Apparatus and method for correcting duty cycle of clock signal

Claim 2

A clock correction circuit, comprising: a delay locked loop (DLL) configured to delay an external clock signal and to generate an internal clock signal; a first duty cycle correction (DCC) unit configured to correct a duty cycle of the external clock signal in response to a first duty cycle code; a second DCC unit configured to correct a duty cycle of the internal clock signal in response to a second duty cycle code; and a duty cycle code generation unit configured to select an output from outputs of the first and second DCC units and to generate the first and second duty cycle codes by detecting a duty cycle ratio of the selected output.

Claim 3

The clock correction circuit of claim 1 , wherein the duty cycle code generation unit is configured to generate the first duty cycle code based on the output of the first DCC unit before the DLL is in a locked state and to generate the second duty cycle code based on the output of the second DCC unit after the DLL is in the locked state.

Claim 4

The clock correction circuit of claim 1 , wherein the duty cycle code generation unit includes: an input selection unit configured to select the selected one of the outputs of the first and second DCC units; a phase splitter unit configured to generate a rising clock signal and a falling clock signal based on the selected output; a duty cycle ratio detection unit configured to compare the rising clock signal and the falling clock signal and to generate a duty cycle code; and an output selection unit configured to output the duty cycle code as one of the first duty cycle code and the second duty cycle code.

Claim 5

The clock correction circuit of claim 1 , wherein the first and the second DCC units are configured to perform a DCC operation by respectively adjusting slew rates of the external clock signal and the internal clock signal.

Claim 6

The clock correction circuit of claim 4 , wherein the first DCC unit includes an inverter configured to receive the external clock signal and a plurality of transistors configured to control a driving power of the inverter in response to the first duty cycle code.

Claim 7

The clock correction circuit of claim 4 , wherein the second DCC unit includes an inverter configured to receive the internal clock signal and a plurality of transistors configured to control a driving power of the inverter in response to the second duty cycle code.

Claim 8

The clock correction circuit of claim 1 , wherein the DLL includes: a phase comparison unit configured to compare an output signal of the first DCC unit and a feedback clock signal; a delay control unit configured to control a first delay amount in response to an output of the phase comparison unit; a variable delay unit configured to delay the external clock signal by the first delay amount and to output the internal clock signal; a replica delay unit configured to delay the internal clock signal by a second delay amount and to output the feedback clock signal; and a locking detection unit configured to generate a locking signal indicating a locked state of the DLL in response to an output of the phase comparison unit.

Claim 9

The clock correction circuit of claim 7 , wherein the duty cycle code generation unit is configured to selectively receive the outputs of the first and second DCC units and to selectively output the first and second duty cycle codes in response to the locking signal.

Claim 10

A clock correction circuit, comprising: a first duty cycle correction (DCC) unit configured to correct a duty cycle of a first clock signal; a second DCC unit configured to correct a duty cycle of a second clock signal; and a duty cycle code generation unit configured to select an output from outputs of the first and second DCC units and to generate first and second duty cycle codes by detecting a duty cycle ratio of the selected output, wherein the first and second DCC units are configured to respectively perform a DCC operation in response to the first and second duty cycle codes.

Claim 11

A clock correction circuit, comprising: a first duty cycle correction (DCC) unit configured to correct a duty cycle of a first clock signal; a second DCC unit configured to correct a duty cycle of a second clock signal; and a duty cycle code generation unit configured to select an output from outputs of the first and second DCC units and to generate first and second duty cycle codes by detecting a duty cycle ratio of the selected output, wherein the first and second DCC units are configured to respectively perform a DCC operation in response to the first and second duty cycle codes.

Claim 12

The clock correction circuit of claim 9 , wherein the duty cycle code generation unit includes: an input selection unit configured to select the selected one of the outputs of the first and second DCC units; a phase splitter unit configured to generate a rising clock signal and a falling clock signal based on the selected output; a duty cycle ratio detection unit configured to compare the rising clock signal and the falling clock signal and to generate a duty cycle code; and an output selection unit configured to output the duty cycle code as one of the first duty cycle code and the second duty cycle code.

Claim 13

The clock correction circuit of claim 9 , wherein the first and the second DCC units are configured to perform the DCC operation by respectively adjusting slew rates of the first and second clock signals.

Claim 14

A clock correction method for correcting a duty cycle of an external clock, comprising: receiving the external clock; detecting a duty cycle ratio of the external clock; correcting a duty cycle of the external clock in response to the detected duty cycle ratio of the external clock and outputting a corrected external clock; generating an internal clock by delaying the corrected external clock; detecting a duty cycle ratio of the internal clock after the external clock is in a locked state; and correcting a duty cycle of the internal clock in response to the detected duty cycle ratio of the internal clock and outputting a corrected internal clock, wherein the detection of the duty cycle ratios of the external clock signal and the internal clock signal is performed by a same circuit which is used commonly to detect both duty cycle ratios.

Claim 15

A clock correction method for correcting a duty cycle of an external clock, comprising: receiving the external clock; detecting a duty cycle ratio of the external clock; correcting a duty cycle of the external clock in response to the detected duty cycle ratio of the external clock and outputting a corrected external clock; generating an internal clock by delaying the corrected external clock; detecting a duty cycle ratio of the internal clock after the external clock is in a locked state; and correcting a duty cycle of the internal clock in response to the detected duty cycle ratio of the internal clock and outputting a corrected internal clock, wherein the detection of the duty cycle ratios of the external clock signal and the internal clock signal is performed by a same circuit which is used commonly to detect both duty cycle ratios.