Semiconductor device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12184234-B2
Application number	US-202318342888-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 28, 2023
Priority date	Jun 29, 2022
Publication date	Dec 31, 2024
Grant date	Dec 31, 2024

Abstract

A semiconductor device includes a crystal oscillator circuit, a first noise application circuit, and a second noise application circuit. The first noise application circuit is connected to the crystal oscillator circuit and is configured to drive a crystal resonator by selectively applying initial noises of opposite phases to a first external terminal and a second external terminal. The second noise application circuit applies a second noise to the first external terminal by amplifying a signal at the first external terminal and returning the amplified signal to the first external terminal, thereby driving an oscillation amplifier and a crystal resonator of the crystal oscillator circuit and shortening a start-up time of the crystal oscillator circuit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A semiconductor device comprising:
a first external terminal;
a second external terminal;
a crystal oscillator circuit connected to the first external terminal and the second external terminal;
a first noise application circuit connected to the crystal oscillator circuit; and
a second noise application circuit connected to the crystal oscillator circuit,
wherein the crystal oscillator circuit includes:
an oscillation amplifier connected between the first external terminal and the second external terminal;
a feedback resistor element connected between the first external terminal and the second external terminal;
an external first capacitor element connected between the first external terminal and an external ground potential line;
an external second capacitor element connected between the second external terminal and the external ground potential line; and
an external crystal resonator connected between the first external terminal and the second external terminal,

wherein the first noise application circuit is configured to drive the crystal resonator by selectively applying initial noises of opposite phases to the first external terminal and the second external terminal,
wherein the second noise application circuit includes:
a third switch;
a first capacitance coupling circuit;
an amplifier circuit; and
a second capacitance coupling circuit,

wherein the third switch is provided between the first external terminal and the first capacitance coupling circuit,
wherein the amplifier circuit is provided between the first capacitance coupling circuit and the second capacitance coupling circuit,
wherein the second capacitance coupling circuit is connected to the first external terminal via the third switch,
wherein the first capacitance coupling circuit is provided so as to take an alternating current component of a signal at the first external terminal by separating a direct current voltage at the first external terminal from a direct current voltage at an input terminal of the amplifier circuit,
wherein the second capacitance coupling circuit is provided so as to output an alternating current component of the amplifier circuit by separating a direct current voltage at an output terminal of the amplifier circuit from a direct current voltage at the first external terminal,
wherein the amplifier circuit is provided so as to amplify the alternating current component taken by the first capacitance coupling circuit, convert it into a clock signal, and drive the first external terminal with the converted clock signal,
wherein the third switch is provided so as to prevent capacitance values of the first capacitance coupling circuit and the second capacitance coupling circuit from affecting oscillation by separating the amplifier circuit from the first external terminal after activation of the crystal oscillator circuit is completed, and
wherein a second noise is applied to the first external terminal by amplifying the signal at the first external terminal and returning the amplified signal to the first external terminal by the second noise application circuit, thereby driving the oscillation amplifier and the crystal resonator and shortening a start-up time of the crystal oscillator circuit.

2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the amplifier circuit has a noise removal function so as to remove harmonic components due to power supply noise and amplify only signal components.

3. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the first noise application circuit includes:
an oscillator;
a first switch provided between an output terminal of the oscillator and the first external terminal; and
an inverter circuit and a second switch provided between the output terminal of the oscillator and the second external terminal,

wherein the oscillator generates the initial noises, and
wherein the first switch and the second switch are turned off after applying the initial noises to the first external terminal and the second external terminal.

4. The semiconductor device according to claim 3 ,
wherein the oscillator includes a voltage controlled oscillator, and
wherein a frequency of the voltage controlled oscillator is slowly increased, thereby crossing a resonance frequency of the crystal resonator and a frequency of the voltage controlled oscillator.

5. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the second capacitance coupling circuit includes:
a counter circuit in which a plurality of pairs of one capacitor element and one switch element are connected in parallel and which is configured to count output clocks of the amplifier circuit, and

wherein the counter circuit increases a capacitance value between the output terminal of the amplifier circuit and the first external terminal over time by sequentially turning on the switch elements of the plurality of pairs for each predetermined time.

6. The semiconductor device according to claim 5 ,
wherein the plurality of switch elements and the third switch are turned off after activation of the crystal oscillator circuit is completed.

7. The semiconductor device according to claim 5 , comprising:
a bias setting circuit configured to set the input terminal of the amplifier circuit to a predetermined bias potential,
wherein a control signal generated by the counter circuit stops operations of the amplifier circuit and the bias setting circuit after a certain period of time has elapsed.

8. The semiconductor device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the second capacitance coupling circuit includes:
a counter circuit configured to count output clocks of the amplifier circuit; and
a bias setting circuit configured to set the input terminal of the amplifier circuit to a predetermined bias potential.

9. The semiconductor device according to claim 8 ,
wherein a control signal generated by the counter circuit stops operations of the amplifier circuit and the bias setting circuit after a certain period of time has elapsed.

Assignees

• Renesas Electronics Corp

Inventors

• Nishioka Soshiro

Classifications

• H03B29/00

  Generation of noise currents and voltages {(gasfilled discharge tubes with solid cathode specially adapted as noise generators H01J17/005)} · CPC title

• H03B5/32

  being a piezoelectric resonator (selection of piezoelectric material H10N30/00) · CPC title

• H03B5/364 Primary

  the amplifier comprising field effect transistors (H03B5/366 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H03B2200/0094

  Measures to ensure starting of oscillations · CPC title

• H03B5/366

  and comprising means for varying the frequency by a variable voltage or current · CPC title