A semiconductor device includes an input/output control circuit configured to generate a first driving signal and a second driving signal by shifting a latency signal in synchronization with a clock, and generating a strobe signal which toggles according to logic levels of the first driving signal and the second driving signal; and a data input/output circuit configured to latch input data in synchronization with the strobe signal, and outputting the latched input data as output data.

A multi-phase partial response receiver supports various incoming data rates by sampling PrDFE output values at a selected one of at least two clock phases. The receiver includes a calibration circuit that performs a timing analysis of critical data paths in the circuit, and this analysis is then used to select the particular clock phase used to latch the output values. These techniques permit the multiplexer outputs from for each phase of the partial response receiver to directly drive selection of a multiplexer for the ensuing phase, i.e., by avoiding regions of instability or uncertainty in the respective multiplexer outputs.

Methods and systems are described for receiving a signal to be sampled and responsively generating, at a pair of common nodes, a differential current representative of the received signal, receiving a plurality of sampling interval signals, each sampling interval signal received at a corresponding sampling phase of a plurality of sampling phases, for each sampling phase, pre-charging a corresponding pair of output nodes using a pre-charging FET pair receiving the sampling interval signal, forming a differential output voltage by discharging the corresponding pair of output nodes via a discharging FET pair connected to the pair of common nodes, the FET pair receiving the sampling interval signal and selectively enabling the differential current to discharge the corresponding pair of output nodes, and latching the differential output voltage.

An electronic system includes transmitting circuitry of a first clock domain and receiving circuitry of a second domain. The transmitting circuitry re-times a digital input signal with rising edges of a clocking signal of the first clock domain when a phase of the clocking signal of the first clock domain leads a phase of a clocking signal associated with the digital input signal. Otherwise, the transmitting circuitry re-times the digital input signal with falling edges of the clocking signal of the first clock domain when the phase of the clocking signal of the first clock domain does not lead the phase of the clocking signal associated with a digital input signal. The receiving circuitry receives the re-timed digital input signal from the transmitting circuitry. Thereafter, the receiving circuitry re-times the re-timed digital input signal with rising edges of a phase of a clocking signal associated with the re-timed digital input signal when the phase of the clocking signal associated with the re-timed digital input signal leads a phase of a clocking signal of the second clock domain. Otherwise, the receiving circuitry re-times the re-timed digital input signal with falling edges of the phase of a clocking signal associated with the re-timed digital input signal when the phase of the clocking signal associated with the re-timed digital input signal does not lead the phase of a clocking signal of the second clock domain.

A semiconductor device includes an input/output control circuit configured to generate a first driving signal and a second driving signal by shifting a latency signal in synchronization with a clock, and generating a strobe signal which toggles according to logic levels of the first driving signal and the second driving signal; and a data input/output circuit configured to latch input data in synchronization with the strobe signal, and outputting the latched input data as output data.

A device includes a recovery unit that separates recovery data and a recovery clock from input data, a first detection unit that detects a timing at which a phase difference between a generated processing clock and the recovery clock is zero, a second detection unit that detects a synchronization code included in the recovery data using the recovery clock, and a calculation unit that calculates a phase difference between the synchronization code and the processing clock using a ratio between a first number of clock generation times of the processing clock in a period from a first timing at which the detected phase difference is zero to a second timing at which the phase difference is subsequently zero, and a second number of clock generation times of the processing clock in a period from the first timing to a third timing in which the synchronization code is detected.

A circuit adapts to the occurrence of metastable states. The circuit inhibits passing of the metastable state to circuits that follow, by clock gating the output stage. In order to determine whether or not to gate the clock of the output stage, two detect circuits may be used. One circuit detects metastability and another circuit detects metastability resolved to a wrong logic level. The results from one or both detector circuits are used to gate the next clock cycle if needed, waiting for the metastable situation to be resolved.

A multi-phase partial response receiver supports various incoming data rates by sampling PrDFE output values at a selected one of at least two clock phases. The receiver includes a calibration circuit that performs a timing analysis of critical data paths in the circuit, and this analysis is then used to select the particular clock phase used to latch the output values. These techniques permit the multiplexer outputs from for each phase of the partial response receiver to directly drive selection of a multiplexer for the ensuing phase, i.e., by avoiding regions of instability or uncertainty in the respective multiplexer outputs.

A circuit adapts to the occurrence of metastable states. The circuit inhibits passing of the metastable state to circuits that follow, by clock gating the output stage. In order to determine whether or not to gate the clock of the output stage, two detect circuits may be used. One circuit detects metastability and another circuit detects metastability resolved to a wrong logic level. The results from one or both detector circuits are used to gate the next clock cycle if needed, waiting for the metastable situation to be resolved.

A multi-phase partial response receiver supports various incoming data rates by sampling PrDFE output values at a selected one of at least two clock phases. The receiver includes a calibration circuit that performs a timing analysis of critical data paths in the circuit, and this analysis is then used to select the particular clock phase used to latch the output values. These techniques permit the multiplexer outputs from for each phase of the partial response receiver to directly drive selection of a multiplexer for the ensuing phase, i.e., by avoiding regions of instability or uncertainty in the respective multiplexer outputs.