Pcie retimer with reduced power low latency mode

Abstract

An illustrative retimer includes: an upstream interface having an upstream receiver configured to convert a downlink signal into a downlink symbol stream; a downstream interface having a downstream transmitter configured to provide a transmit signal representing the downlink symbol stream; core circuitry having a downstream path and a downstream bypass path; and a controller. The downstream path is configured to convey the downlink symbol stream from the upstream receiver to the downstream transmitter via a receive clock domain component, a core clock domain component, and a transmit clock domain component. The downstream bypass path is configurable to convey the downlink symbol stream from the upstream receiver to the downstream transmitter without any core clock domain components. The controller is configured to disable a clock signal for the transmit clock domain component of the downstream path when the downstream bypass path is enabled.