Practical Phase-Locked Loop PhaseDesign

2004 ISSCC Tutorial Dennis Fischette Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.delroy.com/pll

Copyright, Dennis Fischette, 2004

Outline
Introduction Basic Feedback Loop Theory Circuits Spectacular Failures Appendices: design for test writing a PLL Spec references Sorry: no DLLs in this tutorial

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Intended Audience
If you Are a novice PLL designer Specify PLL requirements Integrate PLLs on-chip Test/debug PLLs Review PLL designs

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Introduction

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What is a PLL?
A PLL is a negative feedback system where an oscillator-generated signal is phase and frequency locked to a reference signal. Analogous to a cars cruise control

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How are PLLs Used?

Frequency Synthesis (e.g. generating a 1 GHz clock from a 100 MHz reference) Skew Cancellation (e.g. phase-aligning an internal clock to the IO clock) (May use a DLL instead) Extracting a clock from a random data stream (e.g. serial-link receiver) Frequency Synthesis is the focus of this tutorial.

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ChargeCharge-Pump PLL Block Diagram

Ref PFD
GoSlow GoFast

Vctl

Clk VCO
C2

C P

LS

C1

FbClk

DIV

Clk

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ChargeCharge-Pump PLL Building Blocks

Phase-Frequency Detector (PFD) Charge-Pump (CP) Low-Pass Filter (LPF) Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (VCO) VCO Level-Shifter (LS) Feedback Divider (FBDIV) Power Supply regulator/filter (VREG)?

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Components in a Nutshell
PFD: outputs digital pulse whose width is proportional to phase error CP: converts digital error pulse to analog error current LPF: integrates (and low-pass filters) error current to generate VCO control voltage VCO: low-swing oscillator with frequency proportional to control voltage LS: amplifies VCO levels to full-swing DIV: divides VCO clock to generate FBCLK clock

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PLL Feedback Loop Theory

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Is My PLL Stable?
PLL is 2nd-order system similar to mass-springdashpot or RLC circuit. PLL may be stable or unstable depending on phase margin (or damping factor). Phase margin is determined from linear model of PLL in frequency-domain. Find phase margin/damping using MATLAB, loop equations, or simulations. Stability affects phase error, settling, jitter.

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What Does PLL Bandwidth Mean?

PLL acts as a low-pass filter with respect to the reference. Low-frequency reference modulation (e.g.spreadspectrum clocking) is passed to the VCO clock. High-frequency reference jitter is rejected. Bandwidth is the frequency at which the PLL begins to lose lock with the reference (-3dB). PLL acts as a high-pass filter wrt VCO noise. Bandwidth affects phase error, settling, jitter.

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ClosedClosed-loop PLL Transfer Function

Analyze PLL feedback in frequency-domain Assumes continuous-time behavior H(s) = [fb/ [ref = G(s)/(1+G(s)) closed-loop gain G(s) = (Kvco/s)IcpF(s)/M open-loop gain where Kvco = VCO gain in Hz/V Icp = charge pump current in Amps F(s) = loop filter transfer function M = feedback divisor C1 = large loop-filter capacitor
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ClosedClosed-loop PLL Transfer Function

General Form (ignoring C2): H(s) = Zn2 (1+ s/Zz) / (s2+2s^Zn + Zn2) where Zn = natural freq = sqrt(KvcoIcp/MC1) Zz = stabilizing zero = 1 /RC1 ^ = damping = (RC1/2)*sqrt(KvcoIcp/MC1) If ^< 1, complex poles at -^Zn jZn*sqrt(1- ^2) Real exponential delay Imag oscillation
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What Determines Stability and Bandwidth?

Damping Factor (measure of stability) Natural Frequency (measure of bandwidth) Damping and natural frequency can be set independently by LPF resistor

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PLL Loop Equations

Undamped Natural Frequency: Zn = sqrt(Kvco*Icp/( M*C1)) in rad/sec where Kvco = VCO gain in Hz/V Icp = charge pump current in Amps M = feedback divisor C1 = large LPF capacitor For stability: Zn/2T < ~1/20 reference frequency Typical value: 1 MHz < Zn/2T < 10MHz.

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PLL Loop Equations

Damping Factor: usually 0.45 < ^ < ~1.5 ^ = Rlpf * C1 * Zn /2 Useful Relation: Phase margin ~ 100 * ^ (for ^ < 0.65) Loop Decay Time Constant = 1/(^ * Zn) - used to estimate settling time - 98% settling in 4 time constants Decay ~ 1- exp(-t*^ * Zn)

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PLL Loop Eqns: Limits on Rlpf

PFD must sample faster than loop can respond to act like continuous-time system Discrete Time Stability Limit (Gardner,1980): Zn2 < Zref2 / (T*(RlpfC1* Zref + T)) E.g. Zref = 2T*125MHz, C1=75pF,Zn=2T*2MHz Rmax < 21 kOhm Rlpf < 1/5 Rmax for good phase margin For details: see Gardner (1980), Fig. 4

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PLL Loop Eqns: Limits on Rlpf

Parasitic LPF Pole: Rlpf*C2 ~ Tref/ T if we want V(C1) ~ V(C2) by end of Tref (goal) (Maneatis ISSCC 03) Vctl I = (Vc2 Vc1)/R I C1 C2

X = RC2

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Bode Plot Primer

Used to analyze frequency domain behavior Y-axis: gain in dB. E.g. 20dB=10X gain. 3dB=1.4X X-axis: frequency. Log scale Assuming left-hand-plane location: Pole: -20db/dec magnitude loss and -90 phase shift. Capacitor pole. Zero: +20db/dec magnitude and +90 phase shift. Resistor zero.

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PLL Response vs. Damping

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Phase Tracking vs. Damping

Peaking at low and high damping factors bad Damping ~ 1 good compromise Phase Tracking think accumulated jitter or phase error VCO frequency peaking (aka period jitter) similar to phase peaking

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Transient: Phase Error vs.Damping

Less ringing and overshoot as ^ 1 Severe overdamping ringing and overshoot Ringing at high damping due to low oversampling (large R) Gardner limit.

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VCO Jitter (df/f) vs. Damping

Low damping less period jitter, slower response, more phase error High damping low oversampling (large R) causes oscillation

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PLL Response vs. Bandwidth

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VCO Freq. Overshoot vs. Bandwidth

Lower BW lower overshoot Higher OverSamplingRatio (Zref/Zn) bandwidth(BW) Note: ^ ~ BW in these simulations lower

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Phase Error (due to VCO Noise) vs. BW

For random VCO noise (I.e. thermal): lower BW higher accumulated phase error Why? More jittery VCO cycles before PLL starts to correct: Terr ~ Jrms * sqrt(2Tfvco/Zn) where Jrms = std dev of VCO period jitter - valid for damping ~ 1 - assume: Jrms ~ 1/fvco higher f, lower Jrms
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PLL Circuits
Phase-Frequency Detector Charge-Pump Low-Pass Filter Voltage-Controlled Oscillator Level-Shifter Voltage Regulator

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PhasePhase-Frequency Detector(PFD)

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PFD Block Diagram

Edge-triggered - Input duty-cycle doesnt matter Pulse-widths proportional to phase error
Vdd D
DFF

G o F a s te r

Ref

CK R DLY

Vdd

R D D
DFF

Q G o S lo w e r

FB

CK

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PFD Logic States

3 and 1/2 Output states States: GoFaster 0 0 1 1 GoSlower Effect: 0 1 0 1 No Change Slow Down Speed Up Avoid Dead-Zone

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Example: PFD
Ref FbClk GoFaster GoSlower Vctl

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Avoiding the Dead-Zone Dead Dead-zone occurs when the loop doesnt respond to small phase errors - e.g. 10 pS phase error at PFD inputs: PFD cannot generate 10 pS wide GoFaster and GoSlower pulses Charge-pump switches cannot turn on and off in 10 pS Solution: delay reset to guarantee min. pulse width (typically > 150 pS)

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Charge Pump(CP)

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Charge Pump
Converts PFD phase error (digital) to charge (analog) Charge is proportional to PFD pulse widths Qcp = Iup*tfaster Idn*tslower Qcp is filtered/integrated in low-pass filter

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GoFaster VDD D CK R Reset VDD D CK R DFF FB Q GoSlower Icp Sdn Q Icp Sup Charge Pump

REF

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ChargeCharge-Pump Wish List

Equal UP/DOWN currents over entire control voltage range - reduce phase error. Minimal coupling to control voltage during switching - reduce jitter. Insensitive to power-supply noise and process variations loop stability. Easy-to-design, PVT-insensitive reference current. Programmable currents to maintain loop dynamics (vs. M, fref)? Typical: 1QA (mismatch)< Icp < 50 QA ((Vctl)

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Static Phase Error and CP Up/Down Mismatches

Static Phase Error: in lock, net UP and DOWN currents must integrate to zero If UP current is 2X larger, then DOWN current source must be on 2X as long to compensate Feedback clock must lead reference for DOWN to be on longer Terr = Tdn - Tup = Treset * (Iup/Idn 1)

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Static Phase Error and CP Up/Down Mismatches

Phase error can be extremely large at low VCO frequencies (esp. if self-biased) due to mismatch in current mirrors (low Vgs-Vt) Increase Vgs or decrease (Vt (large W*L) Typical static phase error < 100 pS

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VCO Jitter and CP Up/Down Mismatches

PFD-CP correct at rate of reference (e.g. 10nS). Most phase error correction occurs near reference rising edge and lasts < 200 pS, causing a control voltage ripple. This ripple affects the VCO cycles near the reference more than VCO cycles later in the ref cycle, causing VCO jitter. Typ. Jitter << 1% due to Up/Down Mismatches Avoid ripple by spreading correction over entire ref cycle. (Maneatis JSSC 03)
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Simple Charge Pump

R(switches) varies with Vctl due to body-effect Use CMOS pass-gate switches for less Vctl sensitivity Long-channel current sources for matching and higher Rout
m3 m4

Ibi s

Up_n Down
m2

m5

Vctl
m6

m1

m7

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Charge Pump: const I with amp

Amp keeps Vds of current sources constant (Young 92) Amp sinks waste current when UP, DOWN off
Vbp
A c a p to V irtV c tl fo r v o lt. s ta b ility

Up V c tl D own

U p_n

Up V irtV c tl D own

+ D own_n

Vbn

A m p Ib ia s s h o u l

tra c k Ic p

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Charge Pump switches reversed

Switches closer to power rails reduce noise and Vctl dependence Icp not constant with up/down
m6 m7

Up_n I ias
m5 m8

Vctl
m1 m4 m9

m2

m3

Down

m10

m1,m4,m5,m8,m9: long L

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Charge Pump: switches reversed with fast turn-off (Ingino 01) turnm6 m7

Up_n Ibias
m5

m11

Up

m8

Vctl
m1 m4 m9

m2

m3

Down

m10 m12

Down_n

m1,m4,m5,m8,m9: long m11, m12: fast r turn-off

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Simple Charge-Pump Bias Charge Ib ~ (Vdd Vt)/R Ib dependent on PVT Prefer low-Vt, moderate-to-long L for process insensitivity, large W/L for low gate-overdrive Pro: Simple, stable. Con: Vdd dependence
m1 m2

Ibias

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VDDVDD-independent Ibias
Ib ~ 1/R2 Con: requires start-up circuit not shown
m3 m4 m5

m1

M=4

m2

Ibias

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BandgapBandgap-based Ibias
Ib ~ Vref/R Con: feedback loop may oscillate - cap added to improve stability Pro: VDD-independent, mostly Temp independent
Vref

m1 m2

Vf

I ias

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LowLow-Pass Filter (LPF)

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LowLow-Pass Filter
Integrates charge-pump current onto C1 cap to set average VCO frequency (integral path). Resistor provides instantaneous phase correction w/o affecting avg. freq. (proportional path). C2 cap smoothes large IR ripple on Vctl Typical value: 0.5k < Rlpf < 20kOhm Vctl Res C1 C2
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FeedFeed-Forward Zero: eliminate R

Resistor provides an instantaneous IR on the control voltage causing the VCO V2I to generate a current bump on the oscillator input Eliminate R Add parallel CP path into V2I See Maneatis JSSC 96 or 03 for example
CP1
Vintegral

V2I
CP2
Vproportional Res
Virtual Vctl Copyright, Dennis Fischette, 2004

IVCO

RO

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LowLow-Pass Filter Smoothing Cap(C2)

Smoothing capacitor on control voltage filters CP ripple, but may make loop unstable Creates parasitic pole: Zp = 1/(R C2) C2 < 1/10*C1 for stability C2 > 1/50*C1 for low jitter Smoothing cap reduces IR-induced VCO jitter to < 0.5% from 5-10% (fvco = KvcoIcpTerr/C2 Larger C2/C1 increases phase error slightly
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LowLow-Pass Filter Capacitors

At <= 130nm, thin-gate oxide leakage is huge: Ileak ~ Vgate 4.5 NMOS leakier than PMOS Weak temperature dependence Ileak vs. tox ~2-3X per Angstrom Use metal caps or thick-gate oxide caps to reduce leakage Metal caps use 10X more area than thin gate caps Use minimum width/spacing parallel lines Hard to LVS - Check extracted layout for correct connectivity
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LowLow-Pass Filter Capacitors

Even thick gate oxide may still leak too much Large filter cap (C1) typically ranges from 50pF to 400 pF C1 cap BW may be low as ~10X PLL BW for nearly ideal behavior Min C2 BW set by Tref Cap BW ~ 1/RC ~ 1/L2 Gate cap not constant with Vgs

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VoltageVoltage-Controlled Oscillator (VCO)

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VoltageVoltage-Controlled Oscillator
VCO usually consists of two parts: control voltageto-control current (V2I) circuit and currentcontrolled ring oscillator (ICO) VCO may be single-ended or differential Differential design allows for even number of oscillator stages if differential-pair amps used for delay cells V2V may be used instead to generate bias voltages for diff-pair amps

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PLL Suppression of VCO Noise

PLL acts like a high-pass filter in allowing VCO noise to reach PLL output Need noise-immune VCO to minimize jitter Feedback loop cannot react quickly. Power-supply noise is largest source of VCO noise

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VCO Design Concerns

Min low-frequency power-supply sensitivity < 0.05% per %dVDD reduce phase error Min high-frequency power-supply sensitivity < 0.1% per %dVDD reduce period jitter Note: this is 10X better than normal INV Low substrate-noise sensitivity reduce (Vt unnecessary in SOI Thermal noise (kT) typically < 1% VCO period at high frequency

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VCO Design Concerns

Large frequency range to cover PVT variation: 3-5X typical Single-ended or differential? use differential for 50% duty-cycle Vco gain (fvco = Kvco* Vctl) affects loop stability Typical VCO gain: Kvco ~ 1-3X * fmax More delay stages easier to initiate oscillation Gain(DC) > 2 for 3 stages Gain(DC) > sqrt(2) for 4 stages

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VCO w/pseudo-differential w/pseudocurrentcurrent-starved inverters

Need odd # of stages Feedback INV usually weaker by ~4X Vdd for inverters is regulated output of V2I

weak

weak

weak

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VCO V-to-I Circuits V-to Converts Vctl to Ictl May generate additional Vbias for oscillator May use internal feedback to set VCO swing Provides power-supply rejection fets in deep saturation or amp-based internal feedback Filters high-frequency Vctl ripple w/another cap Adds parasitic pole BW(V2I) >> BW(PLL) Digital Range settings allow for control of VCO gain and Vctl range must overlap ranges

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Simple V2I
Minimal filtering of Vctl ripple Keep long-channel current source in saturation Cap adds parasitic pole Zp = 1/(Rvco*C) Typical Cap Size: 0.5 pF < C < 5 pF Reference Vctl to same potential as LPF caps
Vctl

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V2I w/Feedback

(V. von Kaenel (JSCC 96)

Feedback amp provides good low-freq powersupply rejection Cap to Vdd provides good high-freq rejection Start-up needed Stability concern?
_ +
Vfb Ivco Vctl
m2

m1

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Differential VCOs

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VCO: simple differential delay

DC gain ~ gm1*R Hard to get enough gain w/o large resistor Tail current controls delay V2I needed?

zn ip
m1 m2

zp in

Vbn

m3

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VCO: differential delay w/symmetric load (Maneatis 96)

Loads acts like resistor over entire voltage swing Widely used but requires two bias voltages
Vbp

m3

m6

m7

m4

zn ip
m1 m2

zp in

Vbn

m5

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V2I: replica bias - symmetric load

Vswing = Vctl (Maneatis 96) Amp provides DC power-supply rejection Stable, but getting high BW and good PSRR tricky
Vctl

m3

m6

m7

m4

Vf
m1 m2

+ Vctl

V n

m5

Dummy delay cell

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VCO Level-Shifter Level Amplify limited-swing VCO signals to full-rail typically from 0.4-0.7V to VDD Maintain 50% duty-cycle usually +/- 3% difficult to do over PVT and frequency Insensitive to power-supply noise < 0.5 % per % dVDD Which power-supply? Analog or digital? usually digital

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VCO: Level-Shifter Level Need sufficient gain at low VCO frequency Use NMOS input pair if VCO swing referenced to VSS for better power-supply rejection Net zn should swing almost full-rail to switch output inverter
m3 m4

zn in
m1 m2

ip

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Feedback Divider

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Feedback Divider (FBDIV)

Divide VCO by N fref = fvco/N Divider may be internal to PLL or after CPU clock tree Max FBDIV frequency should be greater than max VCO frequency to avoid run-away Minimize FBDIV latency to reduce VDD-induced jitter seen at phase detector Loop Phase Margin Degradation ~ ZnTdly usually insignificant

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Feedback Divider
Two common types of dividers: Asynchronous cascade of div-by-2s Synchronous counter typically used

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Asynchronous Divide-by-2 Divide-by Pro: fast, simple Pro: small area Con: long latency for large divisors Con: divide by powers of 2 only Can be used as front-end to synchronous counter divider to reduce speed requirements

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Feedback Divider: cascade of divdivbyby-2s

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CounterCounter-Based Divider
Pro: divide by any integer N Pro: constant latency vs. N Pro: low latency Pro: small area Binary-encoded. Con: slow if using ripple counter dont Con: output may glitch delay (re-sample) output by one cycle to clean up glitch

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VDDA Voltage Regulator

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Voltage Regulator/Filter
Used to filter power-supply noise typically > 20 dB (10x) PSRR over entire frequency range desire 30+ dB Secondary purpose is to set precise voltage level for PLL power supply usually set by bandgap reference

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Voltage Regulator
Bandgap reference generates a voltage reference (~1.2V) that is independent of PVT relies on parasitic diodes (vertical PNP) Regulator output stage may be source-follower (NFET) or common-source amp (PFET) source-follower requires more headroom (and area?) but is more stable common-source amp may be unstable without Miller capacitor or other compensation Beware of large, fast current spikes in PLL load (i.e. when changing PLL frequency range)
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Bandgap Reference w/Miller Cap

Stability and PSRR may be poor w/o Miller cap Miller cap splits poles. Can also add R in series w/Cc for more stability (Razavi 00)
+
Cc 10k m1

V g
5k

1k m=8 m=1

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Voltage Regulator for VDDA

Vbg

+ c2 r1

m1

Vreg
c1

r2

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Advanced Concepts: SelfSelf-Biased PLL

Conventional PLL: loop dynamics depends on Icp, Rlpf, Clpf, Kvco and FBDiv. These do not necessarily track. Why not generate all bias currents from the I(vco) and use a feed-forward zero to eliminate the resistor. Everything tracks. (Maneatis JSCC 03) Con: start-up, stability Pro: reduces PVT sensitivity

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Example Circuit Parameters

VDD=1.2V, f(max)-f(min) = 3 GHz Kvco = 5GHz/V usable Vctl range (0.6V) Icp = 20 uA Rlpf=2500 Ohm C1=75 pF Area(metal) ~ 275um x 275um C2=5 pF 0.85 < ^ < 1.2 1.5 MHz < Zn/2T < 2.1 MHz Tacq ~ 5 uS Taqc =~ 2CdV/I

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RealReal-world PLL Failures

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PLL Problem
Problem: 3-stage PMOS diff-pair VCO wouldnt oscillate at low frequencies. When VCO finally started up at high Vctl, it outran FBDIV. Cause: leaky, mis-manufactured loads in delay cell reduced gain of delay element < 2 Solutions: increase L of load devices for higher gain add more VCO stages to reduce gain requirements

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PLL Problem
Problem: VCO stuck at max frequency at poweron. Cause: PLL tried to lock before VDD was stable. Because VCO couldnt run fast enough to lock at low VDD, Vctl saturated. When VDD finally stabilized, Vctl = VDD, causing a maxed-out VCO to outrun FBDIV. Solution: maintain PLL RESET high until VDD is stable to keep Vctl at 0V.

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PLL Problem
Problem: VCO stuck at max frequency after changing power-modes. Cause: Feedback DIV could not run fast enough to handle VCO overshoot when locking to a new frequency or facing a reference phase step. Solutions: limit size of frequency steps increase speed of Feedback DIV

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PLL Problem
Problem: PLL would not lock. Cause: Feedback DIV generated glitches causing PFD to get confused. Solution: add re-sampling flop to output of feedback DIV to remove glitches.

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PLL Problem
Problem: PLL output clock occasionally skipped edges at low VCO frequencies Cause: VCO level-shifter had insufficient gain when VCO swing was close to Vt. Solutions: increase W of diff-pair inputs use low-Vt devices

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PLL Problem
Problem: VCO jitter was huge at some divider settings and fine at others. Cause: Integration team connected programmable current sources backward. Solution: write accurate verilog model that complains when inputs are out-of-range.

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PLL Problem
Problem: PLL jitter was poor at low freq and good at high freq. Cause: Vctl was too close to Vt at low frequency. Solution: Run VCO at 2X and divide it down to generate slow clocks.

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PLL Problem
Problem: RAMDAC PLL had large accumulated phase error which showed up as jitter on CRT screen. Cause: PLL bandwidth was too low, allowing random VCO jitter to accumulate. Solution: increase bandwidth so that loop corrects before VCO jitter accumulates.

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PLL Problem
Problem: PLL had poor peak-peak jitter, but good RMS jitter. Cause: digital VDD pin in package adjacent to PLLs analog VDD coupled digital VDD noise to analog VDD during certain test patterns. Solution: Remove wirebond for adjacent digital VDD pin.

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PLL Problem
Problem: large static offset. Cause: designer did not account for gate leakage in LPF caps. Solutions: switch to thick-gate oxide caps switch to metal caps

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PLL Problem
Problem: VCO period jitter = +/- 20%, modulated at a fixed frequency. Cause: Unstable V2I internal feedback loop caused by incorrect processing of stabilizing caps. Solutions: correct manufacturing of capacitors add more caps

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PLL Problem
Problem: bandgap reference was stable in one process but oscillated in a different process with similar feature sizes. Cause: compensation caps for 2-pole feedback system with self-bias were too small. Solution: make compensation caps 3X larger.

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Uncle Ds PLL Top 5 List

5. Maintain damping factor ~ 1 4. VDD-induced VCO noise loop cant do the work for you 3. Leaky gate caps will cost you your job 2. Make FBDIV run faster than VCO 1. Observe VCO,FBCLK,REF,clkTree on differential I/O pins you cant fix what you cant see!

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Appendices

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Appendices
Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix Appendix A: Design for Test B: Writing a PLL spec C: Additional PLL material D: Paper References E: Monograph References

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Design for Test

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Design for Test Overview

Measuring Jitter Analog Observation Probing

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Measuring Jitter: Power-Supply PowerNoise Sensitivity

Induce noise on-chip with VDD-VSS short need off-chip frequency source or on-chip FSM to control noise generator How to measure induced noise magnitude? Induce noise on board capacitively couple to VDDA hard to get it past filtering and attenuation how much makes it to PLL? VDDA inductance? wire-bond, flip-chip
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Routing: From PLL to Board

Differential IO outputs highly desirable Types of IO use highest-speed available Divide VCO to reduce board attenuation only if necessary make divider programmable Measuring duty-cycle - Divide-by-odd-integer - Mux to select either true or inverted clock Minimize delay on-chip from PLL to IO Ability to disable neighboring IO when measuring jitter Avoid coupling in package and board

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General Test Hardware

High-bandwidth scope: 4-6 GHz real-time $50-60k e.g. Agilent, Tektronix, LeCroy Differential high-speed probes: 3-6 GHz BW $3-6k Active pico-probes and passive (DC) probes for micro-probing PLL Avoid large GND loops on probes

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Jitter Hardware/Software
Jitter Analysis tools: e.g. Wavecrest, Tek(Jit2), Amherst Design Jitter measurement types: Period jitter histogram Long-term jitter Cycle-to-adjacent cycle jitter Half-period jitter Jitter FFT - limited by Nyquist aliasing Scope memory depth

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Miscellaneous Jitter Measurements

Open-loop vs. Closed-loop Jitter disable loop-filter does PLL jitter change? Mux Ref into PLL observation path for jitter calibration Is Ref jitter worse after coming from PLL compared to before it enters the chip? Observe end-of-clock tree for jitter and dutycycle distortion Observe Fbclk for jitter and missing edges

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Measuring PLL Loop Dynamics

Modulate reference frequency, measuring longterm PLL jitter. Sweep modulation frequency to determine bandwidth and damping. e.g. Wavecrest Spectrum analyzer look for noise suppression in frequency range close to signal peak difficult if noisy setup

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Measuring Phase Error

Hard to do! Fbclk available for observation? Need to acct. for Fbclk delay from PLL to IO depends on PVT. Solutions: route Fbclk off-chip to pkg and match input delay with Ref. Fbclk/Ref skew at pins ~ Terr at PFD. measure Terr on-chip send out narrow pulses narrow pulses disappear. measure Terr on-chip with A/D. Complex. mux Fbclk and ref into same path. Compare Copyright, Dennis Fischette, 115 both to external reference.
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Analog Observation
Analog observation IO pins for debug and characterization may force internal analog nets as well if bidirectional pin low-bandwidth requirements low MHz or kHz isolate analog nets with unity-gain buffer or resistor and pass-gates w/solid pull-down drive analog pins to known value when not in use tri-state analog pin for ESD leakage testing ESD protection (CDM and HBM) may cause IO leakage
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Probing On-chip On If not flip-chip, then put probe pads on top-layer metal. Probe pad size >1um x 1um. Prefer > 2um x 2um. Place probe pad on a side-branch of the analog signal to avoid breaking wire with probe. Separate probe pads to allow room for multiple probes. FIB: can add probe pad, add or remove wires. need room and luck FIB: can FIB SOI flip-chip from back of wafer if enough room around lower-level wires.
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Writing a PLL Spec

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Spec Overview
Area, physical integration Technology issues Power-supply voltage Performance metrics Logic interface

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Physical Integration
Area, aspect ratio? What metal layers are available? Digital signal routing allowed over PLL? Where is PLL located on chip? Wire-bond or flip-chip?

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Semiconductor Process
90nm, 130nm, 180nm? Bulk vs. SOI? SOI body-ties? Nwell vs. twin-well? Epi substrate? Accumulation-mode capacitors? Gate-oxide thickness? Capacitance density and leakage. Dual-gate oxide available? Leakage. Poly density requirements? Low-Vt available? Resistor types? Poly? Diffusion?
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PowerPower-Supply
Separate analog VDDA? What voltage? 1.8V? 2.5V? Higher than core voltage? Separate analog VSSA? Wire-bond or flip-chip? Package Type? What type of VDDA filtering on board? Ferrite bead? What cap sizes? Min, max VDDA? DC variation? AC variation? Natural frequency (1/LC) of VDDA?

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Performance
Reference clock frequency? Range? Min/Max VCO Frequency? Duty cycle? Period Jitter? Fixed jitter spec or pct of period? Cycle-to-adjacent cycle jitter spec? Half-cycle jitter spec?

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Performance
Max Frequency overshoot while settling? Static phase error? Dynamic phase error? Loop bandwidth? Time to acquire initial lock? Time to re-acquire lock after frequency change? Power Dissipation?

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Logic Interface
Reset available? PowerOK available? VCO/CP/R range settings allowed? Clock glitching allowed when switching VCO frequency ranges? Level-shift and buffer PLL inputs/outputs? Different power domains?

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Example Design Specs

f(ref) = 125 MHz 8 < FBDiv < 16 1 GHz < f(vco) < 2 GHz ^ > 0.7 not constant w/FBDiv 1 MHz < Zn/2T < f(ref) /20 Pk-Pk Jitter < +/- 2.5% w/dVdd = 50mV Tlock < 10 uS FreqOvershoot < 15% w/1-ref-cycle phase step Static Phase Error < +/- 200 pS Icp mismatch < 50%?

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References

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Paper References
[1] B. Razavi, Monolithic Phase-Locked Loops and Clock-Recovery Circuits, IEEE Press, 1996. collection of IEEE PLL papers. [2] I. Young et al., A PLL clock generator with 5 to 110 MHz of lock range for microprocessors, IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. 27, no. 11, pp. 15991607, Nov. 1992. [3] J. Maneatis, Low-Jitter Process-Independent DLL and PLL Based on SelfBiased Techniques, IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. 31, no. 11, pp. 17231732. Nov. 1996. [4] J. Maneatis, Self-Biased, High-Bandwidth, Low-Jitter 1-to-4096 Multiplier Clock Generator PLL, IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. 38, no.11, pp. 17951803. Nov. 2003. [5] F. Gardner, Charge-pump phase-lock loops, IEEE Trans. Commun., vol COM-28, no. 11, pp 1849-1858, Nov. 1980. [6] V. von Kaenel, A 32- MHz, 1.5mW @ 1.35 V CMOS PLL for Microprocessor Clock Generation, IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. 31, no. 11, pp. 1715-1722. Nov. 1996.

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Paper References (cont.)

[7] I. Young, A 0.35um CMOS 3-880MHz PLL N/2 Clock Multiplier and Distribution Network with Low Jitter for Microprocessors, ISSCC 1997 Digest of Tech. Papers, session 20.1, pp. 330-331. [8] J. Ingino et al, A 4-GHz Clock System for a High-Performance Systemon-a-Chip Design, IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. 36, no. 11, pp. 16931698. Nov. 2001. [9] A. Maxim, et al., A Low-Jitter 125-1250 MHz Process-Independent CMOS PLL Based on a Sample-Reset Loop Filter, 2001 ISSCC Digest Of Tech. Papers, pp. 394-395. [10] N.Kurd, et al., A Replica-Biased 50% Duty Cycle PLL Architecture with 1X VCO, 2003 ISSCC Digest of Tech. Papers, session 24.3, pp.426-427. [11] K. Wong, et al.,Cascaded PLL Design fpr a 90nm CMOS High Performance Microprocessor, 2003 ISSCC Digest of Tech. Papers, session 24.3, pp.422-423. [12] M. Mansuri, et al., A Low-Power Adaptive-Bandwidth PLL and Clock Buffer With Supply-Noise Compensation, IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. 38, no.11, pp. 1804-1812. Nov. 2003.

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Paper References (cont.)

[7] A. Maxim, A 160-2550 MHz CMOS Active Clock Deskewing PLL Using Analog Phase Interpolation, ISSCC 2004 Digest of Tech. Papers, session 19.3, pp. 346-347. [8] Jerry Lin et al, A PVT Tolerant 0.18MHz to 660MHz Self-Calibrated Digital PLL in 90nm CMOS Process, ISSCC 2004 Digest of Tech. Papers, session 26.10, pp. 488-489.

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Monograph References
[1] B. Razavi, Design of Analog CMOS Integrated Circuits, McGraw-Hill, 2001. [2] R. Best, Phase-Locked Loops,McGraw-Hill, 1993. [3] R. Dorf, Modern Control Theory, 4th Edition, Addison-Wesley, 1986. [4] P.Gray & R. Meyer, Analysis and Design of Analog Integrated Circuits, 3rd Edition, J. Wiley & Sons, 1993. [5] K. Bernstein & N. Rohner, SOI Circuit Design Concepts, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2000. [6] A. Hajimiri & T. Lee, The Design of Low Noise Oscillators, Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1999 [7] T. Lee, The Design of CMOS Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuits, Cambridge University Press, 1998. [8] F. Gardner, Phaselock Techniques, 2nd Edition, New York, Wiley & Sons, 1979

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