Structure and method for providing gate leakage isolation locally within analog circuits
View Patent ↗A loop filter for a phase-locked-loop is provided, comprising a set of capacitor banks coupled in parallel to form the loop filter, and a detection circuit for identifying and isolating defective capacitor banks. A method for providing a loop filter for a phase-locked-loop in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of forming the loop filter using a set of capacitor banks coupled in parallel, detecting any defective capacitor banks in the set of capacitor banks, isolating each defective capacitor bank, providing a set of redundant capacitor banks, and replacing each defective capacitor bank with a redundant capacitor bank from the set of redundant capacitor banks.
1. A circuit, comprising:
a set of capacitor banks coupled in parallel to form a capacitor circuit;
a detection system for identifying and isolating defective capacitor banks in the capacitor circuit;
a set of redundant capacitor banks;
a replacement system for replacing each defective capacitor bank in the capacitor circuit with a redundant capacitor bank from the set of redundant capacitor banks; and
a switching system for selectively configuring at least one unused redundant capacitor bank in the set of redundant capacitor banks to provide decoupling capacitance.
2. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the capacitor circuit comprises a loop filter for a phase-locked-loop.
3. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the detection system further comprises:
a testing system for testing each capacitor bank in the capacitor circuit to identify defective capacitor banks.
4. The circuit of claim 3 , wherein the testing system further comprises:
a switching system for selectively and independently connecting each capacitor bank in the capacitor circuit to a plurality of different voltages.
5. The circuit of claim 3 , wherein the testing system further comprises:
a compare circuit for comparing a voltage on each capacitor bank in the capacitor circuit to a predetermined minimum voltage to identify defective capacitor banks.
6. The circuit of claim 1 , wherein the detection system further comprises:
a switching system for permanently isolating each defective capacitor bank from the capacitor circuit.
7. An integrated circuit, comprising:
a loop filter for a phase-locked-loop, wherein the loop filter includes:
a set of capacitor banks coupled in parallel to form the loop filter; and
a detection system for identifying and isolating defective capacitor banks
in the set of capacitor banks;
a set of redundant capacitor banks;
a replacement system for replacing each defective capacitor bank in the set of capacitor banks with a redundant capacitor bank from the set of redundant capacitor banks; and
a switching system for selectively configuring at least one unused redundant capacitor bank in the set of redundant capacitor banks to provide decoupling capacitance.
8. The integrated circuit of claim 7 , wherein the detection system further comprises:
a testing system for testing each capacitor bank in the set of capacitor banks to identify defective capacitor banks.
9. The integrated circuit of claim 8 , wherein the testing system further comprises:
a switching system for selectively and independently connecting each capacitor bank in the set of capacitor banks to a plurality of different voltages.
10. The integrated circuit of claim 8 , wherein the testing system further comprises:
a compare circuit for comparing a voltage on each capacitor bank in the set of capacitor banks to a predetermined minimum voltage to identify defective capacitor banks.
11. The integrated circuit of claim 7 , wherein the detection system further comprises:
a switching system for permanently isolating each defective capacitor bank from the loop filter.
12. A method for providing a loop filter for a phase-locked-loop, comprising:
forming the loop filter using a set of capacitor banks coupled in parallel;
detecting any defective capacitor banks in the set of capacitor banks;
isolating each defective capacitor bank;
providing a set of redundant capacitor banks;
replacing each defective capacitor bank with a redundant capacitor bank from the set of redundant capacitor banks; and
selectively configuring at least one unused redundant capacitor bank in the set of redundant capacitor banks to provide decoupling capacitance.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the step of detecting defective capacitor banks in the loop filter further comprises:
testing each capacitor bank in the set of capacitor banks to identify defective capacitor banks.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the testing step further comprises:
selectively and independently connecting each capacitor bank in the set of capacitor banks to a plurality of different voltages.
15. The method of claim 12 , wherein the detection step further comprises:
permanently isolating each defective capacitor bank from the loop filter.