustment module <NUM> or the fourth adjustment module <NUM>, whether the (i+<NUM>)-th inverting unit is turned on depends on the i-th bit of the count value. Herein, n is a positive integer, i is a positive integer, and i is less than or equal to n.

Taking n=<NUM> as an example to illustrate in detail, in this case, the count value may be expressed as Q<<NUM>:<NUM>>, and the preset fixed value is P<<NUM>:<NUM>>. As shown in <FIG>, the adjustment unit <NUM> includes four inverting units, and the first inverting unit is always turned on. Herein, (<NUM>) if the adjustment unit <NUM> is located in the first adjustment module <NUM> or the third adjustment module <NUM>, whether the second inverting unit is turned on depends on P<<NUM>> (the first bit in P<<NUM>:<NUM>>, and others may be understood by reference), whether the third inverting unit is turned on depends on P<<NUM>>, and whether the fourth inverting unit is turned on depends on P<<NUM>>. (<NUM>) If the adjustment unit <NUM> is located in the second adjustment module <NUM> or the fourth adjustment module <NUM>, whether the second inverting unit is turned on depends on Q<<NUM>>, whether the third inverting unit is turned on depends on Q<<NUM>>, and whether the 4th inverting unit is turned on depends on Q<<NUM>>.

It is also to be noted that the signal transmission capabilities of different inverting units may be the same or different, so as to provide more delay amplitudes to adapt to different situations.

In some embodiments, as shown in <FIG>, each of the inverting units (only devices in one inverting unit are labeled in <FIG>) includes a fifth switch transistor <NUM>, a sixth switch transistor <NUM>, a seventh switch transistor <NUM>, and an eighth switch transistor <NUM>. A first terminal of the fifth switch transistor <NUM> is connected to the power supply signal, a second terminal of the fifth switch transistor <NUM> is connected to a first terminal of the sixth switch transistor <NUM>, a second terminal of the seventh switch transistor <NUM> is connected to a first terminal of the eighth switch transistor <NUM>, and a second terminal of the eighth switch transistor <NUM> is connected to the ground signal VSS. In the first inverting unit, a control terminal of the sixth switch transistor <NUM> is connected to the ground signal VSS, and a control terminal of the seventh switch transistor <NUM> is connected to the power supply signal, so that the first inverting unit is always in the on state. In the (i+<NUM>)-th inverting unit, the control terminal of the sixth switch transistor <NUM> is connected to the i-th control signal (such as Q<<NUM>>, Q<<NUM>>, Q<<NUM>>, P<<NUM>>, P<<NUM>> or P<<NUM>>), the control terminal of the seventh switch transistor is connected to an inverted signal (such as QB<<NUM>>, QB<<NUM>>, QB<<NUM>>, PB<<NUM>>, PB<<NUM>> or PB<<NUM>>) of the i-th control signal, and a level state of the i-th control signal depends on the i-th bit of the count value or the i-th bit of the preset fixed value, so that whether the (i+<NUM>)-th inverting unit is turned on depends on the i-th bit of the count value or the i-th bit of the preset fixed value. A control terminal of the fifth switch transistor <NUM> and a control terminal of the eighth switch transistor <NUM> together form an input terminal of the inverting unit, and a second terminal of the sixth switch transistor <NUM> and a first terminal of the seventh switch transistor <NUM> together form an output terminal of the inverting unit.

In a specific embodiment, it is set the preset fixed value P<<NUM>:<NUM>>=<NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, in the first adjustment module <NUM> and the third adjustment module <NUM>, the first inverting unit, the third inverting unit, and the fourth inverting unit are always turned on, and the second inverting unit is always turned off. In this case, if Q<<NUM>:<NUM>>=<NUM>, it means that in the second adjustment module <NUM> and the fourth adjustment module <NUM>, all the inverting units are turned off, that is, the second adjustment module <NUM> and the fourth adjustment module <NUM> perform signal transmission at a slower speed. At this time, the rising edges of the second clock signal CLKOQ and the fourth clock signal CLKOQB move backward, that is, the phase difference between the first clock signal CLKOI and the second clock signal CLKOQ, and the phase difference between the third clock signal CLKOIB and the fourth clock signal CLKOQB are increased. If Q<<NUM>:<NUM>>=<NUM>, it means that in the second adjustment module <NUM> and the fourth adjustment module <NUM>, all the inverting units are turned on, that is, the second adjustment module <NUM> and the fourth adjustment module <NUM> perform signal transmission at a faster speed. At this time, the rising edges of the second clock signal CLKOQ and the fourth clock signal CLKOQB move forward, that is, the phase difference between the first clock signal CLKOI and the second clock signal CLKOQ, and the phase difference between the third clock signal CLKOIB and the fourth clock signal CLKOQB are reduced.

In the above description, the first level state is the high level state, and the second level state is the low level state. Each of the first switch transistor <NUM>, the third switch transistor <NUM>, the fifth switch transistor <NUM>, and the sixth switch transistor <NUM> is a P-channel field effect transistor; and each of the second switch transistor <NUM>, the fourth switch transistor <NUM>, the seventh switch transistor <NUM>, and the eighth switch transistor <NUM> is an N-channel field effect transistor. A control terminal of the P-channel field effect transistor is a gate electrode, a first terminal of the P-channel field effect transistor is a source electrode, and a second terminal of the P-channel field effect transistor is a drain electrode. A control terminal of the N-channel field effect transistor is a gate electrode, a first terminal of the N-channel field effect transistor is a drain electrode, and a second terminal of the N-channel field effect transistor is a source electrode. In addition, the actual voltage of the aforementioned power supply signal VDD depends on the actual application scenario.

In addition, <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG> are all feasible examples in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and do not constitute specific limitations to the present disclosure. Other circuit structures may be adopted on the premise that the corresponding functions may be realized.

To sum up, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a phase adjusting circuit, which may, by detecting the phase difference between different clock signals and correcting the clock signals, improve the phase skew between the clock signals, thereby improving the performance of the semiconductor.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a delay locking circuit is provided. The delay locking circuit is configured to output a first clock signal, a second clock signal, a third clock signal, and a fourth clock signal.

Referring to <FIG>, which shows a structural diagram of a delay locking circuit <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, the delay locking circuit <NUM> includes at least the phase adjusting circuit <NUM> as described above. The delay locking circuit <NUM> is configured to correct phase differences between the first clock signal, the second clock signal, the third clock signal, and the fourth clock signal through the phase adjusting circuit <NUM>, so that the first clock signal, the second clock signal, the third clock signal, and the fourth clock signal differ in phase by <NUM> degrees in sequence.

It is to be noted that the delay locking circuit <NUM> may also be called a DLL, and is applied to a memory. In this way, the phase adjusting circuit <NUM> may cancel the phase skew between different clock channels in the delay locking circuit <NUM>, so as to avoid the problems of mismatch and noise and improve the accuracy of subsequent data sampling or other processing, thereby improving the performance of the memory.

Referring to <FIG>, a specific structure of a delay locking circuit <NUM> is provided below.

As shown in <FIG>, the delay locking circuit <NUM> is configured to receive four-phase clock input signals (the first original clock signal CLKI, the second original clock signal CLKQ, the third original clock signal CLKIB, and the fourth original clock signal CLKIB), and output four-phase clock output signals (the first clock signal CLKOI, the second clock signal CLKOQ, the third clock signal CLKIOB, and the fourth clock signal CLKIOB).

The delay locking circuit <NUM> includes four DLL Delay lines and the phase adjusting circuit <NUM>. Herein, the four DLL Delay lines are configured to perform transmission processing of the CLKI, CLKQ, CLKIB, and CLKIB respectively, and the phase adjusting circuit <NUM> is configured to detect and correct phase skew between the four-phase clock output signals (CLKOI, CLKOQ, CLKIOB, and CLKIOB) to ensure that the phases of the four-phase clock output signals (CLKOI, CLKOQ, CLKIOB, and CLKIOB) differ by <NUM> degrees in sequence.

Specifically, the phase adjusting circuit <NUM> includes the detection module <NUM>, the comparison module <NUM>, the counting module <NUM> and the adjustment module <NUM>.

That is to say, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the preset fixed value is set to be P<<NUM>:<NUM>>=<NUM> as a reference. Assuming that the phase difference between the first clock signal CLKOI and the second clock signal CLKOQ is less than <NUM> degrees, and the phase difference between the second clock signal CLKOQ and the third clock signal CLKOIB is greater than <NUM> degrees, in this case, the duty cycle of the first detection signal Detection_clkoi_q is higher than the duty cycle of the second detection signal Detection_clkoi_ib, the counting indication signal is in the high level state, and the count value is increased, thereby increasing the phase difference between the first clock signal CLKOI and the second clock signal CLKOQ while reducing the phase difference between the second clock signal CLKOQ and the third clock signal CLKOIB. Conversely, assuming that the phase difference between the first clock signal CLKOI and the second clock signal CLKOQ is greater than <NUM> degrees, and the phase difference between the second clock signal CLKOQ and the third clock signal CLKOIB is less than <NUM> degrees, in this case, the duty cycle of the first detection signal Detection_clkoi_q is lower than the duty cycle of the second detection signal Detection_clkoi_ib, the counting indication signal is in the low level state, and the count value is reduced, thereby reducing the phase difference between the first clock signal CLKOI and the second clock signal CLKOQ while increasing the phase difference between the second clock signal CLKOQ and the third clock signal CLKOIB. In this way, since the phase adjusting circuit <NUM> is added to the delay locking circuit which is also called the DLL, the phase differences between the four-phase clock signals may be adjusted, and it is ensured that the four-phase clock signals may differ in phase by <NUM> degrees in sequence within the error range, so as to avoid errors during subsequent sampling processing based on the four-phase clock signals, thereby ultimately improving the performance of the semiconductor.

The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a delay locking circuit, in which the phase adjusting circuit <NUM> is configured to detect the phase difference between different clock signals and corrects the clock signals, so as to improve the phase skew between the clock signals, and ensue that the first clock signal, the second clock signal, the third clock signal and the fourth clock signal differ in phase by <NUM> degrees in sequence within the error range, thereby improving the performance of the semiconductor.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, referring to <FIG>, which shows a structural diagram of compositions of a memory <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in <FIG>, the memory <NUM> includes at least the delay locking circuit <NUM> as described above.

Since the delay locking circuit <NUM> is able to detect the phase difference between different clock signals and correct the clock signals through the phase adjusting circuit therein, so as to improve the phase skew between the clock signals, and ensure that the first clock signal, the second clock signal, the third clock signal, and the fourth clock signal differ in phase by <NUM> degrees in sequence within the error range, thereby improving the performance of the semiconductor.

The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure. It is to be noted that in this disclosure, the terms "including/comprising", "containing" or any other variation thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to the process, method, article or device. Without more restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "including a. " does not exclude the existence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or device including the element. The sequence numbers of the embodiments of the present disclosure are only for description, and do not represent the advantages or disadvantages of the embodiments. The above are only the specific implementation modes of the present disclosure and not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Any variations or replacements apparent to those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the disclosure shall fall within the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure shall be subject to the scope of protection of the claims.

Claim 1:
A phase adjusting circuit (<NUM>), comprising a detection module (<NUM>), a comparison module (<NUM>), a counting module (<NUM>), and an adjustment module (<NUM>) that are connected in sequence; wherein,
the detection module (<NUM>) is configured to detect a phase difference between a rising edge of a first clock signal (CLKOI) and a rising edge of a second clock signal (CLKOQ) to obtain a first detection signal (Detection_clkoi_q) and a phase difference between a rising edge of the second clock signal (CLKOQ) and a falling edge of the first clock signal (CLKOI) to obtain a second detection signal (Detection_clkoi_ib);
the comparison module (<NUM>) is configured to perform duty cycle comparison of the first detection signal and the second detection signal to obtain a counting indication signal;
the counting module (<NUM>) is configured to count a number of pulses of a preset counting clock signal based on the counting indication signal to obtain a count value; and
the adjustment module (<NUM>) is configured to perform phase adjustment of the second clock signal based on the count value, so that the phase difference between the first clock signal and the second clock signal is a preset value;
wherein the phase adjusting circuit is configured to be applied to a memory, and the comparison module (<NUM>) comprises a duty cycle unit (<NUM>), a preprocessing unit (<NUM>), and a sampling unit (<NUM>); wherein,
the duty cycle unit (<NUM>) is configured to receive the first detection signal and the second detection signal, and perform duty cycle comparison of the first detection signal and the second detection signal to obtain a comparison result signal; wherein the comparison result signal is in a first level state in response to a duty cycle of the first detection signal being higher than a duty cycle of the second detection signal, or the comparison result signal is in a second level state in response to a duty cycle of the first detection signal being lower than a duty cycle of the second detection signal;
the preprocessing unit (<NUM>) is configured to receive a main clock signal of the memory, and perform frequency division of the main clock signal to obtain a sampling clock signal; and
the sampling unit (<NUM>) is configured to receive the sampling clock signal and the comparison result signal, and perform sampling of the comparison result signal based on the sampling clock signal to obtain the counting indication signal.