Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 61/375,670 , filed on 20 Aug. 2010, entitled “A Resonant Clock Amplifier With a Digitally Tunable Delay,” which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    This application relates to resonant clock amplifiers having a digitally tunable delay, and to receivers having clocks that are distributed using resonant clock amplifiers having digitally tunable delays. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Receivers that receive data transmitted over high-speed serial links typically latch the incoming data using a slicer circuit that is driven by a clock running at either the full rate or half the rate of the incoming data stream. The latched data is then de-multiplexed in a de-multiplexer circuit that is driven by a clock running at a sub-multiple of the latching frequency. Typically, the same clock generating circuitry is used to generate both the latching and de-multiplexing clock signals, and these signals must be amplified to drive the substantial capacitive loads within the receiver. Typically, shunt-peaked amplifiers are used for this purpose. 
         [0004]      FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of a conventional clock distribution scheme using shunt-peaked amplifiers to distribute the clock signals needed by a receiver using a high speed de-multiplexer. As shown in  FIG. 1 , a frequency programmable receiver  100  receives a data stream  101 . The data stream  101  is clocked into a slicer  130 , consisting of flip-flops  131  and  132 , using a clock signal  102   b.  In the full-rate clocked slicer  130  shown in  FIG. 1 , the period T of clock signal  102   b  matches the duration of bits in data stream  101 . Clock signal  102   b  is derived from a clock signal  102  that is generated by a phase-locked loop (PLL)  110 . The clock signal  102  output from PLL  110  is amplified by a shunt-peaked amplifier  120  to produce a clock signal  102   b  having sufficient amplitude to drive the capacitive load  105  of slicer  130 . Slicer  130  produces an output data stream  101   b  that is subsequently de-multiplexed by a 1-2 de-multiplexer  170  at half the rate of data stream  101 . De-multiplexer  170  consists of a first pair of latches  140 / 142  and a second group of latches  150 / 152 / 154  that latch every other bit in data stream  101   b.  That is, latches  140 / 142  latch the even bits in data stream  101   b,  while latches  150 / 152 / 154  latch the odd bits in data stream  101   b.  The latches  140 / 142  and  150 / 152 / 154  are driven by a clock signal  104   b  having a period 2T that is twice the period of clock signal  102   b.  Clock signal  104   b  is also derived from the clock signal  102  output by PLL  110  by a pair of latches  112 / 114  that divide clock signal  102  into a clock signal  104  that has twice the period of clock signal  102 . Clock signal  104  is then amplified by a shunt-peaked amplifier  122  to produce clock signal  104   b  having sufficient amplitude to drive the capacitive load  106  presented by 1:2 de-multiplexer  170 . 
         [0005]    A significant draw-back to the clock distribution scheme shown in  FIG. 1  is that shunt peaked amplifiers  120  and  122  consume significant power, especially when compared to other types of amplifiers such as resonant amplifiers. Despite this draw back, frequency programmable receivers such as receiver  100  are designed with shunt peaked amplifiers  120  and  122  rather than energy efficient resonant clock amplifiers because resonant clock amplifiers introduce frequency dependent time delays. These delays result in data synchronization issues whenever the frequency of the receiver  100  is changed. 
         [0006]    As shown in  FIG. 1 , the frequency of receiver  100  can be programmed via one or more digital inputs  108  that allow the clock  102  generated by PLL  110  to have one of several programmable frequencies. When a new frequency for clock  102  is selected, a calibration block  160  (which can be internal or external to PLL  110 ), tunes a clock generation element within PLL  110  to generate clock  102  at the new frequency. For example, PLL  110  can include a tunable voltage controlled oscillator or VCO (not shown), such as an LC-tank VCO. Calibration block  160  can include a look-up table  180 , indexed by the digital inputs  108 , that stores one or more control words that can be output on control lines  161  through  165  to select the frequency of clock signal  102 . For example, the control words can be used to change the capacitance of the LC-tank based VCO within PLL  110 , thereby changing the oscillation frequency of the VCO and the clock signal  102  that is produced by PLL  110 . 
         [0007]    Frequency programmable receiver  100  also includes a clock and data recovery (CDR) circuit  190 . Like the calibration block  160 , CDR circuit  190  can be internal or external to PLL  110 . In operation, CDR circuit  190  adjusts the phase of clock signal  102  so that amplified clock signal  102   b  is centered on the bit windows of data stream  101  at slicer  130 . This ensures the correct latching of data bits in data stream  101  at slicer  130 . By design, when receiver  100  is programmed to operate at its highest programmable frequency and CDR circuit  190  has centered amplified clock signal  102   b  on the bit windows of data stream  101  at slicer  130 , amplified clock signal  104   b  is also centered on the bit windows of latched data stream  101   b  at de-multiplexer  170 . When receiver  100  is programmed to operate at a lower frequency, CDR circuit  190  will generally re-adjust the phase of clock signal  102  to ensure that amplified clock signal  102   b  remains centered on the bit windows of data stream  101  at slicer  130 . However, this re-adjustment can cause the misalignment of amplified clock signal  104   b  with respect to the bit windows of data stream  101   b  at de-multiplexer  170 . To prevent this, the clock amplifiers  120  and  122 , slicer  130 , and latches  112 / 114  in receiver  100  are designed so that they introduce approximately equal delays into the clock signals  102   b  and  104   b  over the programmable frequency range of receiver  100 . Since clock amplifier  120  amplifies a clock signal  102  that is twice the frequency of the clock signal  104  that is amplified by clock amplifier  122 , this generally requires that the delays introduced by clock amplifiers  120  and  122  be essentially frequency independent over the programmable frequency range of receiver  100 . While shunt-peaked amplifiers introduce such frequency independent delays, resonant clock amplifiers do not. Consequently, receiver  100  is designed to use shunt peaked amplifiers, despite the power savings that can be achieved using resonant clock amplifiers. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    A resonant clock amplifier with a digitally tunable delay, a receiver having a distributed clock signal that is amplified by a resonant clock amplifier with a digitally tunable delay, and a transmitter having a distributed clock signal that is amplified by a resonant clock amplifier with a digital tunable delay, substantially as shown and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures below, and as set forth more fully in the claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of a conventional clock distribution scheme using shunt-peaked amplifiers to distribute the clock signals needed by a receiver containing a high speed 1:2 de-multiplexer. 
           [0010]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  are schematic illustrations of a conventional resonant clock amplifier and its frequency response. 
           [0011]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  are schematic illustrations of the frequency dependent time delay that is introduced to the receiver shown in  FIG. 1  when the shunt-peaked amplifiers are replaced with conventional resonant clock amplifiers. 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a schematic illustration of a clock distribution scheme using resonant clock amplifiers with a digitally programmable delay to distribute the clock signals needed by a receiver containing a high speed 1:2 de-multiplexer. 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a schematic illustration of a resonant clock amplifier with a digitally programmable delay. 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram of a clock distribution scheme using resonant clock amplifiers with a digitally programmable delay to distribute the clock signals needed by a transmitter containing a high speed 2:1 multiplexer. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  are schematic illustrations of a conventional resonant clock amplifier and its frequency response. The resonant clock amplifier  200  shown in  FIG. 2A  can be used, for example, to amplify the clock signal  102  in the receiver  400  shown in  FIG. 4 . Resonant clock amplifier  200  includes a differential pair of input transistors  202  and  203  that are coupled together at their sources. The sources of input transistors  202  and  203  are further commonly coupled to the drain of a tail transistor  201 , which is configured to act as a constant current source for the differential input pair  202  and  203 . The drains of input transistors  202  and  203  are coupled to capacitive loads  105  on each of the output nodes  102   b + and  102   b −. The capacitive loads  105  can be, for example, the capacitive loads presented by the slicer circuit  130  shown in  FIG. 1 . The drains of input transistors  202  and  203  are further coupled to each other through an inductor  204 , which is coupled to a power supply through a resistor  205 . 
         [0016]    The resonant clock amplifier  200  works as follows. Inductor  204  and capacitive loads  105  together constitute an LC-tank oscillator with a natural or resonant frequency of ω 0 =square root (LC), where L is the inductance of inductor  204  and C is the capacitance of capacitive loads  105 . A differential clock signal  102 +/ 102 − drives the gates of the transistors  202  and  203  to periodically inject power from the power supply into the LC-tank oscillator. The injected power compensates for resistive losses within the LC-tank oscillator, thereby allowing the resonant clock amplifier  200  to achieve sustained oscillation at the driving frequency of the input clock signal  102 +/ 102 −. 
         [0017]    To ensure resonant clock amplifier  200  has sufficient bandwidth to amplify any input clock signal  102 +/ 102 − within a programmable frequency range, the inductance L of inductor  204  is chosen so that the natural frequency of resonant clock amplifier  200  lies in the middle of that programmable frequency range, while the resistance of inductor  204  is chosen so that the gain or response of resonant clock amplifier  200  is appreciable over the entire programmable frequency range. This can be done by choosing an inductor  204  having a low Q or quality factor (i.e., a low ratio of reactance to resistance). The quality factor of inductor  204  thus determines the bandwidth or range of frequencies over which resonant clock amplifier  200  can produce an amplified differential clock signal  102   b +/ 102   b − from an input differential clock signal  102 +/ 102 −. To achieve sufficient bandwidth, an inductor  204  having a relatively poor quality factor is chosen. The frequency response or bandwidth of resonant clock amplifier  200  is described below in reference to  FIG. 2B . 
         [0018]    As shown in  FIG. 2B , when inductor  204  has a relatively poor Q or quality factor (i.e., a low reactance to resistance ratio), resonant clock amplifier  200  can have an appreciable response over a broad range of input clock frequencies, for example, from a minimum frequency  220  to a maximum frequency  230 . Thus, resonant clock amplifier  200  can amplify input clock signals that are generated over a broad programmable frequency range, such as the clock signals generated by a frequency programmable receiver. In general, the bandwidth of the resonant clock amplifier  200 , when tuned to a center or resonant frequency f 0 , can be approximately described as 2πf 0 /Q. With a small Q, resonant clock amplifier  200  can amplify input clock signals that are both higher and lower than its resonant frequency. However, when it does so, the generated output clock signal is generally phase-shifted with respect to the input clock signal. In particular, the output clock signal that is signal generated from an input clock signal that is slightly higher in frequency than the resonant frequency will have a small positive phase shift with respect to the input clock signal, while the output clock signal generated from an input clock signal that is slightly lower in frequency than the resonant frequency will have a small negative phase shift with respect to the input clock signal. 
         [0019]    In general, when resonant clock amplifier  200  amplifies an input clock signal of a given frequency (and therefore of a given period T), the phase shift dT between the input clock signal and the output clock signal is proportional to the period. Thus, if a first resonant clock amplifier  200  amplified a first clock signal having a first period T (e.g., clock signal  102  shown in  FIG. 1 ), it would introduce a first phase delay into the amplified clock signal (e.g., clock signal  102   b ) of dT. Similarly, if a second resonant clock amplifier  200  amplified a second clock signal having a second period 2T (e.g., clock signal  104  shown in  FIG. 1 ), it would introduce a second phase delay into the amplified clock signal (e.g., clock signal  104   b ) of 2 dT. Thus, the two resonant clock amplifiers would introduce a net or relative phase difference between the two clock signals of 2 dT−dT=dT, which is proportional to the period (and therefore inversely proportional to the frequency) of the first input clock signal (e.g. clock signal  102 ). Thus, if two resonant clock amplifiers  200  were used in a programmable receiver such as the programmable receiver  400  shown in  FIG. 4 , at least one of the clock amplifiers would need to be modified to correct for the frequency dependent phase difference dT that would be introduced between the two amplified clock signals  102   b  and  104   b  at any programmable frequency of the programmable receiver  400 . This is shown, for example, in  FIG. 4 , where two resonant clock amplifiers  200  and  500  are used to amplify different frequency clock signals  102  and  104 , and where resonant clock amplifier  500  receives input signals  164  and  165  to compensate for the frequency dependent time delay that resonant clock amplifiers  200  and  500  introduce between the amplified clock signals  102   b  and  104   b  at any programmable frequency. 
         [0020]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  are schematic illustrations of the frequency dependent time delays that are introduced to the frequency programmable receiver shown in  FIG. 1  when the shunt-peaked amplifiers  120  and  122  are replaced with conventional resonant clock amplifiers  200 . As noted above, when shunt-peaked amplifiers  120  and  122  are replaced by two resonant clock amplifiers  200 , one of which amplifies an input clock signal  102  that is twice the frequency of the input clock signal  104  that is amplified by the other, the resonant clock amplifiers  200  introduce a relative frequency dependent time difference between the amplified output clock signals  102   b  and  104   b.  As a result, though receiver  100  is designed so that amplified clock signals  102   b  and  104   b  are respectively aligned on the bit windows of the data stream  101  at slicer  130  and the data stream  101   b  at de-multiplexer  170  at a given frequency (e.g., the highest operating frequency of receiver  100 ), clock signal  104   b  will become misaligned with those bit windows at any other programmable frequency of receiver  100 . If not corrected, this misalignment will introduce a timing error in receiver  100  at the interface between slicer  130  and de-multiplexer  170 , and therefore a data reading error in receiver  100 . 
         [0021]    As shown in  FIG. 3A , when receiver  100  ( FIG. 1 ) is programmed to receive a data stream  101  at its highest programmable frequency, CDR circuit  190  ( FIG. 1 ) will center the amplified clock signal  102   b  that is produced by a first resonant clock amplifier  200  in the bit windows of data stream  101  at slicer  130  ( FIG. 1 ). The bit windows of the data stream  101   b  that is latched by slicer  130  will then be slightly offset from the bit windows of the input data stream  101  at de-multiplexer  170  ( FIG. 1 ) due to the time delay introduced by slicer  130 . Nonetheless, receiver  100  is designed so that when CDR circuit  190  centers the amplified clock signal  102   b  in the bit windows of data stream  101  at slicer  130 , the amplified clock signal  104   b  produced by a second resonant clock amplifier  200  will also be centered on the bit windows of latched data stream  101   b  at de-multiplexer  170 . 
         [0022]    However, as shown in  FIG. 3B , when receiver  100  is programmed to receive a lower frequency data stream  101  and CDR circuit  190  re-centers amplified clock signal  102   b  on the bit windows of lower frequency data stream  101  at slicer  130 , amplified clock signal  104   b  will no longer be centered on the bit windows of latched data stream  101   b  at de-multiplexer  170 . This is due to the relative frequency dependent time delay that is introduced between amplified clock signals  102   b  and  104   b  by resonant clock amplifiers  200 , which cannot be compensated for by CDR circuit  190 . As a result, amplified clock signal  104   b  becomes misaligned with respect to the bit windows of latched data stream  101   b  at de-multiplexer  170  as shown in  FIG. 3B , and a timing error is introduced into receiver  100  at the interface between slicer  130  and de-multiplexer  170 . To correct for this timing error, a programmable delay element must be introduced into at least one of the resonant clock amplifiers  200 , as further explained below in reference to  FIGS. 4 and 5 . 
         [0023]      FIG. 4  is a schematic illustration of a clock distribution scheme using resonant clock amplifiers with digitally programmable delay to distribute the clock signals needed by a receiver containing a high speed 1:2 de-multiplexer. 
         [0024]    According to an example implementation of receiver  400 , PLL  110  may generate a variable frequency clock signal. A phase adjustment circuit  411  may be provided to adjust the phase of the clock signal output by PLL  110 . Phase adjustment circuit  411  is coupled to an output of PLL  110  and to CDR  190 . CDR  190  may control phase adjustment circuit  411  to (e.g., continuously) position (or control) the phase of the amplified clock signal  102   b  to be approximately centered within the data window of the input data stream  101  that is input to slicer circuit  130 . In an example implementation, phase adjustment circuit  411  may be provided or implemented as a phase interpolator. 
         [0025]    In an alternative implementation, CDR  190  may receive (as inputs) the demultiplexed data output from demultiplexer  170 , rather than receive (as inputs) the data output from slicer circuit  130 . 
         [0026]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , the shunt-peaked amplifiers  120  and  122  ( FIG. 1 ) used in the conventional receiver  100  ( FIG. 1 ) have been replaced in receiver  400  with resonant clock amplifiers  200  and  500 . As explained above, resonant clock amplifiers introduce frequency dependent time delays into the clock signals they amplify. Thus, when receiver  400  is programmed to operate at different frequencies, the edges of the amplified clock signals  102   b  and  104   b  that are respectively produced by the resonant clock amplifiers  200  and  500  shift by different amounts. To compensate for this relative phase shift (or frequency dependent delay), resonant clock amplifier  500  includes circuitry that can add a programmable delay to amplified clock signal  104   b.  In an example implementation, the circuitry within resonant clock amplifier  500 , which may include one or more programmable delay elements, is responsive to a pair of control signals  164  and  165 , which can be used to introduce a programmable delay into amplified clock signal  104   b  to re-align amplified clock signal  104   b  with the bit windows of data stream  101   b  input to de-multiplexer  170  when the frequency of receiver  400  is changed. 
         [0027]    The one or more programmable (or selectable) delay elements provided within resonant clock amplifier  500  may be provided as one or more switchable capacitors, or multiple switchable capacitors, which may be controlled or selected in a discrete manner. Alternatively, the programmable delay elements may be provided as one or more varactors (variable capacitance devices), which may be controlled in a continuous manner. For example, in another example implementations, both of these techniques (switched capacitors and varactors) may be combined, e.g., where coarse programmable delay (or programmable capacitance) is controlled by selecting one or more switchable capacitors and fine programmable delay (or a fine programmable capacitance) is controlled or adjusted using analog control input to one or more varactors. These are merely a few example implementations, and other devices and implementations may be used to provide a programmable delay element(s). 
         [0028]    The programmable delay element(s) may be provided in either resonant clock amplifier or both amplifiers. Thus, in one example implementation, the programmable delay elements are provided within resonant clock amplifier  500 . However, in another example implementation, programmable delay elements may be provided within resonant clock amplifier  200 . 
         [0029]    In addition, adding capacitance (or capacitive delay) to a resonant amplifier (such as to a low-Q or low-quality resonant clock amplifier) can impact the signal amplitude of signals amplified and output by such resonant amplifier. As noted above, capacitance may be provided within one of the resonant clock amplifiers to compensate for a difference in delays caused by two resonant clock amplifiers or two clock paths. In one example embodiment, the programmable delay elements may be added to a resonant clock amplifier that is part of a lower frequency clock path because the impact (e.g., decrease) in clock signal amplitude due to the added capacitance may typically be less for a lower frequency signal. Therefore, according to an example implementation, programmable delay elements (e.g., switchable capacitors and/or varactors) may be added to or provided within resonant clock amplifier  500  that generates a clock signal  104   b  that may be a lower frequency as compared to the clock signal  102   b  in the signal path of resonant clock amplifier  200 . Thus, it may be advantageous (at least in some cases) to provide programmable delay elements in the low (or lower) frequency clock path, e.g., for clock  104   b.    
         [0030]    As shown in  FIG. 4 , resonant clock amplifier  500  can receive control signals  164  and  165  from calibration logic  160 . In one embodiment, control signals  164  and  165  are the two most significant bits from calibration logic  160 . Of course, additional control signals can be used to program resonant clock amplifier  500 , such as control signals  161  through  163 . The additional control signals can be used to extend or to fine tune the delay that can be programmed into resonant clock amplifier  500 . Other embodiments are also possible. For example, the control signals for resonant clock amplifier  500  can come from a different control element such as a separate lookup table (not shown) that contains the control bit(s) needed to program the delay element(s) in resonant clock amplifier  500 . The look-up table can be indexed, for example, by the control signals  108  that are used to program the frequency of receiver  400 , and can store one or more control signals that can be output to program one or more delay elements in resonant clock amplifier  500  in order to shift the edge of amplified clock signal  104   b  when the frequency of receiver  400  is changed. 
         [0031]      FIG. 5  is a schematic illustration of a resonant clock amplifier with a digitally programmable delay. The resonant clock amplifier  500  can be used, for example, in a frequency programmable receiver such as the receiver  400  shown in  FIG. 4 . Resonant clock amplifier  500  includes a core resonant clock amplifier  200  that is identical to and operates in the same manner as the resonant clock amplifier  200  described in  FIGS. 2A and 2B  above. In addition, resonant clock amplifier  500  includes a pair of capacitors  504   a/b  that are switchably coupled to the drains of the differential input pair of transistors  202  and  203  through a respective pair of coupling transistors  564   a/b . Coupling transistors  564   a/b  receive a control signal  164 , which can be one of the control signals produced by the calibration block  160  shown in  FIG. 4 . When control signal  164  is high, coupling transistors  564   a/b  respectively couple capacitors  504   a/b  to the drains of differential input transistors  202  and  203 , thereby increasing the capacitive load that is driven by the core resonant clock amplifier  200 . Similarly, resonant clock amplifier  500  includes a pair of capacitors  505   a/b  that are switchably coupled to the drains of the differential input pair of transistors  202  and  203  through a respective pair of coupling transistors  565   a/b . Coupling transistors  565   a/b  receive a control signal  165 , which can be another one of the control signals produced by the calibration block  160  shown in  FIG. 4 . When control signal  165  is high, coupling transistors  565   a/b  respectively couple capacitors  505   a/b  to the drains of differential input transistors  202  and  203 , thereby also increasing the capacitive load that is driven by the core resonant clock amplifier  200 . 
         [0032]    As shown in  FIG. 5 , capacitor pairs  504   a/b  and  505   a/b  can be independently coupled to the drains of the differential input pair  202  and  203  through the coupling transistors  564   a/b  and  565   a/b , respectively. Hence, resonant clock amplifier  500  can be made to drive a programmable capacitive load consisting of the core capacitive load provided by the capacitive pair  106   a/b , and either no additional capacitive load or an additional capacitive load provided by the capacitive pair  504   a/b , the capacitive pair  505   a/b , or both of the capacitive pairs  504   a/b  and  505   a/b . In general, the additional capacitive load provided by capacitive pairs  504   a/b  and  505   a/b  is much smaller than the capacitive load provided by the core capacitive pair  106   a/b . As a result, when capacitive pairs  504   a/b  and  505   a/b  are programmably added to the core capacitive pair  106   a/b  (together or separately), the added capacitance introduces a small change to the resonant frequency of resonant clock amplifier  500 , and more importantly a small phase or time delay to the amplified clock signal  104   b +/ 104   b − (shown as a single-ended signal  104   b  in  FIG. 4 ) that is output by resonant clock amplifier  500 . Thus, the edges of amplified clock signal  104   b  can be shifted by programmably adding the capacitive loads  504   a/b  or  505   a/b  to resonant clock amplifier  500 . 
         [0033]    Referring back to  FIG. 4 , when the operating frequency of receiver  400  is changed, different frequency dependent time delays are introduced into amplified clock signal  102   b  by resonant clock amplifier  200  and amplified clock signal  104   b  by resonant clock amplifier  500 . These time delays shift the edges of amplified clock signals  102   b  and  104   b  from the centers of the bit windows in data streams  101  at slicer  130  and  101   b  at de-multiplexer  170 , respectively. CDR circuit  190  can re-center the edges of amplified clock signal  102   b  on the bit windows of data stream  101  at slicer  130 , e.g., by introducing a phase shift into the clock signal  102  that is produced by PLL  110 . However, it cannot simultaneously re-center the edges of amplified clock signal  104   b  on the bit windows of data stream  101   b  at de-multiplexer  170 . To do this, an additional delay must be introduced to amplified clock signal  104   b.  Referring back to  FIG. 5 , this can be done by adding one or more of the capacitive pairs  504   a/b  and  505   a/b  to the core capacitive pair  106   a/b  in resonant clock amplifier  500 . In general, the amount of added capacitance is chosen to re-center the edges of amplified clock signal  104   b  on the bit windows of data stream  101   b  at de-multiplexer  170 . 
         [0034]    Referring again to  FIG. 4 , a pair of input control signals  164  and  165  from calibration logic  160  can be used to program the delay that is introduced into amplified clock signal  104   b  by resonant clock amplifier  500 . As discussed above, when receiver  400  is programmed to receive data stream  101  at a new frequency, calibration logic  160  determines the control signals (e.g., from LUT  180 ) that are needed to generate the clock signal  102  from PLL  110  at that frequency. This frequency change introduces different frequency dependent time delays into amplified clock signals  102   b  and  104   b,  thereby shifting the edges of amplified clock signals  102   b  and  104   b  from the bit windows of input data streams  101  at slicer  130  and  101   b  at de-multiplexer  170 , respectively. While clock and data recovery circuit  190  can subsequently adjust the phase of clock signal  102  to re-center the edges of amplified clock signal  102   b  on the bit windows of data stream  101  at slicer  130 , it cannot simultaneously re-center the amplified clock signal  104   b  on the bit windows of data stream  101   b  at de-multiplexer  170 . To do this, one or more of the control signals produced by calibration logic  160  are used to add one or more delay elements to resonant clock amplifier  500  (e.g., capacitive pairs  504   a/b  and  505   a/b ). The added delay elements shift the phase of the amplified clock signal  104   b  that is produced by the resonant clock amplifier  500  to re-center amplified clock signal  104   b  on the bit windows of data stream  101   b  at de-multiplexer  170 . 
         [0035]    While certain features of the programmable delay resonant clock amplifier and the frequency programmable receiver with programmable delay resonant clock amplifiers have been illustrated as described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes and equivalents will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, the programmable delay resonant clock amplifier  500  can include additional delay elements that can be switchably connected to the core resonant clock amplifier  200  via additional control lines. The additional delay elements can be used to increase the programmable delay of resonant clock amplifier  500  or to more finely tune the programmable delay of resonant clock amplifier  500 . The delay elements can be one or more switchable capacitors such as capacitors  504  and  505  controlled discretely using digital control signals, or other types of continuous delay elements constructed using variable capacitance elements such as varactors controlled by an analog control signal or by a combination of discrete and continuous capacitance control. The control signals that are used to determine the programmable delay of resonant clock amplifier  500  can be derived from a control element other than calibration logic  160 . For example, resonant clock amplifier  500  can have its own delay calibration logic, which can be, for example, an independent lookup table that is indexed by the control signals  108  that program the frequency of receiver  400 . The indexed elements of the independent lookup table can store the control signals that are needed to programmable the delay in resonant clock amplifier  500 . 
         [0036]    The receiver  400  shown in  FIG. 4  is designed so that clocks  102   b  and  104   b  are respectively centered in the bit windows of data  101  at slicer  130  and data  101   b  at de-multiplexer  170  when the receiver  400  is operating at its highest operating frequency. Circuitry is then added to the resonant clock amplifier  500  (which amplifies the lower frequency clock signal  104 ) to add additional delay to the amplified clock signal  104   b  when the frequency of programmable receiver  400  is lowered. In an alternative embodiment, receiver  400  can be designed so that clocks  102   b  and  104   b  are respectively centered in the bit windows of data  101  at slicer  130  and data  101   b  at de-multiplexer  170  when the receiver  400  is operating at its lowest operating frequency. In this embodiment, circuitry can be added to the resonant clock amplifier  200  (which amplifies the higher frequency clock signal  102 ) to add additional delay to the amplified clock signal  102   b  when the frequency of programmable receiver  400  is raised. 
         [0037]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram of a clock distribution scheme using resonant clock amplifiers with a digitally programmable delay to distribute the clock signals needed by a transmitter containing a high speed 2:1 multiplexer. The techniques described above for providing a programmable delay in a receiver that uses resonant clock amplifiers may also be used for transmitters. As shown in  FIG. 6 , a transmitter  600  includes a 2:1 multiplexer (MUX) circuit  610  that combines (or multiplexes) multiple data signal inputs, including a first data signal input provided via line  611  and a second data signal input provided via line  612 . For example, two lower data rate data input signals may be multiplexed or combined by MUX circuit  610  to output a higher data rate multiplexed data signal. 
         [0038]    A first amplified clock signal is generated by resonant clock amplifier  500  and output onto line  615 , and input as a select line into MUX  610 . Resonant clock amplifier  500  has a programmable delay element, as described above. MUX circuit  610  multiplexes or combines the two (or multiple) data inputs at times or at a rate determined by the first amplified clock signal output from resonant clock amplifier. The multiplexed data signal is output from MUX circuit  610  via line  614  to flip-flop (or other memory element or another multiplexer)  620 . The resonant clock amplifier  500  amplifies a first clock signal at a first programmable frequency. 
         [0039]    Flip-flop (or other memory element or another multiplexer)  620  may latch the multiplexed data signal output from MUX circuit  610  at times or at a rate determined by a second amplified clock signal received via line  617  that was produced by resonant clock amplifier  200 . As noted above, the resonant clock amplifier  200  amplifies a second clock signal at a second programmable frequency that is a multiple of the first programmable frequency (e.g., the second frequency may be 2×, 3×, 4×, . . . Nx . . . etc., the first programmable frequency). As noted above, resonant clock amplifier  500  may include one or more programmable delay elements to delay the amplified clock signals to compensate for a frequency dependent time delay introduced between the first and second amplified clock signals by the first and second resonant clock amplifiers ( 200 ,  500 ), according to an example implementation. 
         [0040]    While the various circuits described herein have been shown and described as differential circuits, it will apparent to one of skill in the art that the circuits described can also be implemented as single ended circuits. 
         [0041]    It is to be understood that these, and other such changes and modifications that would be familiar to a person of ordinary skill in the art, fall within the scope of the appended claims, which are intended to cover all such modifications and embodiments.

Technology Category: 5