Frequency measurement circuit and frequency measurement apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11467198-B2
Application number	US-202017002823-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 26, 2020
Priority date	Aug 27, 2019
Publication date	Oct 11, 2022
Grant date	Oct 11, 2022

Abstract

A frequency measurement circuit includes a first counter that counts a pulse number of a reference clock signal and generates first count data, a second counter that counts a pulse number of a measurement target clock signal and generates second count data, a time-to-digital conversion circuit that generates first time difference data indicating a time difference between a first timing at which the first counter starts counting of the pulse number and a second timing at which the second counter starts counting of the pulse number, and second time difference data indicating a time difference between a third timing at which the first counter ends counting of the pulse number and a fourth timing at which the second counter ends counting of the pulse number, and a calculation circuit that performs calculation based on the second count data, the first time difference data, and the second time difference data and generates frequency data indicating a frequency of the measurement target clock signal.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A frequency measurement circuit comprising:
an oscillation circuit that generates a reference clock signal;
a first counter that counts a pulse number of the reference clock signal and generates first count data;
a second counter that counts a pulse number of a measurement target clock signal and generates second count data;
a time-to-digital conversion circuit that generates first time difference data indicating a time difference between a first timing at which the first counter starts counting of the pulse number of the reference clock signal and a second timing at which the second counter starts counting of the pulse number of the measurement target clock signal, and second time difference data indicating a time difference between a third timing at which the first counter ends counting of the pulse number of the reference clock signal and a fourth timing at which the second counter ends counting of the pulse number of the measurement target clock signal; and
a calculation circuit that performs calculation based on the second count data, the first time difference data, and the second time difference data and generates frequency data indicating a frequency of the measurement target clock signal.

2. The frequency measurement circuit according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a measurement start signal generation circuit that generates a measurement start signal which defines the first timing and the third timing based on the reference clock signal; and
a measurement end signal generation circuit that generates a measurement end signal which defines the second timing and the fourth timing based on the measurement target clock signal, wherein
the time-to-digital conversion circuit
generates the first time difference data and the second time difference data based on the measurement start signal and the measurement end signal.

3. The frequency measurement circuit according to claim 1 , wherein
the first counter generates the first count data so that a count number defined by a gate time signal is reached.

4. The frequency measurement circuit according to claim 3 , wherein
the calculation circuit calculates Fm as Fm=Nm/(T 0 ×Nt+t p2 −t p1 ), in which
the frequency is Fm,
the count number is Nt,
a value of the second count data is Nm,
the time difference indicated by the first time difference data is t p1 ,
the time difference indicated by the second time difference data is t p2 , and
one period of the reference clock signal is T 0 .

5. The frequency measurement circuit according to claim 1 , wherein
the first counter generates the first count data a plurality of times,
the second counter generates the second count data a plurality of times,
the time-to-digital conversion circuit generates the first time difference data and the second time difference data a plurality of times, and
the calculation circuit generates the frequency data a plurality of times and filters the frequency data generated a plurality of times.

6. The frequency measurement circuit according to claim 1 , wherein
the calculation circuit is disposed between the oscillation circuit and the time-to-digital conversion circuit in plan view of the frequency measurement circuit.

7. A frequency measurement apparatus comprising:
the frequency measurement circuit according to claim 1 ;
a resonator; and
a package accommodating the frequency measurement circuit and the resonator, wherein
the oscillation circuit oscillates the resonator to generate the reference clock signal.

8. The frequency measurement apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein
the resonator does not overlap with the time-to-digital conversion circuit included in the frequency measurement circuit in plan view of the frequency measurement apparatus.

9. The frequency measurement apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein
a distance between the resonator and the oscillation circuit is smaller than a distance between the resonator and the time-to-digital conversion circuit in plan view of the frequency measurement apparatus.

10. The frequency measurement apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein
the frequency measurement circuit is integrated into a semiconductor substrate,
the semiconductor substrate is provided with a first electrode pad and a second electrode pad that are electrically coupled to the resonator,
in plan view of the frequency measurement apparatus,
the semiconductor substrate has a first side and a second side that faces the first side and that is closer to the resonator than the first side, and
the first electrode pad and the second electrode pad are disposed along the second side.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Takahashi Tomoaki
• Haneda Hideo
• Sudo Yasuhiro

Classifications

• G04F10/005

  Time-to-digital converters [TDC] (analog-to-digital converters with intermediate conversion to time or phase H03M1/50, H03M1/60) · CPC title

• H03K5/135 Primary

  by the use of time reference signals, e.g. clock signals · CPC title

• G01R23/10 Primary

  by converting frequency into a train of pulses, which are then counted {, i.e. converting the signal into a square wave} · CPC title