A Low-Power and Low-Noise 20:1 Serializer with Two Calibration Loops in 55-nm CMOS

Abstract

The increasing data rate of serial links makes it difficult to match timing constraints of serializers in transmitters. Delay compensation clock buffers can alleviate this issue by matching the timing between data and clock. However, these buffers consume significant power and become sources of noise to the transmitter output. The problem is more serious for serializers other than 2(n):1, and using only 2(n):1 serializer could be a limitation on system design. In this paper, a 20:1 serializer using two calibration feedback loops is presented to solve this issue and reduce power consumption. The two loops detect the phase difference between data and clock, and automatically align the clock phase to the center of the data phase. The loops eliminate the power-consuming clock buffers on the critical clock path and operate at maximum quarter rate, enabling the transmitter to have low power consumption and high performance. A 6.4 Gb/s serializer prototype is fabricated in 55-nm CMOS process with a 1.2 V supply voltage. It achieves 97.5 ps eye width, which is 62.4% of a unit interval (UI) using PRBS-7 data, and its energy efficiency is 1.60 pJ/bit.