Microchip Technology Incorporated
Performing PHY-Level Hardware Timestamping and Time Synchronization in Cost-Sensitive Environments

Abstract:

A microcontroller includes a packet matching circuit, a hardware timer circuit, and a processor. The packet matching circuit is configured to match contents of received packets to the microcontroller and identify whether a packet has been received. The hardware timer circuit is configured to provide a synchronization timestamp based on a signal from the packet matching circuit that a synchronization packet has been matched, and provide a follow-up timestamp based on a signal from the packet matching circuit that a follow-up packet has been matched after reception of the synchronization packet. The processor is configured to adjust a clock base to determine a synchronized clock base based upon the synchronization timestamp and upon the follow-up timestamp.