A "flying-adder" architecture of frequency and phase synthesis with scalability

Most of today\´s digital designs, from small-scale digital block designs to system-on-chip (SoC) designs, are based on "synchronous" design principle. Clock is the most important issue in these designs. Frequency and phase synthesis is closely related to the clock generation. A frequency and phase synthesis technique based on phase-locked loop is proposed in that delivers high performance, easy integration, and high stability. However, there are problems associated with this architecture, such as: 1) its highest deliverable frequency is limited by the speed of the accumulator and 2) the phase synthesis circuitry will not work well in certain ranges (dead zone) and in certain conditions (dual stability). This paper presents an improved architecture that addresses these problems. The new frequency synthesis circuitry has scalability for higher output frequency. It also has an internal node whose frequency is twice that of output signal. When duty cycle is not a concern, this signal can be used directly as clock source. The new phase synthesis circuitry is free of "dead zone" and "dual stability." The improved architecture has better performance, is simpler to implement, and is easier to understand.