IP Library Granted Patent US 7,423,928
Granted Patent B2
US 7,423,928 · App. 11/668,844 · Granted Sep 9, 2008

Clock circuitry for DDR-SDRAM memory controller

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,423,928
App. No.
11/668,844
Granted
Sep 9, 2008
Kind
B2
Abstract

A circuit for providing a delayed clock signal to a synchronous memory controller controlling a synchronous memory device comprises logic delay circuitry for performing synchronous memory device read access, the logic delay circuitry generating delay interval information. A programmable delay line receives a clock signal and the delay interval information, the programmable delay line delaying the clock signal by the delay interval. A 2-input XOR gate receives both the clock signal and the output of the programmable delay line, an output of the XOR gate providing a delayed 2X clock signal.

Claims (43)

1. A circuit for providing delayed clock signals to synchronous memory controller controlling a synchronous memory device, comprising:

logic delay circuitry for performing synchronous memory device read access, the logic delay circuitry generating delay interval information to apply to a control signal sent to the synchronous memory device;

a programmable delay line receiving the delay interval information from the logic delay circuitry, and a clock signal to delay having the same frequency and waveform as the clock signal provided to the synchronous memory device, the programmable delay line having an output to provide the delayed clock signal;

the circuit generating a signal delayed by approximately ¼ of the clock period of the clock signal sent to the synchronous memory device.

2. The circuit of claim 1 embedded in a micro-controller circuit.

3. The circuit of claim 1 driving a double data rate memory controller.

4. The circuit of claim 2 where the synchronous memory device is a double data rate memory.

5. The circuit of claim 4 where the programmable delay line receives the delay interval information from a delay circuit using a programmable delay line to delay a control signal received from the synchronous memory controller during read access.

6. The circuit of claim 5 where the delay received is a fraction of the clock period signal sent to the synchronous memory device.

7. A circuit for providing clock signals to a synchronous memory controller controlling a synchronous memory device, comprising:

logic delay circuitry for performing synchronous memory device read access, the logic delay circuitry generating delay interval information to apply a delay to a control signal sent to the synchronous memory device;

a divider circuit to divide the frequency of the clock signals by 2;

a first programmable delay line receiving the signal generated by the output of the divider circuit and the delay interval information to apply to the memory device control signal calculated from the delay provided by logic delay circuitry required to perform synchronous memory device read access;

a 2× clock signal circuit generating a delayed 2× clock signal from the clock signal and the output of the programmable delay line, and

a second programmable delay line receiving the signal generated by the output of the first programmable delay line and the delay interval information.

8. The circuit of claim 7 embedded in a micro-controller circuit.

9. The circuit of claim 7 driving a double data rate memory controller.

10. A method for providing a delayed clock signal to a synchronous memory controller controlling a synchronous memory device, comprising:

generating delay interval information to delay a control signal for performing synchronous memory device read access;

delaying a clock signal by an amount of time related to the delay interval information to generate the delayed clock signal; and

combining the clock signal and the delayed clock signal to provide a delayed 2× clock signal.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein generating delay interval information for the control signal for performing synchronous memory device read access comprises generating delay interval information for a DQS signal for a DDR-SDRAM.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein delaying the clock signal by an amount of time related to the delay interval information to generate the delayed clock signal comprises delaying the clock signal in a programmable delay line controlled by the delay interval information.

13. A method for providing a delayed clock signal to a synchronous memory controller controlling a synchronous memory device, comprising:

generating delay interval information to apply a delay to a control signal for performing synchronous memory device read access;

dividing the frequency of the clock signal by 2 to provide a divided clock signal;

delaying the divided clock signal by an amount related to the delay interval information;

performing an exclusive-OR function on the divided clock signal provide a delayed clock signal; and

delaying the control signal by an amount related to the delay interval information.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein generating delay interval information for the control signal for performing synchronous memory device read access comprises generating delay interval information for a DQS signal for a DDR-SDRAM.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein:

delaying the divided clock signal by an amount of time related to the delay interval information to generate the delayed clock signal comprises delaying the clock signal in a programmable delay line controlled by the delay interval information; and

delaying the control signal by an amount related to the delay interval information comprises delaying the control signal in a programmable delay line controlled by the delay interval information.

16. A method for providing delayed clock signals to synchronous memory controller controlling a synchronous memory device, comprising:

generating delay interval information to apply a delay to a control signal for performing synchronous memory device read access;

delaying a clock signal having the same frequency and waveform as the clock signal provided to the synchronous memory device by an amount of time related to the delay interval information to generate the delayed clock signal;

wherein the delayed clock signal is delayed by approximately ¼ of the clock period of the clock signal sent to the synchronous memory device.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein generating delay interval information for the control signal for performing synchronous memory device read access comprises generating delay interval information for a DQS signal for a DDR-SDRAM.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein delaying the clock signal by an amount of time related to the delay interval information to generate the delayed clock signal comprises delaying the clock signal in a programmable delay line controlled by the delay interval information.

19. The circuit of claim 1 further including a 2-input XOR gate receiving both the clock signal and the output of the programmable delay line, an output of the XOR gate providing a delayed 2× clock signal.

20. The circuit of claim 1 wherein the 2× clock signal circuit is a 2-input XOR gate receiving both the clock signal and the output of the programmable delay line, an output of the XOR gate providing a delayed 2× clock signal.

21. The circuit of claim 7 wherein the 2× clock signal circuit is a 2-input XOR gate receiving both the clock signal and the output of the programmable delay line, an output of the XOR gate providing a delayed 2× clock signal.

22. The circuit of claim 10 wherein combining the clock signal and the delayed clock signal to provide a delayed 2× clock signal comprises performing an exclusive-OR function on the clock signal.

Assignments (13)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 9, 2024
From: SONRAI MEMORY LIMITED
To: NERA INNOVATIONS LIMITED
Reel/Frame 066778/0178 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Mar 9, 2022
From: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED; SILICON STORAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC.; ATMEL CORPORATION; MICROSEMI CORPORATION; MICROSEMI STORAGE SOLUTIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 059358/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Feb 28, 2022
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 059262/0105 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Feb 25, 2022
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED; SILICON STORAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC.; ATMEL CORPORATION; MICROSEMI CORPORATION; MICROSEMI STORAGE SOLUTIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 059333/0222 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 4, 2020
From: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INC.; ATMEL CORPORATION; MICROSEMI CORPORATION
To: SONRAI MEMORY LIMITED
Reel/Frame 051799/0956 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Dec 21, 2019
From: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED; ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 051398/0827 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Dec 21, 2019
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
To: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED; ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 051398/0809 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Sep 18, 2018
From: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED; SILICON STORAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC.; ATMEL CORPORATION; MICROSEMI CORPORATION; MICROSEMI STORAGE SOLUTIONS, INC.
To: WELLS FARGO BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 047103/0206 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jun 25, 2018
From: MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY INCORPORATED; SILICON STORAGE TECHNOLOGY, INC.; ATMEL CORPORATION; MICROSEMI CORPORATION; MICROSEMI STORAGE SOLUTIONS, INC.
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 046426/0001 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Feb 10, 2017
From: ATMEL CORPORATION
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 041715/0747 →
TERMINATION AND RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENT COLLATERAL Recorded Apr 7, 2016
From: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC.
To: ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 038376/0001 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jan 3, 2014
From: ATMEL CORPORATION
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC. AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 031912/0173 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 30, 2007
From: VERGNES, ALAIN; MATULIK, ERIC; SCHUMACHER, FREDERIC
To: ATMEL CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 018825/0830 →