In a fractional-N PLL, it is beneficial to minimize the input range of its phase detector (PD) as it promotes better linearity and higher PD gain for suppressing noise contributions of the following loop components. This can be done by canceling the predicted instantaneous time offset between the frequency reference (FREF) and the variable oscillator-clock (CKV) edges prior to the PD. There are currently two main cancellation strategies. The first is to align FREF and CKV by inserting a digital-to-time converter (DTC) on either path. However, due to the DTC nonlinearity and its susceptibility to PVT variations, the PLL can suffer from large fractional spurs. Although system-level techniques, e.g., background calibration [1], supply ripple reduction [2], and DTC code randomization [3], can partially alleviate these DTC issues, the overall system complexity worsens. The second method is to convert and cancel the predicted time offset in the voltage domain [4]. This arrangement is less sensitive to PVT variations. However, the accuracy of the time-to-voltage conversion relies on the strict trade-offs between the power consumption, noise, and linearity of a current source. In this work, we introduce a third solution based on a time-mode arithmetic unit (TAU), which outputs a weighted sum of time delays between the (falling) edges of FREF and CKV, as well as between two consecutive CKV edges. Compared with DTC-based solutions, it is less sensitive to PVT variations, as its output merely varies by the ratio of RC time constants, thus ensuring low fractional spurs with no extra system complexity. Compared to the voltage-domain solutions, the absence of a current source is beneficial for phase-noise optimization and migration to more advanced technology nodes. Moreover, TAU can implicitly provide a time-amplification (TA) gain, thus further suppressing the noise of subsequent blocks.@en

This article proposes a power-efficient highly linear capacitor-array-based digital-to-time converter (DTC) using a charge redistribution constant-slope approach. A fringe-capacitor-based digital-to-analog converter (C-DAC) array is used to regulate the starting supply voltage of the constant discharging slope fed to a fixed-threshold comparator. The DTC operation mechanism is analyzed and design tradeoffs are investigated. The proposed DTC consumes merely 31 μW from a 1-V supply when clocked at 40 MHz, while achieving a fine resolution of 148 fs over a 9-bit range. The measured differential nonlinearity (DNL) and integral nonlinearity (INL) are 0.96/1.07 LSB.

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In this paper, we propose a 60-GHz fractional-N digital frequency synthesizer aimed at reducing its phase noise (PN) at both the flicker (1/f ³ ) and thermal (1/f ² ) regions while minimizing its power consumption. The digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) fundamentally resonates at 20 GHz and co-generates a strong third harmonic at 60 GHz which is extracted to the output while canceling the 20-GHz fundamental. The latter component is fed back to the frequency dividers in an all-digital phase-locked loop for phase detection, which comprises a pair of digital-to-time and time-to-digital converters with dithering to attenuate fractional spurs. The mechanism of flicker noise upconversion to 1/f ³ PN in the DCO is investigated, and a reduction technique is proposed. The 28-nm CMOS prototype achieves 213-277-fs rms jitter in the 57.5-67.2-GHz tuning range while consuming only 40 mW. The DCO flicker PN corner is record low at 300-400 kHz.

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To characterize an on-chip programmable delay in a low-cost and high-resolution manner, a built-in self-test based on a first-order ?? time-to-digital converter with self-calibration is proposed and implemented in TSMC 28-nm CMOS. The system is self-contained, and only one digital clock is needed for the measurements. A system self-calibration algorithm is proposed to calibrate nonlinearities of the analog circuitry. The operation is robust over PVT variations since the delay information is normalized to the input clock period. To verify the proposed idea, two different digital-to-time converters performing the on-chip delay are measured and analyzed at 50-MHz clocking frequency with 0.65-ps standard time deviation per measurement.@en

This paper proposes a power-efficient capacitor-array-based digital-to-time converter (DTC) using a constant-slope approach. Fringe-capacitor-based digital-to-analog converter (C-DAC) array is used to regulate starting supply voltage of the constant slope fed to a fixed threshold comparator. The proposed DTC consumes only 15 μW from a 1V supply, while achieving fine resolution of 103 fs when running at 40 MHz. The measured INL and DNL are 0.73/0.35 LSB within a 5-bit range. The DTC achieves the best figure-of-merit of 8.5 fJ among state-of-the-art when normalizing the product of power and INL to the product of input frequency and range.@en

The digital-to-time converter (DTC)-based all-digital phase locked loop (ADPLL) attracts more and more attention due to its ultra-lower power consumption characteristic [1]. With DTC, the time-to-digital converter's (TDC) requirements are relaxed, not only for its range but also for its nonlinearity. However, the shortened TDC range, which is less than one digital controlled oscillator (DCO) output period in the new architecture makes the settling time longer and the TDC gain calibration difficult. This work introduces a technique to extend the TDC range by 16 times to accelerate the settling process, while the extended part can be disabled when ADPLL is in lock. Furthermore, the TDC gain calibration is easier.

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