Method and apparatus for selecting an operating mode based on a determination of the availability of internal clock signals
US9479361B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 24, 2011 |
| Grant date | Oct 25, 2016 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 24, 2031 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11C11/4096
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system and method to operate an electronic device, such as a memory chip, with an output driver circuit that is configured to include an ODT (On-Die Termination) mode detector detects whether there is sufficient internal clocking available to operate the ODT portion in the output driver in the synchronous mode of operation or to switch the operation to the asynchronous mode. The clock-sufficiency based determination of internal ODT mode of operation (synchronous vs. asynchronous) avoids utilization of complex and inflexible clock processing logic in an ODT control unit in the output driver. This enables the actual clocking to the ODT circuitry to be changed during various device operational modes (e.g., active, power down, etc.) without re-designing the ODT control logic for each of those modes. The simplicity and flexibility of the ODT mode detector design allows for efficient use of chip real estate without affecting the signal transfer speed of the output driver in the electronic device. Because of the rules governing abstracts, this abstract should not be used to construe the claims.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.