
July  2005
rev 1.0
Spread Spectrum Frequency Generation 
The clocks in digital systems are typically square waves 
with a 50% duty cycle and as frequencies increase the 
edge rates also get faster. Analysis shows that a square 
wave is composed of fundamental frequency and 
harmonics. The fundamental frequency and harmonics 
generate the energy peaks that become the source of 
EMI. Regulatory agencies test electronic equipment by 
measuring the amount of peak energy radiated from the 
equipment. In fact, the peak level allowed decreases as 
the frequency increases. The standard methods of 
reducing EMI are to use shielding, filtering, multi-layer 
Cycle Slip 
Cycle slip occurs when the output clock edge 
‘wanders’ away from the corresponding input clock 
edge. There are two types of cycle slips – a Differential 
cycle slip and an Integral cycle slip. The differential 
cycle slip is caused due the clock edge variation over 
one modulation cycle. It is defined by the maximum 
amount of ‘wander’ the clock edge will have within one 
Pin Configuration 
ASM3P623S00A/B/C/D/E/F
      Zero Cycle Slip Peak EMI Reduction IC 
2 of 16
Notice:  The information in this document is subject to change without notice.
PCBs etc. These methods are expensive. Spread 
spectrum clocking reduces the peak energy by reducing 
the Q factor of the clock. This is done by slowly 
modulating the clock frequency. The ASM3P623S00X 
uses the center modulation spread spectrum technique in 
which the modulated output frequency varies above and 
below the reference frequency with a specified 
modulation rate. With center modulation, the average 
frequency is the same as the unmodulated frequency and 
there is no performance degradation
modulation cycle. Integral cycle slip occurs due to the 
accumulation of the cycle slip over successive modulation 
cycles. In ASM3P623S00A/B/C/D/E/F the differential cycle 
slip is within the value mentioned in the 
“
Differential Cycle 
Slip and Spread Spectrum Control Table” and the Integral 
Cycle Slip is ‘Zero’. 
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
CLKIN
CLKOUT1
VDD
CLKOUT6
CLKOUT7
CLKOUT4
CLKOUT5
GND
VDD
GND
CLKOUT8
SS%
ASM3P623S00 D/E/F
CLKOUT2
CLKOUT3
DLY CNTRL
SSON
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
CLKIN
NC
SS%
GND
V
DD
SSON
CLKOUT
NC
ASM3P623S00A/B/C