A Serializer/Deserializer (SerDes) is a pair of functional blocks commonly used in high speed communications. These blocks convert data between serial data and parallel interfaces in each direction. The generic SerDes has two functions, the Parallel-to-Serial converter, sometimes called the Parallel-In Serial-Out (PISO) block, and the Serial-to-Parallel converter, sometimes called the Serial-In Parallel-Out (SIPO) block. The SIPO block has a serial clock and data inputs. The serial clock may have been recovered from the data stream using a clock recovery technique. The SIPO block then divides the incoming serial clock down to the parallel rate.
Typically, one or more SerDes blocks of an integrated circuit device may send occasional bursts of control signals (or keep-alive signals) at a fixed frequency to another integrated circuit device to ensure that the communications link between both integrated circuit devices is established and ready at all times. However, there is a concern that the SerDes blocks run continuously (i.e., at all times) regardless of whether there is a data signal to be sent between the two integrated circuit devices. This may result in increased power consumption and may inadvertently degrade performance and reliability of the integrated circuit device.