A semiconductor memory device may employ internal clock signals to control various operations of the memory device. For example, it is desirable to properly synchronize input and output operations of the memory device with other external circuits in an interconnected system in order to minimize idle time on a communications bus, and to avoid undesirable data collisions while data is communicated to and from the memory device.
The internal clock signals may be generated from externally-generated clock signals that may be applied to the memory device. Due to the interaction of the externally-generated clock signals with various circuits within the memory device, the internal clock signals may be adversely affected, so that the internal clock signals are time-delayed relative to the externally-generated clock signals. Accordingly, delay locked loop (DLL) circuits may be used to provide properly synchronized internal clock signals. Typically, the DLL circuit detects a difference between the internal clock signals and externally-generated clock signals, and incrementally applies a delay to the externally-applied clock signals so that the externally-generated clock signals and the internal clock signals remain properly synchronized.