Intel Corporation

Jerry G Jex

Kersi H Vakil

Jed D Griffin

Arnaud J Forestier

Abhimanyu Kolla

Keith M Self

Charles E Dike

Brett A Prince

Stephen R Mooney

Shekhar Yeshwant Borkar

Edward Allyn Burton

Neal R Mielke

Craig B Peterson

Alan E Baker

Chih-Ta Sung

Prantik K Nag

Jim Sutton

Keith-Michael W Self

William N Roy

Robert Gatlin

Jed c/o Intel Corporation Griffin

Kersi Vakil

In some embodiments, the inventions includes a transmitter including a cycle encoding circuit to receive a data input signal and to provide a full cycle encoded signal in response thereto by continuously joining portions of different encoding signals. Some of the encoding signals have a different frequency than others of the encoding signals and some of the encoding signals have a different phase than others of the encoding signals. Data is represented in data time segments of the full cycle encoded signal and no data time segment has more than one cycle of an encoding signal. In some embodiments, a receiver receives the cycle encoded signal and recovers data of the data input signal.

Transmitters providing cycle encoded signals

Some embodiments include a transmitter having a cycle encoding circuit to receive a data input signal and to provide a full cycle encoded signal in response thereto by continuously joining portions of different encoding signals. Some of the encoding signals have a different frequency than others of the encoding signals and some of the encoding signals have a different phase than others of the encoding signals. Data is represented in data time segments of the full cycle encoded signal and no data time segment has more than one cycle of an encoding signal. In some embodiments, a receiver receives the cycle encoded signal and recovers data of the data input signal.

Receivers for cycle encoded signals

In some embodiments, a transmitter includes first encoding controlled frequency output circuitry to creates a magnitude encoded controlled frequency signal (CFS) and second encoding controlled frequency output circuitry to create a complementary a magnitude encoded controlled frequency signal (CCFS). Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Controlled frequency signals

In some embodiments, a receiver includes a first conductor to carry a magnitude encoded controlled frequency signal (CFS) and a second conductor to carry a complementary magnitude encoded controlled frequency signal (CCFS). The receiver further includes circuitry to receive the CFS and CCFS from the first and second conductors and to decode them to produce an output signal. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Receivers for controlled frequency signals

A signaling apparatus and system may include a data transmitter capable of sending strobe and one or more data streams having edges displaced by time periods corresponding to coded values. Auto-negotiation to compensate for less expensive interconnections may be accomplished using various embodiments of the invention. The data transmitter may be coupled to a medium and a data receiver. An article, including a machine-accessible medium, may contain data capable of causing a machine to carry out a communication method, including transmitting strobe and data streams having edges displaced by time periods corresponding to coded values. A coded information signal may comprise one or more edges displaced in time from various strobe signal edges, the displacement corresponding to coded values.

Adaptive throughput pulse width modulation communication scheme

Point-to-point AC impedance compensation calculates and matches AC impedance for integrated circuit input and output buffers, taking into consideration impedances of printed circuit boards, connectors, cards, cables, and/or other interfaces on a computer bus, upon computer system power-up or on demand during operation using no additional package pins or traces in the printed circuit board, connector, card, or cable.

Point to point alternating current (AC) impedance compensation for impedance mismatch

A clock splitter device for forming a clock/inverted clock signal pair. The input clock signal is sent through an initial buffer stage and applied to two parts of a second stage. The second stage includes a single stage buffer and constricted inverter to provide two inverted outputs. The transistor arrangement of these two parts provides an equal delay to the two signal paths. The outputs of these two parts are sent to identical output buffers. Because the two paths have identical transistor delays, and since the metal paths on the board are arranged to have identical delays, the two paths can very low skew therebetween.

Low skew minimized clock splitter

An apparatus, method and means for providing a clock signal and an inverted clock signal having corresponding rise and fall edge rates, being resistant to load variations, process variations, voltage variations, and temperature variations. The apparatus output exceeds a threshold voltage for apparatus circuit paths. In one aspect of the invention, a combination of N channel and P channel devices, viewed as symmetrical P stacks and N stacks, are utilized. Low output impedance and high gain is provided for resistance to load variations.

Clock splitter circuit to generate synchronized clock and inverted clock

A unidirectional point-to-point communication apparatus for communicating messages between two computing resources irrespective of the phase of the messages, length of a communication path between the two computing resources and internal speed of the two computing resources. The communication apparatus has a high speed communication bus coupling a transmitter and a receiver for transmitting the messages from the transmitter to the receiver. A high speed communication clock is coupled to the bus and the receiver for timing the messages transmitted on the high speed communication bus between transmitter and the receiver. A large data buffer is coupled to the high speed communication bus after the receiver for storing messages transmitted between the transmitter and the receiver. A buffer accessing circuit is coupled to the buffer for referencing write locations to store the messages received from the transmitter over the communication bus, and for referencing read locations for reading the messages out of the buffer by the receiver. Finally, a delay locked loop circuit is coupled to the communication bus, the buffer accessing circuit and the buffer for providing the proper set-up and hold time requirements for the messages transmitted on the communication bus from the transmitter and storing the messages in the buffer.

Point-to-point phase-tolerant communication

A fully asynchronous parallel synchronizer having staged write and read enables and an asynchronous interface for same. The asynchronous interface can be used to interconnect two processor systems (e.g., within a multiple processor system or a parallel processor system). The parallel programmable synchronizer contains n latches coupled in parallel having n individual enable lines having staggered enable signals. The latches are coupled such that they output to a multiplexing circuit that also receives individual staggered read enable signals which are based on the write enable signals. According to the parallel programmable synchronizer, data is written into a particular latch in clock cycle (i) just after other data was read from the same particular latch in a just prior clock cycle (i-1). While the synchronizer contains n latches, the number of latches used, x, for any particular embodiment is programmable and the enable signals adjust to accommodate the number of latches selected. The settling time for the synchronizer is therefore programmable while the synchronizer also provides a maximum throughput frequency (sampling rate). A novel empty flag generation is also described.

Fully asynchronous interface with programmable metastability settling

An asynchronous interface enabling a processor node operating at a first clocking frequency to transfer and receive information from a communications network operating at a second clocking frequency. The asynchronous interface comprises an input synchronizer and an output synchronizer. The input synchronizer asynchronously receives a first plurality of information packets from the processor node and synchronously transfers the first plurality of information packets into the communications network. The output synchronizer, however, synchronously receives a second plurality of information packets from the communications network and asynchronously transfers the second plurality of information packets into the processor node. Both the input and output synchronizers are coupled between the communications network and the processor node.

Asynchronous interface between parallel processor nodes

An apparatus and method are described for minimizing the time required to perform verify operations in a semiconductor memory having a memory cell capable of being programmed, erased, and repaired, such as a flash EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read only memory). The apparatus minimizes the time required to verify that the memory cell was correctly programmed, erased, and repaired. The apparatus includes a word a decoder, a driver, and a means for switching voltage levels supplied to the decorder and driver. The driver is comprised of a p-channel transistor having an n-well electrically coupled to a first power line, and a p-substrate. When the memory cell is to be accessed, the driver is activated and drives the word line with a voltage on a second power line. The the second power line is switched from a first voltage level to a second voltage level in order to initiate a verify process while the first power line is maintained at an approximately constant voltage. Any inherent diffusion junction capacitance between the n-well and the p-substrate is kept substantially at a constant charge. By coupling the driver n-well capacitive load to the first power line, there is no need to wait for the driver n-well capacitance to discharge between program and program verify operations. Thereby, the amount of time required to perform a program verify is minimized.

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Olympia, WA, United States of America

Jerry G Jex