Electrical current source circuitry for a bus is described. The circuitry includes transistor circuitry coupled between the bus and ground for controlling bus current, control circuitry coupled to the transistor circuitry, and a controller coupled to the control circuitry for controlling the transistor circuitry. The controller comprises a variable level circuit comprising setting circuitry for setting a desired current for the bus and transistor reference circuitry coupled to the setting circuitry. The variable level circuit provides a first voltage. Voltage reference circuitry provides a reference voltage. Comparison circuitry is coupled to the voltage reference circuitry and to the variable level circuit for comparing the first voltage with the reference voltage. Logic circuitry is responsive to a trigger signal from the comparison circuitry. An output of the logic circuitry is coupled to the control circuitry in order to turn on the transistor circuitry in a manner dependent upon an output of the logic circuitry.

Electrical current source circuitry for a bus

A method and circuit adaptively adjust the timing offset of a digital signal relative to a clock signal output coincident with that digital signal to enable a latch receiving the digital signal to store the digital signal responsive to the clock signal. The digital signal is applied to the latch, and stored in the latch responsive to the clock signal. The digital signal stored in the latch is evaluated to determine if the stored digital signal has an expected value. The timing offset of the digital signal is thereafter adjusted relative to the clock signal. and the digital signal is once again stored in the latch responsive to the clock signal at the new timing offset. A number of digital signals at respective timing offsets relative to the clock signal are stored and evaluated, and a final timing offset of the digital signal is selected from the ones of the timing offsets that cause the latch to store the digital signal having the expected value. The timing offset of the digital signal is thereafter adjusted to the selected final timing offset. A read synchronization circuit may adaptively adjust the timing offset of digital signals in this manner, and such a read synchronization circuit may be utilized in many types of integrated circuits, including packetized dynamic random access memories, memory systems including a memory controller and one or more such packetized dynamic random access memories, and in computer systems including a plurality of such packetized dynamic random access memories.

Method and apparatus for adaptively adjusting the timing offset between a clock signal and digital signals transmitted coincident with that clock signal, and memory device and system using same

A integrated circuit, such as a memory integrated circuit, includes a vernier clock adjustment circuit receiving an input clock signal and providing a rising-edge clock signal representing the input clock signal delayed by a rising-edge delay and providing a falling-edge clock signal representing the input clock signal delayed by a falling-edge delay. An edge triggered circuit receives data and the rising-edge and falling-edge clock signals, and stores data at the rising-edge of the rising-edge clock signal and at the falling-edge of the falling-edge clock signal. One form of the invention is a memory system having a memory controller coupled to memory modules through data and command busses. Each memory module includes the vernier clock adjustment circuitry.

Clock vernier adjustment

Effective control of impedance values in integrated circuit applications is achieved with an integrated circuit transistor whose size is digitally controlled. The digitally controlled size is achieved, for example, with a parallel interconnection of MOS transistors. In one application, the digitally controlled transistor serves as a controlled impedance connected to an output terminal of an integrated circuit. In that application, a number of transistors are enabled with control signals, and the collection of enabled transistors is responsive to the input signal that normally is applied to a conventional transistor. In another application, where the digitally controlled transistor serves as a controlled impedance at the input of a circuit, only the control signals that enable transistors and thereby determine the effective developed impedance are employed. In still another application, the digital control of the transistor's size is employed to control the speed or power consumption of the effective transistor. Such control is exercised to erase the manufacturing variability of the integrated circuit. Alternatively, such control is exercised as part of a feedback control of the operational characteristics of the entire circuit. In the feedback control application, the digital signals that control the transistor's size are obtained from an assessment of the circuit's operation. In the manufacturing variability control application, the digital signals that control the transistor's size are obtained from a measure of the integrated circuit's parameters relative to a reference element.

Digitally controlled element sizing

Bus communications are optimized by adjusting signal characteristics in accordance with one or more topography dependent parameters. In a bus transmitter a transmit signal characteristic is adjusted in accordance with a topography dependent parameter. A port in the bus transmitter receives the topograpy dependent parameter for later use by the parameter adjustment circuitry. The parameter adjustment circuitry adjusts a parameter control signal in accordance with the topography dependent parameter, which is coupled to the out-put driver. Prior to driving an output signal onto a bus, the output driver adjusts the transmit signal characteristics in accordance with the parameter control signal. In a bus receiver, a receive signal characteristic is also adjusted in accordance with a topography dependent parameter. A port associated with the bus receiver receives the topography dependent parameter and stores it in a register. Parameter adjustment circuitry adjusts a control signal in accordance with the stored topography dependent parameter. An input buffer receives an input signal from a bus coupling the receiver to a transmitter of the input signal. The input buffer generates a first signal from the input signal by adjusting a parameter of the input signal in accordance with the control signal.

Apparatus and method for topography dependent signaling

A self-adjusting impedance matching driver for a digital circuit. The driver has both a pull-up gate to VDD and a pull-down gate to ground. An array of gates is provided in parallel with each of the pull-up gate and the pull-down gate, with any one or more of such gates being selectively enabled in response to circuit means that monitors the impedance match between the output of the driver and the network it drives. By enabling selectively such gates, any impedance mismatch can be minimized. The selective enablement may be done only at power up, and thereafter only if the driven network is changed substantially.

Alice Irene Biber

Papers

Self-adjusting impedance matching driver

Selbsteinstellender Treiber für Impedanzanpassung