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Charge Pump Phase Lock Loops
Charge Pump Phase Lock Loops
Charge Pump Phase Lock Loops
I. INTRODUCTION
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1850 TRANSACTIONS
COMMUNICATIONS,
IEEEON VOL. COM-28,
NO. 11, NOVEMBER 1980
I
t p = Be I/wi (1)
for each period 2n/wi of the input signal. (The subscript “p”
connotes “pump.”)
These two features-the three-state description and the O N -
timeequation-completely characterize the PFD or PD for
purposes of this paper.
A charge pump is nothing but a three-position, electronic
switch that is controlled by the three states of the PFD. When
the switch is set in the U or D position, it delivers a pump
voltage kVp [Fig.2(a) and (c)]or a pump current U p [Fig.
2(b) and (d)] to the loop filter. In the N position, the switch is
open, thereby isolating the loop filter from the charge pump (Cl
and the phase detector. This open condition is not encoun-
tered in the conventional, analog PLL‘s and it engenders
important, novel characteristics, as will be seen presently.
The loop filter can be either passive, as in Fig. 2(a) and (b),
or active, as in Fig. 2(c) and (d). The significant features of the
filters to be studied hereare contained in the impedance
Zs(,) ofFig. 2, where s is the Laplace-transform complex I (d)
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GARDNER: CHARGE-PUMP PHASE-LOCK LOOPS 185 1
2
K/72 = W , (10)
where K is the loop gain, a,,is the natural frequency and 5 is
the damping factor. Any two of the three parameters com-
pletelydefinethelinearized,time-averagedbehaviorof the
PLL. Substituting (8) and (9) into (5) and (6) gives the trans-
These functions apply for any 2,. fer functions forthe second-order, charge-pumpPLL.They
An important property of any PLL is the static phase error turn out to have exactly the same form as obtained for a con-
[6, ch. 41 or loop stress that arises from a frequency offse$-- ventional second-order PLL [6, ch. 21. Therefore, to the ex-
A u between the input signal and the free-running frequency tentthatthe various approximations arevalid, the charge-
of the VCO. Applying the final-value theorem, as in [6], the pump PLL has exactly the same small-scale behavior as con-
static phase error is found to be ventional PLL's with the same values for the loopparameters.
To explore further, we note that Z,(O) = 00 so that the
static phase error, from (7), is zero. This desirable performance
is achieved with a passive filter. To approach zero static phase
error in a conventional PLL requires an active filter with large
dc gain. Therefore, the charge pump permits zero static phase
The foregoing results were all obtained for the configura- error (Type-I1 response)without the need for dcamplification.
tion of Fig. 2(b): the current switch with passive filter. Much This effect arises because of the input open circuit during the
the same expressions arise for each of the otherthree configu- N state and does not necessarily depend upon use of an active
rations. For an active filter, it is necessary to take the polarity current switch. The same behavior is found in any of the four
reversal of the operational amplifier into account. For a volt- configurations of Fig. 2.
age switch, the same equations as above occur if we let I, % Practical circuits will impose some shunt loading across the
Vp/R For Fig.2(a)-voltageswitch with passivefilter-the passive filter impedance. Denote the load as a resistor R,. The
resulting equations are approximate with the approximation actual staticphase error, from (7), will be
being valid only if I u, I 4 V,.
2nAw
111. SECOND-ORDER LOOP e, =--- rad.
KoIpR,
Continuous-TimeApproximation
A large preponderance of applications utilize second-order Shunt loading is most likely to come from input impedance
PLL's. To obtain a zero-stabilized, second-order loop, consider of the VCO control terminal or from the switch itself. Both
a loop filter function impedances can be made extremely large. The VCO may be
varactor-tuned, which implies near-infinite resistance, and the
switch is typically a reverse-biased semiconductor. Some other
variety of VCO could utilize a high-impedance buffer, if neces-
sary to isolate a small-input impedance.
which is produced by a series connection of a resistor and a When R, is very large, then leakage current may be more
capacitor. significant in producingphase error. Thephase error O b
To systematize the notation, define resulting from a bias current I b injected continuously into the
filter node can be calculated as
W, = (KoIP/2nC)" rad/s
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1852 IEEE TRANSACTIONS
COMMUNICATIONS,
ON VOL. COM-28, NO. 11, NOVEMBER 1980
I
.
,' j C
\
A
\
l
UNIT
R 1
,---.
C.LE
/'
capacitor charge so u, could be neglected in determining the I
approximate behaviorof the circuit. If u, should become
large then it cannot be neglected. (A large u, would be re-
quired if the VCO needed a large v, to tune it to the proper A ROOT
frequency.Capacitor voltage u, is"large"if its magnitude , ' LOCUS
Granularity Problems F,or larger K', the poles lie on the real axis; one pole migrates
towards the center of the locus circle and the other migrates
All of the foregoingisbased on averaged-response, time- towards --.
continuous, constant-element operation of the loop. There are The loop is stable only if the poles lie inside the unit circle.
features arising from the actual discontinuous operation that
Instability results where the outbound pole crosses the unit
need attention, even for narrow bandwidths. The primary fea-
circle at z = -1, as noted in Fig. 2 . Normalized gain at the
tures are loop stability and phase-detectorripple.
crossing point is
In some sense, the loop operates on sampled
a basis and not
as a straightforward continuous-timecircuit. A sampled system
almost always has more stability problems than arise in con-
tinuous-timesystems.In particular, ananalog, second-order
PLL is unconditionallystable for any value of loop gain, but
the sampled equivalent will go unstable if the gain is made too
large. Prudent design requires that the stability limit beknown.3 This value ofK' is the stability limit and is plotted in Fig. 4.
A linearized, sarnpled\malysis is presented in Appendix A. Ripple is another granularity effect that demands attention.
The end result is the characteristic equation (denominator of Upon each cycle of the PFD, the pump current I p is driven
the transfer function) of the sampledPLL in the z-plane, into the filter impedance Zp,which responds with an instan-
which has the form taneous voltage jump of Au, = I p R z . At the endof the
charging interval (t = t p ) ,the pump current switches off and a
4n2 K' voltage jump of equalmagnitudeoccurs in theopposite
D(z) = (z - 1)2 + (z - 1) - direction.
Frequency of the VCO follows the voltage steps so there
will be frequency excursionsof A o o =KoIpR2 = 2nK radians/
second for each pump pulse. The phase excursion during the
pump interval t p will be AO0 = 27rKI B e I/wi [using (l)] , so
where Kt = Kr2 may be regarded as a normalized loop gain, the phase jitter vanishes for 8, = 0. (A not-unexpected hap-
oi is the input frequency, and 72 = R2C is the time constant
pening since the pump pulses are supposed to vanish for Be =
of the filter zero.
0J
Transient response for small phase errors and loop stability Some applications (e.g., bit synchronizers) may be'able to
are studied by examining the locations of the zeros of D(z)- tolerate such frequency jitter, but others (eg., frequency syn-
the polesof the z-domain transfer function. The root locus thesizers) may require much better spectral purity.
shows pole locations in the z plane for varying K'; an example A possibly more serious consequence of the jumps is 'the
is sketched in Fig. 3. The shape of the locus is very similar to potential for overload of the VCO, even if the indicated ripple
that of aconventionalsecond-orderloop in the s-plane [6, is allowable from a spectral-purity standpoint. Any real VCO
ch. 21. has only a finite frequency range over which it can be tuned. If
The two poles start at z = 1 for K' = 0 and move on a control voltages outside of this range are applied, the VCO fre-
quency is unable to follow. (In fact, oscillations may cease or
3 Tal [ 91 has investigated sampled-stabilityof a phase-locked speed- the circuit might even sustain damage.) We require that the fre-
control servo that uses a PFD and a simple lag Wter. His problem differs
somewhat from that considered here and his method provides an alter- quency jumps remain within the allowable tuning range of the
nate approach. VCO under all conditions.
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GARDNER: CHARGE-PUMP PHASE-LOCK LOOPS 1853
50
I
1
T"
1
Fig. 5. Filterfor third-order loop.
C
Y
K (?)(S+;)
-. . H(s) =
1 2 5 10 20 50 1 0 0 200 500
wi7~
+ y - 1)
' s3-br2+ s 2 + K ( F ) s K(b
Fig. 4. Stability and overload limits for second-order loop.
where thecontinuous-operation, time-averagingassumption
As an extreme instance, thefrequencyjump must not has been made.
exceed the input frequency. A larger jump would imply that Simple addition of C3 across R 2 + l/sC ought to serve very
the VCO frequency was driven negative-a meaningless status. well for the passive filter but is not likely to be satisfactory for
For this extreme condition, the overload bound is 2nK < wi the active filter. The operational amplifiers would be required
or, in normalized form to deliver step currents of I, on each cycle, which is likely to
bebeyond the slew capabilities ofmost amplifiers. Rather
K' <w i ~ 2 / 2 ~ . (15) than attempting to accommodate the current by brute force
amplifiers, it is more conservative to prevent the current step
from ever reaching the op amp, as in the circuits of Fig. 6 . The
A multivibrator, operatednear thecenter of its tuning general characteristics of these circuits ought to be much the
range, mightbe able to approachthe excursionsimplied in same as those for the simple passive circuit, but some fine de-
(15). Most other oscillators willhave a much smallertuning tails will differ. This paper treats only the passive-filter, cur-
rangeandthereforewillbe restricted to use in PLL's with rent-switch circuit.
much smaller values ofK .
As a comparison to the stability limit, the overload limit of Properties
(15) has also been plotted in Fig. 4. It is apparent that over- The transfer function (17) has a denominator of third de-
load is the actual restriction on loop gain; overload sets in at a gree, so the system is a third-order PLL. In the open-loop
lowervalueofgain than does instability for any practical transfer function, the additional pole is located at s = -b/r2,
circuit. which is far away from the dominant, low-frequency poles for
In all discussion of granularity effects it has been assumed large b . If C3 is small compared to C ( b %- I), then we should
tacitlythat all transitions are present. If transitions canbe expect onlyhigh-frequency effects from the additional fil-
missing at random, as in bit-clock recovery applications, then tering. Low-frequencypropertiesshouldbe essentially the
there may be a data-pattern-dependent jitter induced into the same as for the second-order loop.
VCO phase. That problem is not treated in this paper. In particular, the steady-state responses will be the same as
for the second-order loop. The static phase error caused by a
IV. THIRD-ORDER LOOP frequency offset will bezeroand the phaselagcausedby a
Origination frequency ramp will be Oa = Cj/on2, [ 6 ,ch. 41 where GJ is the
slope of the ramp. Although the loop is third order, it is only
The frequencyjumpsinherent to the second-order loop Type 11.
usually cannot beaccepted and additional filtering is often The s-plane root locus of (17) has beenstudied in [ 6 , ch. 81
included within the PLL in order to mitigate the ripple. The foranother application. Root loci are shown in Fig. 7 for
simplest ripple filter isan additional capacitor C3 in parallel various selections of b . For large b and small-enough K' (the
with the earlier RC impedance, as shown in Fig. 5. Defining normalized loop gain)the dominant poles are virtually un-
b = 1 + C/C3,we obtain changed from the locationsexpectedforthe second-order
loop. As K' becomes very large, the outward-bound real pole
meets the extra pole coming in from - b / ~and ~ the pair go
complex asymptotic to a vertical line at s = - 0 S ( b - 1 ) ~ The
~ .
(16 ) loop could become seriously underdamped for large gain.
As b is reduced, the breakaway point for the vertical asymp-
tote approaches closer to the low frequency portion of the
locus; if b < 9, the locus never returns to the real axis and is
Retaining the previous definition (9) for K , the closed- underdamped for all values ofK'.
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1854 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CO"UNICATIONS, VOL. COM-28, NO. 1 1 , NOVEMBER 1980
If b < 1, then the loop is unstable for all K'. In the con-
figurationofFig. 5 it isimpossible to have b < 1, but it is
entirely possible in Fig. 6. (In terms of the component values,
b is defined differently in Fig. 6 than in Fig. 5, but thetransfer
function and root locus plots have the same form for both
configurations.)
This stability impairment caused by the third pole is calcu-
lated on the basisofassumed continuous-time operation.
Time-discrete operation can be expected to cause even more
impairment. To investigate stability of the third-order loop, an
analysis similar to that given in the Appendix was performed.
(The analysis is omitted here because of space constraints.)
The criterion for stability-all poles inside the unit circle-is
satisfied if
Fig. 6.
(b)
where
b 1
40 -
30 -
a = exp (-E)-
20 -
Knowledge of the stability limit alone is not sufficient for
gooddesign;someinsight into the transient responseisalso
needed. To that end, thez-plane characteristic equation is
10-
2 0-
b
-10-
-20-. b
-30 -
where
-40 -
The zeros of D(z) are the z-plane poles; their location defines
the response to transients.
Fig. 8 shows the stabilitylimitsfor'several valuesof b .
Given values for b and air2, any value of Kr2 below the curve
yields a stableloop while any value abovethe curve isunstable.
Because of the extra capacitor, control voltage u, describes
a continuous, ramp-like, exponential function for each pump
pulse, instead of the rectangular jump that was found for the
second-order loop. The same analysis that provided the stabil-
ity limit gives the ramp amplitude as
-5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0
072
as compared to I Awo I2 = 27rK for the second-order loop. De-
(b)
fine 0 = I Awo 13// Awo 12, and assume b 1 Be I / W ~ T ~ < 1 (not
Fig. 7. Root locus plots for third-order, type I1 PLL.(a)Large scale.
(b) ExpandedTick mark< show values for K' = KT2. (Taken necessarily true,but a commoncondition).Then the SuppreS-
from [ 6 ] .Reproduced by permission of publisher.) sion of unwanted frequency excursion provided by the extra
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GARDNER: CHARGE-PUMP PHASE-LOCK LOOPS 1855
100 wir2 > 12.6, or, in other words, wi/K > 12.612 = 6.3. TO
50
I- allowsomemargin on the limit, a valueof o J K = 10 was
chosen for the example calculations. For practical VCOS that
is probably still too small a ratio but it will illustrate the re-
sults very well.
20
Transient phase error in response to a phase step of *6 rad
cm
Y
10 andof afrequency step of + X radianspersecondwere
calculated for the conditions of wi/K = 10 and 00. The latter
5 corresponds to the continuous-time PLL. Transient curves are
plotted in Figs. 9 and 10, respectively.
I It is apparent that, even for such a low frequency as com-
I
2
pared to bandwidth, the response of the charge-pump loop is
very close to thatof the classical, continuous loop.
1I
10 100 Asymmetry between positive and negativephase errors is
972
evident for the charge-pump loop. (Theclassical loop, of
Fig. 8. Stability limits for third-order loop. course, has symmetric response with respect to error polarity.)
This asymmetry arises fromthepolarity-asymmetricdepen-
dence of pulse duration upon phase error (see the Appendix)
capacitor is
and dwindles aswi/K is made larger.
The same program yields a phase-plane solution of the PLL.
Example trajectories are shown in Fig. 11. Asymmetry is also
apparent in this display.Eachmarked poiit represents the
state of the systemat thestarting instant of consecutive charge
When the loop is tracking near equilibrium, I Be I is very pulses. The points havebeen connected by straight lines, to
small so the suppression afforded by C, can be substantial. aid in following the individual trajectories, butthe actual
trajectory between two calculated points has not been deter-
V. TRANSIENT RESPONSE mined andthere is no reason to suppose that itwould be linear.
The results in all of the preceding sections-the continuous- The shape of the trajectories may seem rather peculiar; the
time approximation, the z-plane characteristic function, and vertical sections do not occur on the A o = 0 axisasis ex-
the stability limits-wereallbased upon an assumption of pected from previous phase-plane plots [lo] . The discrepancy
small phase error. That assumption fails for large phase errors arises not from the charge-pump action, but from the choice
such as occur during acquisition of lock. An analysis was per- of state variables. Here the variables are Be and A o = wi -
formed forlargephase errors for the second-order loop; the - Kou,, whereis the free-running frequency of the
analysis is outlined in the Appendix. VCO and u, is the voltage stored on the capacitor C in the
In essence, the method is to consider the loop state vari- loop filter. The usual phase-plane plot uses Be and be as the
ables of phase error and frequency at the instant immediately state variables. Proportional and integral elements enter into
before each pump pulse. These state variables are related by Be whereas only integral elements contribute to the frequency
difference equations whichwere iterated numericallyon a variable in Fig. 11. If equivalent state variables were defined,
programmable calculator. The resulting printout is a sequence then simiiar,skewed trajectories wouldalso be obtained for
of the state variables along with the times of occurrence. the classical loop.
Two different displaysarepossible: frequency- orphase- It is clear that the loop converges towardsequilibrium
error versustime to show the familiar transient response, or without difficulty, at least for the trajectories examined. At-
frequency error versusphase error to produce a phase-plane tempts were made to examine trajectories with larger initial
portrait [ 101. Examples of both are shown below. frequency errors. An overload phenomenon intervened: a
The question to be addressedis the following. If band- phenomenonthatthe program was not designed to accom-
width (orgain, , K ) isverysmall compared to the switching modate, so an error message was produced instead of a trajec-
frequency mi, then we knowthat the continuous analysis tory.Inasmuch as theloop was running veryclose to the
providesan excellent approximation to the behaviorof the nominal overload as deduced from Fig. 4, the program break-
charge-pump loop and we canutilize the extensive informa- down for small oi/K was not pursued further, on theSupposi-
tion available from the study of conventional, analog PLL’s. tion that a practical loop would break down under even more
In many applications we want to be able to use a large band- restrictive conditions.
width. Thereforewe ask, “How small can oi/K be made before Trajectories werealso obtained for oi/K = 100. Much
behavior departs significantly from that predicted by the con- larger Aw/K values could be accommodatedfor that condition
tinuous-time analysis?” and the program breakdown was not encountered again. With
Severalexample calculations were performed in order to large enough initial frequency error, the loop does not con-
explore the question. A valueof K’ = 2, corresponding to verge within the phase interval (-2n, 271) but slips one or more
< = 0.707 in the continuous PLL, was chosen as representative cycles before settling. The program was not designed to ac-
of many applications. Referring to the overload curve of Fig. commodate phase excursions beyond +2n, so no results are
4, it can beseen that the VCO is certain to overload unless provided.
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Aw/K
-.t n Fig. 11. Phase-plane portrait; second-order loop. K72 = 2; wi/K = 10.
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GARDNER: CHARGE-PUMP PHASE-LOCK LOOPS 1857
ux(t)= -
:[ ip(T) d ~ .
VCO waveform. Then -Ip is switched on so as to retard the This last equation is also exact. To pursue the linearized ana-
VCO phase; also Oo(0) = 0, and Oi(0)= e,(O), which is a nega- lysis, substitute i p t p 2 I p e e / a i from (A4) and (A6), and
tive number. The input-signal edge that shuts off the current approximate t" by 2nlwi to obtain
switch occurs when ei(t) = e i ( t p )= 0; in other words, when
the input phase has advanced by e,(O) radians at a rate of ai
radianslsecond. In this case, that time is exactly t p - =
I Be I/ai S.
Now suppose that the switch-on is initiated by an edge of
input signal. Thepumpcurrent is + I p ; ei(0) = 0, Oo(0) =
-O,(O), e,(O) is positive, andthe pump currentremains on until
the next edgeof the VCO. For the linearizedanalysis, that Except for the very last term, (A13) is linear in. e,(O). By
time is approximated by t,, = e,(O)/ai, the same expression dropping the last term-a valid approximation for small ( 9 ,-
as for the opposite polarity of phase error. we obtaina linear equation for the VCOphase at time r*
(In actual fact, since uc is not constant during the pump in terms of the initial phaseand frequency and theloop
interval, the frequency of the VCO changes during (0, t p + ) parameters.
so a linear equation for t, is incorrect for positive phase error. Define An = ai -.aoand recall that 0, = Bi - Bo. By the
In the nonlinearanalysis it was found that thecorrect charging previous approximations, Oi advances by 277 in the time inter-
interval is a solution of aquadraticequation involving the val (0, t*). With these substitutions, we obtain the linear dif-
initial conditions at t = 0 andtheloopparameters.The ference equations
quadratic solution is carried through in the numerical iteration
of the nonlinear difference equations.)
Define u,O = u,(O); uxp = ux(tp).Ordinary linear-network
analysis methods yield
e&,) = eo(o) + n o t p + Ko(uxotp+ i$2tp +'ptp2/2c).
('49) and
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1858 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON COMMUNICATIONS, VOL. COM-28, NO. 11: NOVEMBER 1980
Wit2 = 277 aresolved for r1 and t2. Thesmallerof these is rived in the same manner for the third-order loop. The Volume
taken as the value for t*. Having obtained the correct values of of algebra is substantially greater than for thesecond-order
t p and t*, the values for e&*) and Ao(t*) are calculated and loop so only the results are given in Section IV. Only linear
the process repeats with these state variablesas the new approximations have been performed for the third-order
initial conditions. The program starts atspecified initial condi- loop; the exact equations havenot been attempted.
tions and stops after arriving within a specified tolerance band
about the zero state.) REFERENCES
The linearized analysis continues by takingz-transforms [I] R. C. E. Thomas, “Frequency comparator performs double duty.”
[l 11 of (A14) and (A15). Treating the initial frequency error EDN, pp.29-32,Nov. I , 1970.
[2] J. 1. Brown,“Adigitalphaseandfrequency-sensitivedetector,”
as a frequency stepgives the z-transformed equations Proc.IEEE, vol.59, p. 717,Apr.I97 I . ’
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