OSCILLATOR CIRCUIT AND SEMICONDUCTOR INTEGRATED CIRCUIT

Abstract

The present invention provides an oscillator circuit and a semiconductor integrated circuit, which can suppress the upper limit of the frequency of a clock signal due to an error of the constant current circuit. The oscillator circuit of the present invention includes a constant current circuit, an oscillator, and a current limiting circuit. The constant current circuit generates a first output current according to a supply voltage. The current limiting circuit receives the first output current and generates a second output current, and establishes an upper limit for the second output current when the supply voltage drops below a lower limit of a guaranteed operational range of the constant current circuit. The oscillator generates a clock signal according to the second output current. By establishing the upper limit for the second output current, the upper limit of the frequency of the clock signal can be suppressed.

Claims

1. An oscillator circuit, comprising: a constant current circuit, configured to generate a first output current according to a supply voltage; a current limiting circuit, configured to receive the first output current and generate a second output current, and establish an upper limit for the second output current when the supply voltage drops below a lower limit of a guaranteed operational range of the constant current circuit; and an oscillator, configured to generate a clock signal according to the second output current.

2. The oscillator circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein the constant current circuit comprises: a first current mirror circuit, configured to generate a reference current according to the supply voltage and a resistance value of a first variable resistor, and generate the first output current in a first current path in response to the reference current; wherein the current limiting circuit comprises: a second variable resistor; and a second current mirror circuit, connected to the second variable resistor, and configured to generate an upper limit current in a second current path according to the supply voltage and a resistance value of the second variable resistor, and determine the upper limit of the second output current according to the upper limit current; wherein the current limiting circuit sets the upper limit current to be smaller than the reference current when the supply voltage drops below the lower limit of the guaranteed operational range of the constant current circuit.

3. The oscillator circuit as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second current mirror circuit is configured to provide a first bias voltage according to the reference current or the upper limit current, and the current limiting circuit further comprises: a third current mirror circuit, connected to the second current mirror circuit to receive the first bias voltage, and configured to generate a control current in response to the first bias voltage; and a transistor, connected to the third current mirror circuit and a current source transistor, and configured to form a fourth current mirror circuit with the current source transistor, and generate the second output current according to the control current.

4. The oscillator circuit as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second current mirror circuit comprises: a first transistor, connected to the first current mirror circuit in series, so as to receive the first output current and generate the second output current; and a second transistor, disposed in the second current path, wherein a gate of the first transistor and a gate of the second transistor are commonly connected to a first node located between the second transistor and the second variable resistor.

5. The oscillator circuit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second current mirror circuit comprises: a first transistor, connected to the first current path in series, and disposed between the first current mirror circuit and the third current mirror circuit to provide the first bias voltage; and a second transistor, disposed in the second current path, wherein a gate of the first transistor and a gate of the second transistor are commonly connected to a first node located between the second transistor and the second variable resistor.

6. The oscillator circuit as claimed in claim 4, wherein the second variable resistor is configured to: make sure that the first transistor does not suppress the first output current when the supply voltage is higher than or equal to the lower limit of the guaranteed operational range of the constant current circuit, and make sure that the first transistor determines the upper limit of the second output current according to the upper limit current when the supply voltage is lower than the lower limit of the guaranteed operational range of the constant current circuit.

7. The oscillator circuit as claimed in claim 2, wherein the current limiting circuit is configured to adjust the resistance value of the second variable resistor so that the upper limit current is larger than or equal to the reference current when the supply voltage is higher than or equal to the lower limit of the guaranteed operational range of the constant current circuit.

8. The oscillator circuit as claimed in claim 4, wherein the oscillator circuit comprises a plurality of current limiting circuits, the oscillator comprises a plurality of delay circuits, and each delay circuit is connected to one of the corresponding current limiting circuits via the first transistor.

9. The oscillator circuit as claimed in claim 4, wherein the oscillator comprises: a delay circuit comprising a capacitor connected to the first transistor, the delay circuit is configured to charge the capacitor according to the second output circuit, to generate a delay time according to a charging time of the capacitor; wherein the oscillator generates the clock signal according to the delay time.

10. The oscillator circuit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the oscillator comprises: a delay circuit comprising a capacitor connected to the current source transistor, the delay circuit is configured to charge the capacitor according to the second output circuit, to generate a delay time according to the charging time of the capacitor; wherein the oscillator generates the clock signal according to the delay time.

11. The oscillator circuit as claimed in claim 3, wherein the current limiting circuit is configured to generate a second bias voltage at a node between the transistor and the third current mirror circuit, and the second bias voltage is provided to a gate of the transistor and a gate of the current source transistor.

12. The oscillator circuit as claimed in claim 2, wherein the oscillator comprises a delay circuit, and the delay circuit comprises: a capacitor; a third transistor, connected to a second node in parallel with the capacitor, and configured to generate a charging voltage at the second node according to the clock signal and the second output current; and a comparator, configured to compare a reference voltage with the charging voltage to generate a comparison result; wherein the oscillator generates the clock signal according to the comparison result.

13. The oscillator circuit as claimed in claim 12, wherein the oscillator comprises two delay circuits and a flip-flop circuit; an output of one delay circuit is connected to a first input terminal of the flip-flop circuit; a first output terminal of the flip-flop circuit is connected to a gate of the third transistor of one delay circuit; an output of the other delay circuit is connected to a second input terminal of the flip-flop circuit; a second output terminal of the flip-flop circuit is connected to a gate of the third transistor of the other delay circuit; and the clock signal is generated from the first output terminal of the flip-flop circuit.

14. The oscillator circuit as claimed in claim 12, wherein the second current mirror circuit is formed by two P-type MOS transistors having gates connected each other, and the third transistor is an N-type MOS transistor.

15. A semiconductor integrated circuit, comprising: the oscillator circuit as claimed in claim 1; and a circuit operating synchronously with the clock signal generated by the oscillator circuit.

16. The semiconductor integrated circuit as claimed in claim 15, wherein the constant current circuit comprises: a first current mirror circuit, configured to generate a reference current according to the supply voltage and a resistance value of a first variable resistor, and generate the first output current in a first current path in response to the reference current; wherein the current limiting circuit comprises: a second variable resistor; and a second current mirror circuit, connected to the second variable resistor, and configured to generate an upper limit current in a second current path according to the supply voltage and a resistance value of the second variable resistor, and determine the upper limit of the second output current according to the upper limit current; wherein the current limiting circuit sets the upper limit current to be smaller than the reference current when the supply voltage drops below the lower limit of the guaranteed operational range of the constant current circuit.

17. The semiconductor integrated circuit as claimed in claim 16, wherein the second current mirror circuit is configured to provide a first bias voltage according to the reference current or the upper limit current, and the current limiting circuit further comprises: a third current mirror circuit, connected to the second current mirror circuit to receive the first bias voltage, and configured to generate a control current in response to the first bias voltage; and a transistor, connected to the third current mirror circuit and a current source transistor, and configured to form a fourth current mirror circuit with the current source transistor, and generate the second output current according to the control current.

18. The semiconductor integrated circuit as claimed in claim 16, wherein the second current mirror circuit comprises: a first transistor, connected to the first current mirror circuit in series, so as to receive the first output current and generate the second output current; and a second transistor, disposed in the second current path, wherein a gate of the first transistor and a gate of the second transistor are commonly connected to a first node located between the second transistor and the second variable resistor.

19. The semiconductor integrated circuit as claimed in claim 17, wherein the second current mirror circuit comprises: a first transistor, connected to the first current path in series, and disposed between the first current mirror circuit and the third current mirror circuit to provide the first bias voltage; and a second transistor, disposed in the second current path, wherein a gate of the first transistor and a gate of the second transistor are commonly connected to a first node located between the second transistor and the second variable resistor.

20. The semiconductor integrated circuit as claimed in claim 16, wherein the current limiting circuit is configured to adjust the resistance value of the second variable resistor so that the upper limit current is larger than or equal to the reference current when the supply voltage is higher than or equal to the lower limit of the guaranteed operational range of the constant current circuit.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the conventional constant current circuit.

[0016] FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the oscillator circuit using the conventional constant current circuit.

[0017] FIG. 3A shows the configuration of the delay circuit of the oscillator; FIGS. 3B-3D show the operation waveforms of the voltages at each node of the delay circuit.

[0018] FIG. 4 shows the configuration of an oscillator circuit according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the oscillator circuit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the delay circuit of the second embodiment according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The oscillator circuit of the present invention can be applied to memory devices such as the dynamic random access memory (DRAM), the static random access memory (SRAM), the resistive random access memory (RRAM), and the magnetic random access memory (MRAM); or can be applied to various semiconductor devices such as the logic and the signal processing.

[0022] FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the oscillator circuit of the present embodiment. The same configuration as in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3A is given the same reference number, and the repeated description is omitted.

[0023] The oscillator circuit 100 of the present embodiment comprises the constant current circuit 10, a current limiting circuit 110 and the oscillator circuit 20. The current limiting circuit 110 is configured between the constant current circuit 10 and the oscillator circuit 20. Only the delay circuit 22 is shown in the oscillator circuit 20 as the representative, and the other elements of the oscillator circuit 20, such as the delay circuit 24 and the flip-flop circuit 26 are omitted. In one embodiment, the delay circuits 22 and 24 can be commonly connected to one current limiting circuit 110. In another embodiment, the oscillator circuit 100 can comprise two transistors PMOS2 and two current limiting circuits 110. The delay circuit 22 is connected to one of the transistors PMOS2 and one of the current limiting circuits 110 connected in series, and the delay circuit 24 is connected to the other transistor PMOS2 and the other current limiting circuit 110 connected in series.

[0024] The current limiting circuit 110 of the present embodiment is configured to establish the upper limit for the frequency of the clock signal CLK generated by the oscillator circuit 20 when the abnormally large constant current flows through the constant current circuit 10. For example, if the supply voltage VDD provided to the constant current circuit 10 drops from the determined supply voltage VDD (for example, 1.8V) very close to the reference voltage V.sub.REF (for example, 1.2V generated by the bandgap reference circuit), the output voltage Vg of the operational amplifier OP will become too low, and the transistors PMOS1 and PMOS2 as output drivers will not operate in the saturation region (for example, operate in the linear region). This way, the current mirror circuit formed by the transistors PMOS1 and PMOS2 cannot operate normally, and the output current I.sub.MIRROR of the transistor PMOS2 does not follow the current mirror ratio, and may become very large.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 3A, each of the delay circuits 22 and 24 of the oscillator circuit 20 comprises a capacitor C. The charging time of the capacitor C depends on the output current I.sub.MIRROR. If the output current I.sub.MIRROR becomes larger, the charging speed becomes faster, the delay time caused by the delay circuits 22 and 24 becomes shorter, and the frequency of the clock signal CLK becomes higher.

[0026] The current limiting circuit 110 of the present embodiment is configured to regulate the upper limit of the output current I.sub.MIRROR of the constant current circuit 10 when the supply voltage VDD drops. It also prevents the charging time of the capacitor C of the delay circuit 22 from being too short, which can result in the delay time being shorter than a first predetermined value. Therefore, the frequency of the clock signal CLK is not higher than a second predetermined value. This way, the operation of the circuit synchronized with the clock signal CLK from the oscillator circuit 100 can be guaranteed.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 4, the current limiting circuit 110 of the present embodiment comprises P-type transistors PMOS4 and PMOS5 and a resistor R.sub.LIM. The transistor PMOS5 is connected in series between the constant current circuit 10 and the oscillator circuit 20. In the present embodiment, the transistor PMOS5 is connected between the transistor PMOS2 and the transistor NMOS1. The current limiting circuit 110 comprises a current I.sub.LIM flowing path located between the supply voltage VDD and the ground potential GND, and the transistor PMOS4 and the resistor R.sub.LIM are connected in series in the current I.sub.LIM flowing path. The gates of the transistors PMOS4 and PMOS5 are commonly connected to the node N4 located between the transistor PMOS4 and the resistor R.sub.LIM. The transistors PMOS4 and PMOS5 form a current mirror circuit. According to the present embodiment, the bias of the gate of the transistor PMOS5 is determined by the current I.sub.LIM flowing through the transistor PMOS4 and the resistor R.sub.LIM. Therefore, the current flowing through the transistor PMOS5 is determined by the current I.sub.LIM. If the supply voltage VDD becomes higher, the current I.sub.LIM becomes larger; if the supply voltage VDD becomes lower, the current I.sub.LIM becomes smaller. In addition, if the resistance value of the resistor R.sub.LIM is adjusted to be smaller, the current I.sub.LIM becomes larger; if the resistance value of the resistor R.sub.LIM is adjusted to be larger, the current I.sub.LIM becomes smaller.

[0028] If the supply voltage VDD is significantly higher than the reference voltage V.sub.REF, that is, the supply voltage VDD satisfies the lower limit of the guaranteed operational range of the constant current circuit 10, the transistor PMOS1 operates in the saturation region, the transistor PMOS2 follows the current mirror ratio to generate the output current I.sub.MIRROR in accordance with the reference current I.sub.REF flowing through the transistor PMOS1. If the supply voltage VDD drops very close to the reference voltage V.sub.REF, or even drops below the reference voltage V.sub.REF due to some reasons, the transistor PMOS1 operates in the linear region, and the transistor PMOS2 no longer operates as the current mirror of the reference current I.sub.REF, resulting in a higher output current I.sub.MIRROR larger than the reference current I.sub.REF. By the current limiting circuit 110 of the embodiment, the current provided to the capacitor C can be limited to solve the above-mentioned problem.

[0029] The resistor R.sub.LIM is a variable resistor. When the supply voltage VDD is lower than the lower limit of the guaranteed operational range of the constant current circuit 10, the current I.sub.LIM is adjusted to make sure that the charging time of the capacitor C caused by the drain current flowing through the transistor PMOS5 is not less than a constant time. For example, when the supply voltage VDD is equal to the lower limit of the guaranteed operational range of the constant current circuit 10, the resistor R.sub.LIM is configured to adjust the current I.sub.LIM being equal to the output current I.sub.MIRROR. In other words, the adjusted current I.sub.LIM is equal to the reference current I.sub.REF. This way, when the supply voltage VDD is normal, the reference current I.sub.REF controls the output current I.sub.MIRROR. On the other hand, when the supply voltage VDD is lower than the lower limit of the guaranteed operational range of the constant current circuit 10, the output current I.sub.MIRROR is suppressed by the current I.sub.LIM being smaller than the reference current I.sub.REF.

[0030] By regulating the upper limit of the output current I.sub.MIRROR, as shown in FIG. 3C, the voltage shown by the dashed line can be limited to the voltage shown by the solid line, and the upper limit of the frequency of the clock signal is restricted.

[0031] During normal operation, the current I.sub.LIM of the current limiting circuit 110 is larger than the reference current I.sub.REF, so the output current I.sub.MIRROR generated by the transistor PMOS5 is not limited.

[0032] By adjusting the resistance value of the resistor R.sub.LIM of the current limiting circuit 110 properly, when the output current I.sub.MIRROR of the constant current circuit 10 becomes larger, the current limiting circuit 110 operates as the current limiter, to establish the upper limit for the output current I.sub.MIRROR, so that the charging time of the capacitor C is not less than a constant time. When the constant current circuit 10 outputs the normal constant current, the current limiting circuit 110 provides the output current I.sub.MIRROR in accordance with the reference current I.sub.REF, and does not operate as the current limiter. This way, when an oscillator circuit uses the constant current circuit of the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the oscillator from generating an unexpected high-frequency clock signal, and the operation of the circuit synchronized with the clock signal can be guaranteed.

[0033] FIG. 5 shows the configuration of an oscillator circuit 100A according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the delay circuits 22′ and 24′ of the second embodiment. In FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the same configuration as in FIG. 2, FIG. 3A and FIG. 4 is given the same reference number, and the repeated description is omitted. According to the oscillator circuit 100A, the current limiting circuit 110′ is configured between the constant current circuit 10 and the oscillator circuit 20. The current limiting circuit 110′ comprises the P-type transistors PMOS4, PMOS5 and PMOS7, the resistor R.sub.LIM, and the N-type transistors NMOS2 and NMOS3. The drain of the transistor PMOS5 of the current limiting circuit 110′ is connected to the transistor NMOS2. Therefore, a first current path K1 comprises the transistors PMOS2, PMOS5 and NMOS2 connected in series between the supply voltage VDD and the ground potential GND. A bias voltage BIAS for driving the transistor NMOS2 can be generated at the node N2 according to the current flowing from the drain of the transistor PMOS5. Similar to the previous embodiment, when the supply voltage VDD is lower than the guaranteed operational range of the constant current circuit 10, the transistor PMOS2 may generate the excess output current I.sub.MIRROR. The amount of excess output current I.sub.MIRROR output to the oscillator circuit 20 can be limited by the current limiting circuit 110′.

[0034] In addition, the transistors PMOS7 and NMOS3 are disposed in the second current path K2 between the supply voltage VDD and the ground potential GND. The gate of the transistor PMOS7 is connected to the gate of a P-type transistor PMOS3 of the oscillator circuit 20 (shown in FIG. 6). That is, the transistors PMOS7 and PMOS3 form a current mirror circuit. The gate of the transistor NMOS2 and the gate of the transistor NMOS3 are commonly connected to the node N2, and the bias voltage BIAS is applied to the node N2. By the current mirror circuit formed by the transistors NMOS2 and NMOS3, the output current I.sub.MIRROR flowing through the second current path K2 is regulated by the current I.sub.LIM. In addition, the bias voltage BIASP can be generated at the node N5 between the transistors PMOS7 and NMOS3 according to the output current I.sub.MIRROR flowing through the second current path K2, and the bias voltage BIASP is also applied to the gate of the transistor PMOS7 and the gate of the transistor PMOS3 shown in FIG. 6. This way, the output current I.sub.MIRROR flowing through the second current path K2 can regulate the output current I.sub.MIRROR flowing through the transistor PMOS3. In other words, the current sources of the delay circuits 22 and 24 are limited to a constant value or less.

[0035] When the supply voltage VDD becomes lower than the lower limit of the guaranteed operational range of the constant current circuit 10, the output current I.sub.MIRROR in the first current path K1 provided to the transistor NMOS2 is limited by the current I.sub.LIM of the current limiting circuit 110′. That is, the bias voltage BIAS is less than or equal to a predetermined value in response to the current I.sub.LIM. Therefore, the drain current of the transistor NMOS3 establishes the upper limit for the output current I.sub.MIRROR in the second current path K2. In response to this, the output current I.sub.MIRROR flowing through the transistor PMOS3 of the delay circuit 22′ (24′) will be less than or equal to a predetermined value, so that the current provided to the node N3 is less than or equal to the predetermined value. This way, the current provided to the capacitor C can be limited, which prevents the charging speed of the capacitor C from being too fast.

[0036] According to the present embodiment, it is possible to control the charging time of each capacitor C in a pair of the delay circuits 22′ and 24′ by one current limiting circuit 110′, and it is not necessary to configure each current limiting circuit 110 to the corresponding delay circuits 22 and 24 individually as the first embodiment.

[0037] In the above embodiment, the oscillator is designed to comprise a pair of delay circuits and the flip-flop circuit, and the delay circuits are connected together via the flip-flop circuit. However, other well-known structure may also be used. In detail, the current limiting circuit is applied to the oscillator which determines the frequency of the clock signal based on the amount of the current generated by the constant current circuit.

[0038] While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.