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1.0 Functional Description
The basic phase-lock-loop (PLL) configuration consists of a
high-stability crystal reference oscillator, a frequency synthe-
sizer such as the National Semiconductor LMX2370, a volt-
age controlled oscillator (VCO), and a passive loop filter. The
frequency synthesizer includes a phase detector, a current
mode charge pump, as well as programmable reference [R]
and feedback [N] frequency dividers. The VCO frequency is
established by dividing the crystal reference signal down via
the R-counter to obtain a comparison reference frequency.
This reference signal (f
R) is then presented to the input of a
phase/frequency detector and compared with the feedback
signal (f
N), which is obtained by dividing the VCO frequency
down by way of the N-counter. The phase/frequency detec-
tor’s current source output pumps charge into the loop filter,
which then integrates into the VCO’s control voltage. The
function of the phase/frequency comparator is to adjust the
control voltage presented to the VCO until the feedback
signal frequency and phase match that of the reference
signal. When this “Phase-Locked” condition exists, the VCO
frequency will be N times that of the comparison frequency,
where N is the integer divide ratio.
1.1 REFERENCE OSCILLATOR INPUT
The reference oscillator frequency for the Main and Auxiliary
PLLs is provided from the external reference through the
OSC
in pin. OSCin can operate up to 50 MHz with input
sensitivity of 0.5 V
PP. The OSCin pin drives both the Main
R-counter and the Auxiliary R-counter. The input has a V
CC/2
input threshold that can be driven from an external CMOS or
TTL logic gate. Typically, the OSC
in is connected to the
output of a crystal oscillator.
1.2 REFERENCE DIVIDERS (R-COUNTERS)
The Main and Auxiliary R-counters are both clocked through
the oscillator block in common. The maximum frequency is
50 MHz. Both R-counters are CMOS design and 15-bit in
length with programmable divider ratio from 2 to 32,767.
1.3 PRESCALERS
The complimentary f
IN and fINB inputs drive a differential-pair
amplifier which feeds to the respective prescaler. The Main
PLL complementary f
IN1 and fIN1b inputs can be driven
differentially, or the negative input can be AC coupled to
ground through an external capacitor for single ended con-
figuration. The Auxiliary PLL has the complimentary input AC
coupled to ground through an internal 10 pF capacitor. The
Auxilary PLL complimentary input is not brought out to a pin,
and is intended for single ended configuration only. The
LMX2370 has a dual modulus prescaler with 2 selectable
modulo. A 32/33 or 16/17 prescaler is available on the Main
PLL and a 16/17 or 8/9 prescaler is available on the Auxilary
PLL. Both the Main and Auxiliary prescalers’ outputs drive
the subsequent CMOS flip-flop chain comprising the pro-
grammable N feedback counters. The proper prescaler
value must be chosen to in order not to exceed the maximum
CMOS frequency. For f
IN > 1.2 GHz, the 32/33 prescaler
must be selected, similarly for f
IN > 550 MHz, the prescaler
value must be at least 16/17, and for f
IN < 550 MHz, an 8/9
prescaler value is allowable.
1.4 FEEDBACK DIVIDERS (N-COUNTERS)
The Main and Auxiliary N-counters are clocked by the output
of Main and Aux prescalers respectively. The N-counter is
composed of a 13-bit integer divider and a 5-bit swallow
counter. Selecting a 32/33 prescaler provides a minimum
continuous divider range from 992 to 262,143 while selecting
a 16/17 or 8/9 prescaler value allows for continuous divider
values between and 240 to 131,087 and 56 to 65,559 re-
spectively.
1.5 PHASE/FREQUENCY DETECTORS
The phase/frequency detectors are driven from their respec-
tive N- and R-counter outputs. The maximum frequency at
the phase detector inputs is 10 MHz unless limited by the
minimum continuous divide ratio of the dual-modulus pres-
caler. The phase detector output controls the charge pump.
The polarity of the pump-up or pump-down control is pro-
grammed using Main_PD_POL or Aux_PD_POL, depend-
ing on whether Main or Auxiliary VCO characteristics is
positive or negative. The phase detector also receives a
feedback signal from the charge pump in order to eliminate
dead zone.
1.6 CHARGE PUMPS
The phase detector’s current source output pumps charge
into an external loop filter, which then integrates into the
VCO’s control voltage. The charge pump steers the charge
pump output CP
o to VP (pump-up) or Ground (pump-down).
When locked, CP
o is primarily in a TRI-STATE mode with
small corrections. The charge pump output current magni-
tude can be selected as 1.0 mA or 4.0 mA by programming
the Main_ICP
o_4X or Aux_ICPo_4X bits.
1.7 MICROWIRE SERIAL INTERFACE
The programmable register set is accessed through the
Microwire serial interface. The interface is comprised of
three signal pins: clock, data and load enable (LE). The
supply for the MICROWIRE circuitry is separate from the
rest of the IC to allow for controller voltages down to 1.8V.
Serial data is clocked into the 22-bit shift register upon the
rising edge of clock. The MSB bit of data shifts first. The last
two bits decode the internal register address. On the rising
edge of LE, data stored in the shift register is loaded into one
of the four latches according to the address bits. The syn-
thesizer can be programmed even in power down state. A
complete programming description is followed in Section 2.0.
1.8 MULTIFUNCTION OUTPUTS
The LMX2370 FoLD output pin can be configured as the
FastLock output or CMOS programmed output, analog lock
detects as well as showing the internal block status such as
the counter outputs.
1.8.1 Lock Detect Output
An analog lock detect status generated from the phase
detector is available on the Fo/LD output pin, if selected. The
lock detect output goes high when the charge pump is
inactive. It goes low when the charge pump is active during
a comparison cycle. The lock detect signal output is an open
drain configuration. When a PLL is in power down mode, the
respective lock detect output is always high.
1.8.2 FastLock Outputs
When configured as FastLock mode, the current can be
increased 4x while maintaining loop stability by synchro-
nously switching a parallel loop filter resistor to ground,
resulting in a
2x change in loop bandwidth. The zero gain
crossover point of the open loop gain, or the loop bandwidth
is effectively shifted up in frequency by a factor of
√4=2
during FastLock mode. For
ω’= 2ω, the phase margin during
FastLock will also remain constant. The charge pump cur-
LMX2370
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