Qualcomm Incorporated

Chao Song

Ye Lu

Haitao Cheng

Zhengzheng Wu

Karthik Nagarajan

Kevin H Wang

Junjing Bao

Marzio Pedrali-Noy

Xuhao Huang

Kevin Jia-Nong Wang

Dongjiang Qiao

Shyam Sivakumar

A digital-to-time converter (DTC) converts a digital code into a time delay using a capacitor digital-to-analog converter (CDAC) that functions as a charging capacitor. The DTC includes a switched capacitor voltage-to-current converter for the formation of a charging current (or a discharging current) for charging (or for discharging) the charging capacitor responsive to a triggering clock edge that begins the time delay. A comparator compares a voltage on the charging capacitor to a threshold voltage to determine an end of the time delay.

Power and area efficient digital-to-time converter with improved stability

A digital phase-frequency detector characterizes a delay between two input clock signals using a ring oscillator. A cycle count of a ring oscillator signal circulating through a loop in the ring oscillator during the delay provides a coarse measurement of the delay. A phase of the ring oscillator signal in the loop at the end of the delay provides a fine measurement of the delay. A digital phase-locked loop may control an oscillation frequency of a digitally-controlled oscillator responsive to the fine measurement of the delay and control a division within a clock divider responsive to the coarse measurement of the delay.

Digital phase-frequency detector with split control loops for low jitter and fast locking

A low cost capacitor (e.g., metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor) is included in the back-end-of-line layers for effective routing and area savings. The capacitor has a first electrode (e.g., a first terminal of the capacitor) including a conductive back-end-of-line (BEOL) layer and a second electrode (e.g., a second terminal of the capacitor) including a nitride-based metal. The capacitor also has an etch stop layer (e.g., a dielectric of the capacitor) between the first electrode and the second electrode.

Back-end-of-line integrated metal-insulator-metal capacitor

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a metal-on-metal (MoM) capacitor with metal layers, each layer having two different electrical conductors with orthogonally-arranged conductive arteries and orthogonally-oriented conductive fingers. One exemplary MoM capacitor generally includes a plurality of metal layers, wherein a first metal layer in the plurality of metal layers comprises a first electrical conductor providing a first node of the MoM capacitor and a second electrical conductor providing a second node of the MoM capacitor. According to aspects, the first electrical conductor comprises a first plurality of conductive fingers and the second electrical conductor comprises a second plurality of conductive fingers. Further, conductive fingers of the first plurality of conductive fingers are interdigitated with conductive fingers of the second plurality of conductive fingers. Additionally, the first electrical conductor in the first metal layer is oriented orthogonal to the second electrical conductor in the first metal layer.

Metal-on-metal capacitor

An integrated circuit (IC) device includes a first resistive strip having an input terminal and an output terminal. The IC device further includes a second resistive strip having a terminal coupled to a voltage. The second resistive strip may be coplanar with the first resistive strip. The IC device further includes a capacitor formed by the first resistive strip and the second resistive strip.

Process-invariant delay cell

Aspects generally relate to adjusting, or lowering, the Q of an inductor. In one embodiment, an integrated circuit includes an inductor and a conductive closed ring inside a periphery of the inductor. In another embodiment, there can be a plurality of closed rings inside the periphery of the inductor. The conductive closed rings are magnetically coupled to the inductor to adjust the Q.

Inductor/transformer with closed ring

Aspects generally relate to tuning a guard ring in an integrated circuit. A guard ring with a gap surrounds a circuit. The level of isolation provided by the guard ring at a particular frequency can be adjusted by coupling a tuning circuit cross the gap of the guard ring. If the circuit in the guard ring is an inductive circuit the level of inductance at a particular frequency can be adjusted by selecting the appropriate tuning circuit across the gap of the guard ring.

Guard ring frequency tuning

A co-wound resistor with a low parasitic inductance includes a first resistive strip having an input and a second resistive strip having an output. The second resistive strip has a similar shape as the first resistive strip. The second resistive strip is co-wound in a same direction as the first resistive strip. The second resistive strip and the first resistive strip are configured to generate a mutual inductance that cancels an inductance of the first resistive strip and the second resistive strip. The first interconnect coupling the first resistive strip to the second resistive strip. The first resistive strip, the second resistive strip and the first interconnect are on a same level.

Co-wound resistor

A capacitor has reduced misalignment in the interconnect layers and lower capacitance variance. The capacitor includes a first endcap having a first section and a second section orthogonal to the first section. The capacitor includes a first set of conductive fingers orthogonally coupled to the first section. The capacitor includes a third set of conductive fingers orthogonally coupled to the second section of the endcap and a second endcap parallel to the first section of the endcap. The capacitor includes a second set of conductive fingers orthogonally coupled to a second endcap and interdigitated with the first set of conductive fingers at a first interconnect layer. The capacitor includes a third endcap parallel to the second section of the first endcap and a fourth set of conductive fingers orthogonally coupled to the third endcap and interdigitated with the third set of conductive fingers at the first interconnect layer.

Metal-oxide-metal capacitor with improved alignment and reduced capacitance variance

A resistor-capacitor (RC) delay circuit includes a first capacitor at a first level, a resistor at a second level and a second capacitor at a third level. The second capacitor is electrically connected in parallel with the first capacitor. The second capacitor has a footprint within a footprint of the first capacitor. The resistor is coupled in shunt with the first capacitor and the second capacitor.

Stacked resistor-capacitor delay cell

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide an integrated circuit (IC) that includes at least one of a via-based vertical capacitor structure or a via-based vertical resistor structure. The IC includes a substrate oriented in a horizontal plane, electrically conductive layers disposed above the substrate, and electrically insulative layers disposed above the substrate and interposed between the plurality of electrically conductive layers. At least one of the vertical capacitor structure or the vertical resistor structure is disposed in the electrically conductive layers and the electrically insulative layers.

Via-based vertical capacitor and resistor structures

Methods, systems, and devices for a finger metal-on-metal (FMOM) capacitor including a negative capacitance material are described. In one examples, a FMOM capacitor may include a first electrode and a second electrode. The FMOM capacitor may include a dielectric layer coating a first sidewall of the first electrode and a second sidewall of a second electrode. A portion of the first sidewall may be substantially parallel to a portion of the second sidewall. The FMOM capacitor may also include a negative capacitance material disposed in a channel between the first sidewall of the first electrode and the second sidewall of the second electrode. The negative capacitance material may extend in a direction that is substantially parallel to the portion of the first sidewall and the portion of the second sidewall.

Finger metal-on-metal capacitor containing negative capacitance material

A process-invariant RC circuit is formed by patterning a metal layer using the same mask pattern to form a metal layer resistor and a metal layer capacitor. The same mask pattern results in the metal layer resistor and the metal layer capacitor each having a plurality of longitudinally-extending fingers having the same width and separation.

Process-invariant resistor and capacitor pair

A load circuit of a low-dropout (LDO) regulator is disclosed herein according to certain aspects. The load circuit includes a field effect transistor having a source coupled to a supply rail, a gate, and a drain coupled to a gate of a pass transistor of the LDO regulator. The load circuit also includes an adjustable voltage source coupled between the drain and the gate of the field effect transistor, and a voltage control circuit configured to detect a change in a current load through the pass transistor, and to adjust a voltage of the adjustable voltage source based on the detected change in the current load.

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

Chao Song