Detailed behavioral modeling of bang-bang phase detectors

In this paper, the metastability of current-mode logic (CML) latches and flip-flops is studied in detail. Based on the results of this analysis, a behavioral model of bang-bang phase detectors (BBPDs) is proposed, which is able to reliably capture the critical deadzone effect. The impact of jitter and of process, voltage and temperature variations on the BBPD behavior is also investigated. The proposed model can be used with advantage in the high-level design and verification of e.g. clock and data recovery (CDR) circuit