AdvancedTopic 99 of 104Electronics & Embedded
Phase-locked loops
Feedback circuits that lock an oscillator to a reference frequency.
In depth
A PLL has a phase detector, loop filter and VCO with a divider in feedback, locking output to a multiple of the reference: f_out=N·f_ref. Used for clock generation, frequency synthesis, demodulation and clock recovery. Parameters: lock time, jitter, loop bandwidth.
Key points
- Charge pump
- Integer-N vs fractional-N
- Phase noise
ExampleA PLL multiplies a 25 MHz crystal to a 1 GHz CPU clock.
PLLs lock an oscillator to a reference, which generates clocks for processors, radios and synthesisers from a single crystal.
What is Phase-locked loops?
Feedback circuits that lock an oscillator to a reference frequency.
Why is it important to understand phase-locked loops?
PLLs lock an oscillator to a reference, which generates clocks for processors, radios and synthesisers from a single crystal.
What are the main parts of a PLL?
A phase detector, a loop filter and a voltage-controlled oscillator, with a divider in the feedback path for frequency multiplication.
Why does a PLL need a loop filter?
It smooths the control voltage and sets the loop bandwidth, which controls how quickly the PLL locks and how much jitter it passes.
How is Phase-locked loops used in practice?
Typical applications include generating a 96 MHz system clock from an 8 MHz crystal in a microcontroller, recovering the clock from a serial data stream in a receiver and synthesising the carrier frequency of a radio transmitter.
What should I learn before Phase-locked loops?
Study "Analog-mixed-signal design" first (topic 98 of 104 in Electronics & Embedded). It covers the groundwork this topic builds on.
What are the key points of Phase-locked loops?
Charge pump. Integer-N vs fractional-N. Phase noise.
Can you give an example of Phase-locked loops?
A PLL multiplies a 25 MHz crystal to a 1 GHz CPU clock.
What comes after Phase-locked loops?
The next topic is "SoC architectures", which builds directly on this one.
How difficult is Phase-locked loops?
It is classed as Advanced in Electronics & Embedded (topic 99 of 104). It is an advanced topic. It assumes you are comfortable with the intermediate topics in Electronics & Embedded.