IP Library › Granted Patent US 8,442,075
Granted Patent B2
US 8,442,075 · App. 13/071,938 · Granted May 14, 2013

Disparate clock domain synchronization

Inventors: Hing (Thomas) Yan To (Cupertino, CA); Gregory Lemos (Folsom, CA)
Assignee: Intel Corporation
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,442,075
App. No.
13/071,938
Granted
May 14, 2013
Kind
B2
Abstract

Disparate clock domains are resynchronized after circuits in one of the clock domains awake from a reduced power state. Parallel test data is routed from a core circuit to a parallel-to-serial converter in an input/output (I/O) circuit. The parallel-to-serial converter clocks the parallel test data in response to a load signal. The load signal is varied until the clock domains are synchronized.

Claims (41)

1. An integrated circuit comprising:

a core circuit to operate in a first clock domain; and

an input/output (I/O) circuit to operate in a second clock domain different than the first clock domain, the I/O circuit to include a sequential circuit to send data to and receive data from the core circuit, and a control circuit to control operation of the sequential circuit via a timing offset signal; the core circuit to further

transmit a test data sequence to the I/O circuit,

receive a delayed transmission of the test data sequence from the sequential circuit of I/O circuit,

compare the timing offset of the delayed transmission with a stored timing offset determined during a link training between the core and I/O circuit, and

adjust the timing offset signal of the control circuit included in the I/O circuit if the timing offset of the delayed transmission and the stored timing offset differ;

wherein the first clock domain comprises at least one of a different phase or a different frequency than the second clock domain.

2. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , the core circuit to transmit the test data sequence to the I/O circuit in response to the I/O circuit exiting a low power state.

3. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the sequential circuit of the I/O circuit comprises a first in first out (FIFO) circuit.

4. The integrated circuit of claim 1 , the core circuit to further include a delay circuit including the stored timing offset, wherein comparing the timing offset of the delayed transmission with the stored timing offset determined during the link training between the core and I/O circuit comprises:

processing the test data via the delay circuit to generate a second delayed transmission; and

comparing the delayed transmission from the I/O circuit with the second delayed transmission to determine if the timing offset of the delayed transmission and the stored timing offset differ.

5. A system comprising:

an antenna;

a radio frequency circuit coupled to the antenna;

a controller coupled to the radio frequency circuit; and

a memory device coupled to the controller, the memory device including

a core circuit to operate in a first clock domain, and

an input/output (I/O) circuit to operate in a second clock domain different than the first clock domain, the I/O circuit to include a sequential circuit to send data to and receive data from the core circuit, and a control circuit to control operation of the sequential circuit via a timing offset signal; the core circuit to further

transmit a test data sequence to the I/O circuit,

receive a delayed transmission of the test data sequence from the sequential circuit of I/O circuit,

compare the timing offset of the delayed transmission with a stored timing offset determined during a link training between the core and I/O circuit, and

adjust the timing offset signal of the control circuit included in the I/O circuit if the timing offset of the delayed transmission and the stored timing offset differ;

wherein the first clock domain comprises at least one of a different phase or a different frequency than the second clock domain.

6. The system of claim 5 , the core circuit to transmit the test data sequence to the I/O circuit in response to the I/O circuit exiting a low power state.

7. The system of claim 5 , wherein the sequential circuit of the I/O circuit comprises a first in first out (FIFO) circuit.

8. The system of claim 5 , the core circuit to further include a delay circuit including the stored timing offset, wherein comparing the timing offset of the delayed transmission with the stored timing offset determined during the link training between the core and I/O circuit comprises:

processing the test data via the delay circuit to generate a second delayed transmission; and

comparing the delayed transmission from the I/O circuit with the second delayed transmission to determine if the timing offset of the delayed transmission and the stored timing offset differ.

9. A method comprising:

transmitting a test data sequence from a core circuit operating in a first clock domain to an I/O circuit operating in a second clock domain different than the first clock domain;

receiving a delayed transmission of the test data sequence from a sequential circuit of I/O circuit, the sequential circuit controlled via a control circuit to transmit data based on a first timing offset value;

comparing the first timing offset value of the delayed transmission with a stored timing offset determined during a link training between the core and I/O circuit; and

adjusting the first timing offset value used by the sequential circuit of the I/O circuit if the timing offset of the delayed transmission and the stored timing offset differ;

wherein the first clock domain comprises at least one of a different phase or a different frequency than the second clock domain.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein transmitting the test data sequence from the core circuit to the I/O circuit is in response to the I/O circuit exiting a low power state.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the sequential circuit of the I/O circuit comprises a first in first out (FIFO) circuit.

12. The method of claim 9 , the core circuit to further include a delay circuit including the stored timing offset, the method further comprising:

processing the test data via the delay circuit to generate a second delayed transmission; and

comparing the delayed transmission from the I/O circuit with the second delayed transmission to determine if the first timing offset value and the stored timing offset differ.

Continuity (2)
Continuation 11396305 · Mar 31, 2006
Related Publication 20110170584A1 · Jul 14, 2011