DIRECT DIGITAL SYNTHESIZER FOR REFERENCE FREQUENCY GENERATION

A direct digital frequency synthesizer includes a multi-modulus divider, a numerically controlled oscillator and a programmable delay generator. The divider receives an input clock having an input pulse frequency and outputs some integer fraction of those pulses at an instantaneous frequency that is some integer fraction (1/P) of the input frequency. The divider selects between at least two ratios of P (1/P or 1/P+1) in response to a signal from the oscillator. The oscillator receives a value which is the accumulator increment (i.e. the number of divided pulse edges) required before an overflow occurs that causes the divider to change divider ratios in response to receiving an overflow signal. The oscillator also outputs both the overflow signal and a delay signal to the delay generator. The delay signal contains phase-dithering noise that is induced by input into the accumulator of an increment generated from a pseudo-random noise generator.