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Title:
CIRCUIT HAVING A PARALLEL VOLTAGE THRESHOLD ARCHITECTURE TO SUPPORT A WIDE VOLTAGE SUPPLY RANGE
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2019/006135
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
An output buffer (100) is coupled to receive an input voltage that can span a wide voltage supply range. The output buffer (100) includes a first metal oxide silicon (MOS) transistor (MPs1) having a first conductivity type and a first threshold voltage and a second MOS transistor (MpL1) having the first conductivity type and a second threshold voltage that is lower than the first threshold voltage. The first MOS transistor (MPS1) is coupled in parallel with the second MOS transistor (MPL1) between a first rail (VCCB) and a first signal line (VOUT)- The first MOS transistor (MPs1) and the second MOS transistor (MPL1) each receive a first signal (VP) on a respective gate.

Inventors:
GRAVES CHRISTOPHER (US)
Application Number:
PCT/US2018/040040
Publication Date:
January 03, 2019
Filing Date:
June 28, 2018
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC (US)
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS JAPAN LTD (JP)
International Classes:
H03K17/687; H03K19/0185; H03L5/00
Foreign References:
US20130181775A12013-07-18
US20070040585A12007-02-22
US5559464A1996-09-24
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
DAVIS, Michael, A. et al. (US)
Download PDF:
Claims:
CLAIMS

What is claimed is:

1. A circuit coupled to receive an input voltage that can span a wide low-voltage supply range, the circuit comprising:

a first metal oxide silicon (MOS) transistor having a first conductivity type and a first threshold voltage; and

a second MOS transistor having the first conductivity type and a second threshold voltage that is lower than the first threshold voltage, the first MOS transistor being coupled in parallel with the second MOS transistor between a first rail and a first signal line, the first MOS transistor and the second MOS transistor each receiving a first signal on a respective gate.

2. The circuit of claim 1 further comprising:

a third MOS transistor having a second conductivity type and the first threshold voltage; and

a fourth MOS transistor having the second conductivity type and the second threshold voltage, the third MOS transistor and the fourth MOS transistor being coupled in parallel between a second signal line and a second rail that has a voltage different from the first rail, the third MOS transistor and the fourth MOS transistor each receiving a second signal on respective gates.

3. The circuit of claim 2 wherein the first, second, third and fourth MOS transistors form an inverter in an input buffer and the first and second signal lines are a single signal line.

4. The circuit of claim 3 wherein the first conductivity type is P-type and the second conductivity type is N-type.

5. The circuit of claim 2 wherein the first, second, third and fourth MOS transistors form an output buffer and the first and second signal lines are a single output signal.

6. The circuit of claim 5 wherein the first conductivity type is P-type and the second conductivity type is N-type.

7. The circuit of claim 5 further comprising a respective resistor coupled between each of the first, second, third and fourth MOS transistors and a respective signal line.

8. The circuit of claim 2 wherein the first and second MOS transistors are NMOS transistors coupled as pull-up helper transistors in a gate control circuit and the first signal line is a control line for a P-type MOS transistor.

9. The circuit of claim 8 wherein the third and fourth MOS transistors are MOS transistors coupled as pull-down helper transistors in the gate control circuit and the second signal line is a control line for an N-type MOS transistor.

10. The circuit of claim 9 further comprising:

a fifth MOS transistor coupled in parallel between the first signal line and the second signal line, the fifth MOS transistor having the first conductivity type and the second threshold voltage and having a gate coupled to receive a first enable signal;

a sixth MOS transistor coupled in parallel between the first signal line and the second signal line, the sixth MOS transistor having the second conductivity type and the second threshold voltage and having a gate coupled to receive a second enable signal;

a seventh MOS transistor coupled in parallel between the first signal line and the second signal line, the seventh MOS transistor having the first conductivity type and the first threshold voltage and having a gate coupled to receive the first enable signal; and

an eighth MOS transistor coupled in parallel between the first signal line and the second signal line, the eighth MOS transistor having the second conductivity type and the first threshold voltage and having a gate coupled to receive the second enable signal.

11. The circuit of claim 2 wherein the first and second MOS transistors are NMOS transistors coupled as pull-up helper transistors in a level shifter and the first signal line is a control line for a P-type MOS transistor.

12 The circuit of claim 11 wherein the first and second MOS transistors are NMOS transistors coupled as pull-up helper transistors in the level shifter and the second signal line is a control signal supplied to a gate control circuit.

13. The circuit of claim 1 wherein the input voltage can be configured in the range of 0.65-3.6V.

14. A voltage translator coupled to translate an input signal received in a first voltage domain to an output signal provided in a second voltage domain, wherein each of the first and second voltage domains can span a wide low-voltage supply range, the voltage translator comprising: an input buffer coupled to receive the input signal and to provide a first control signal and a second control signal, the input buffer operating in the first voltage domain;

a level shifter coupled to receive the first and second control signals and to provide an output control signal; a gate control circuit coupled to receive the first and second control signals and the output control signal and to provide a first gate control signal and a second gate control signal; and

an output buffer coupled to receive the first gate control signal and the second gate control signal and to provide the output signal, wherein the level shifter, the gate control circuit and the output buffer each operate in the second voltage domain, the output buffer comprising:

a first PMOS transistor having a first threshold voltage and a second PMOS transistor having a second threshold voltage that is lower than the first threshold voltage, the first PMOS transistor being coupled in parallel with the second PMOS transistor between a first upper rail associated with the second voltage domain and the output signal, the first PMOS transistor and the second PMOS transistor each receiving a first gate control signal on a respective gate; and

a first MOS transistor having the first threshold voltage and a second MOS transistor having the second threshold voltage, the first NMOS transistor being coupled in parallel with the second NMOS transistor between a lower rail and the output signal, the first NMOS transistor and the second NMOS transistor each receiving a second gate control signal on a respective gate.

15. The voltage translator of claim 14 further comprising a respective resistor coupled between the output signal and each of the first PMOS transistor, the second PMOS transistor, the first NMOS transistor and the second NMOS transistor.

16. The voltage translator of claim 14 wherein the input buffer comprises:

a first inverter coupled to receive the input signal and to provide the first control signal; and

a second inverter coupled to receive the first control signal and to provide the second control signal.

17. The voltage translator of claim 16 wherein the first inverter comprises:

a third PMOS transistor coupled in series with a third NMOS transistor between a second upper rail associated with the first voltage domain and the lower rail, the third PMOS transistor and the third NMOS transistor each having the first threshold voltage; and

a fourth PMOS transistor coupled in series with a fourth NMOS transistor between the second upper rail and the lower rail, the fourth PMOS transistor and the fourth NMOS transistor each having the second threshold voltage.

18. The voltage translator of claim 17 wherein the second inverter comprises:

a fifth PMOS transistor coupled in series with a fifth NMOS transistor between the second upper rail and the lower rail, the fifth PMOS transistor and the fifth NMOS transistor each having the first threshold voltage and a sixth PMOS transistor coupled in series with a sixth NMOS transistor between the second upper rail and the lower rail, the sixth PMOS transistor and the sixth NMOS transistor each having the second threshold voltage.

Description:
CIRCUIT HAVING A PARALLEL VOLTAGE THRESHOLD ARCHITECTURE TO

SUPPORT A WIDE VOLTAGE SUPPLY RANGE

[0001] This relates generally to circuits that support a wide voltage supply range, and more particularly to a circuit having a parallel threshold voltage (V T ) architecture to support a wide voltage supply range.

BACKGROUND

[0002] As supply voltage continues to drop for advanced microcontrollers, a need exists for low voltage circuits, such as translator products, that will allow these devices to reliably interface with legacy systems. These low voltage translators, in turn, must be capable of supporting a wide voltage range for maximum application flexibility. Existing products support a voltage range from 0.8 V to 3.6 V. However, even lower operating voltages are planned for the future. SUMMARY

[0003] Described embodiments provide a parallel V T architecture in which low V T transistors are coupled in parallel with standard V T transistors. In one embodiment, low V T transistors are sized to handle voltages under one volt, while standard V T transistors are sized to handle voltages greater than one volt. Example embodiments can provide another degree of freedom in the circuit architecture and allow a designer to individually select the lengths and widths of P-type and N-type transistors in both low V T transistors and standard V T transistors in dependence on the product requirements across a wide operating voltage range.

[0004] In one aspect, an embodiment of a circuit is coupled to receive an input voltage that can span a wide low-voltage supply range. The circuit includes a first metal oxide silicon (MOS) transistor having a first conductivity type and a first threshold voltage; and a second MOS transistor having the first conductivity type and a second threshold voltage that is lower than the first threshold voltage, the first MOS transistor being coupled in parallel with the second MOS transistor between a first rail and a first signal line, the first MOS transistor and the second MOS transistor each receiving a first signal on a respective gate.

[0005] In another aspect, an embodiment of a voltage translator is coupled to translate an input signal received in a first voltage domain to an output signal provided in a second voltage domain, wherein each of the first and second voltage domains can span a wide low-voltage supply range. The voltage translator includes an input buffer coupled to receive the input signal and to provide a first control signal and a second control signal, the input buffer operating in the first voltage domain; a level shifter coupled to receive the first and second control signals and to provide an output control signal; a gate control circuit coupled to receive the first and second control signals and the output control signal and to provide a first gate control signal and a second gate control signal; and an output buffer coupled to receive the first gate control signal and the second gate control signal and to provide the output signal, wherein the level shifter, the gate control circuit and the output buffer each operate in the second voltage domain, the output buffer comprising: a first PMOS transistor having a first threshold voltage and a second PMOS transistor having a second threshold voltage that is lower than the first threshold voltage, the first PMOS transistor being coupled in parallel with the second PMOS transistor between a first upper rail associated with the second voltage domain and the output signal, the first PMOS transistor and the second PMOS transistor each receiving a first gate control signal on a respective gate; and a first NMOS transistor having the first threshold voltage and a second NMOS transistor having the second threshold voltage, the first NMOS transistor being coupled in parallel with the second NMOS transistor between a lower rail and the output signal, the first NMOS transistor and the second NMOS transistor each receiving a second gate control signal on a respective gate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] FIG. 1 depicts an example of an output buffer according to an embodiment.

[0007] FIG. 2 depicts an implementation of an input buffer according to an embodiment.

[0008] FIG. 3 depicts an implementation of a gate control circuit according to an embodiment.

[0009] FIG. 3A depicts an implementation of a gate control circuit according to an embodiment.

[0010] FIG. 4 depicts an implementation of a level shifter according to an embodiment.

[0011] FIG. 5 A illustrates the effects of the added helper transistors on output control signals S 3T and S 2T according to an embodiment.

[0012] FIG. 5B illustrates the increased amplitude of VOU T as one of the effects of the added helper transistors according to an embodiment.

[0013] FIG. 6 depicts a schematic of a voltage translator according to an embodiment.

[0014] FIG. 7 depicts a schematic of a conventional voltage translator. [0015] FIG. 8A depicts a set of signals when the voltage translator of FIG. 7 is operated with standard V T transistors and an input signal operating at 0.8 V is to be translated to an output signal operating at 3.6 V.

[0016] FIG. 8B depicts a set of signals when the voltage translator of FIG. 7 is operated with low V T transistors and an input signal operating at 0.6 V is to be translated to an output signal operating at 3.6 V.

[0017] FIG. 9 depicts an output buffer that could be used to handle the wide voltage supply range.

[0018] FIG. 10 depicts an embodiment of a conventional NAND/NOR pre-driver.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMB ODEVIENT S

[0019] In the drawings, like references indicate similar elements. In this description, the term "couple" or "couples" means either an indirect or direct electrical connection unless qualified as in "communicably coupled" which may include wireless connections. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct electrical connection, or through an indirect electrical connection via other devices and connections.

[0020] The described embodiments evolved from a need to extend the lower voltage range of an existing voltage translator while maintaining support for the existing voltage range of the current device. FIG. 7 is a diagram of a conventional voltage translator 700. Voltage translator 700 receives a signal Vi N , which is operable in a first voltage domain, and translates signal Vi N to an output signal VOU T , which is operable in a second voltage domain. For the purposes of this description, the first voltage domain has an upper rail designated by VCCA and the second voltage domain has an upper rail designated by VCC B - In the drawings, the lower rail for both the first and second voltage domains is shown as ground; having each of the lower rails equal to ground is not a requirement.

[0021] Voltage translator 700 contains four main elements: input buffer 702, level shifter 704, a pre-driver 706, which is shown in the drawing as a NAND-NOR pre-driver, and output buffer 708. Input buffer 702 operates within the first voltage domain, which uses upper rail VCCA- Level shifter 704 operates in the second voltage domain, which uses VCC B , but receives control signals V INI , V IN2 , which are generated in the first voltage domain. Pre-driver circuit 706 and output buffer 708 each operate in the second voltage domain. Voltage translator 700 supports a voltage range of 1.1-3.6 V and allows each upper rail VCCA, CC B to assume any allowed value within this range. In at least one embodiment, voltage translator 700 is bi-directional, i.e., while the circuits shown translate signals from the voltage domain that uses VCCA to the voltage domain that uses VCC B , a second copy of this circuit operates to translate signals from the voltage domain that uses VCC B to the voltage domain that uses VCCA- One or more pins on the circuit allow the selection of the desired direction of operation. Because of this bi-directionality, both of the output ports must be able to be placed into a high-impedance mode. In order to support lower voltages, both those currently in use and those planned for the future, changes to the circuit of voltage translator 700 are necessary to support a desired voltage range of 0.65-3.6 V. Individual elements of modules 702-708 are described herein in detail in conjunction with the modifications made to each module.

Parallel VT Architecture:

[0022] A major problem that arises from the support of a wide voltage range is finding complementary metal oxide silicon (CMOS) devices that allow for optimal circuit design architectures. For example, a chip according to the embodiment of FIG. 7 was implemented using standard V T transistors having threshold voltages equal to about 700 mV and operated at voltages that range from 1.1 V to 3.6 V. A test of this chip operating at 0.8 V is shown in FIG. 8A, which depicts the signals VIN, VOUT, VINT 2 , VINT 3 , VINI and VIN2- The input buffer is switching from 0 V to 0.8 V, but signals V INT2 , V INT3 , produced in the level shifter, do not switch properly. This lack of switching in the level shifter is due to the fact that the V T of the standard V T transistors is very close to the upper voltage rail, so that the transistors did not have the headroom to properly turn on. As a result, output signal VOU T is not being pulled either high or low.

[0023] The circuit of FIG. 7 was then simulated using low V T transistors having a threshold voltage of about 300 mV throughout the circuit. FIG. 8B again depicts the signals V IN , VOU T , V I N T2 , V I N T 3, V I N I and V I N 2 - In this simulation, VOU T operated properly and provided a good response to the changes in signal level of V IN . However, other problems arise from the use of low V T transistors, as low V T transistors have greater leakage problems. This issue can be exacerbated when a need also exists to support a wide range of voltages, as in this description.

[0024] Table 1 and Table 2 below depict two implementations of the circuit of voltage translator 700 with low voltage transistors having two different widths. Table 1 depicts the PMOS, low threshold voltage (PCH LVT) transistors, which are trying to pull the output voltage VOU T high- VOH is the output voltage high level and IOH is the output drive requirement. Vcc designates the voltage domain of the output voltage and Spec indicates that the output voltage must remain above the specified value on a "HIGH" value in order for the output to fall with specifications. Actual voltage values achieved during testing are provided for the PCH LVT transistors, first with transistors having a width of 650 microns and second with transistors having a width of 1200 microns. Three values are given for each transistor width and indicate process and temperature: N/27C indicates nominal models at 27 degrees C; W/40C indicates weak models at 40 degrees C and W/125C indicates weak models at 125C. The PMOS transistors having a width of 650 microns were sized initially to allow the circuit to operate at 0.8 V. However, at this width, the circuit was not able to support operation in the other voltage domains; the entries highlighted in bold below each fell below the value allowed by the specifications.

[0025] Similarly, Table 2 depicts the N-channel, low threshold voltage (NCH LVT) transistors, which are trying to pull the output voltage VOU T low. Here, Spec indicates that the output voltage must remain below the specified value on a "LOW" value in order for the output to fall with specifications. The NMOS transistors are also shown with two widths: 200 microns and 400 microns. The NMOS transistors having a width of 200 microns were also sized initially to allow the circuit to operate at 0.8 V. Again the circuit was not able to support operation in the other voltage domains, as exemplified by the entries highlighted in bold, which fall below the value allowed by the specifications.

Table 1

Table 2

[0026] The widths of both the NMOS transistors and the PMOS transistors were then increased until operation in all of the allowed voltage domains fell within the specifications, as demonstrated by the voltage values shown. The smallest widths at which operation across the entire voltage range could be reached was 1200 microns for the PMOS transistors and 400 microns for the NMOS transistors. Although the voltage specifications could be met with these values, all of the transistors were oversized in order to meet the wide range of voltages. Such oversized transistors not only take up a large amount of real estate on a chip, but also produce output leakage that is far too high to be either desirable or competitive. Therefore, simply replacing all of the transistors in voltage translator 700 with low V T transistors was not a viable solution.

[0027] Another possible solution to extend the voltage range is to stack several low V T transistors in series in the output buffer. The problem in the circuit arises from the fact that while low V T transistors are required by this circuit, the low V T transistors must still be able to handle 3.6 V. Stacking the low V T transistors allows each of these transistors to have a lower breakdown voltage (V D s), since neither transistor is exposed to the entire voltage range. Subjecting the transistors to lower voltages allows for the use of smaller transistors, which in turn have less leakage. Using this configuration, FIG. 9 depicts output buffer 900, which includes two PMOS transistors M Pi and M P2 stacked in series between upper rail VCC B and the output node VOU T , with resistor R 5 coupled in series between transistors M Pi , M P2 and output node VOU T - TWO NMOS transistors M N1 and M N2 are stacked in series between the lower rail and the output node VOU T , with resistor R 6 coupled in series between transistors M N i, M N2 and output node VOU T - The two PMOS transistors M Pi , M P2 are each controlled by gate control signal Vp and the two MOS transistors M N i, M N2 are each controlled by gate control signal V N . Gate control signals V P and V N are both provided by the gate drive control circuit. Applicant has determined that while the configuration of output buffer 900 is operable, this configuration would require a more complex circuit design for the gate drive control circuit and would also add more risk to high voltage and high temperature reliability.

[0028] In description hereinbelow, the transistors are numbered according to the following notation. For a transistor Μ χγζ , X has a value of either N or P and indicates whether the transistor is NMOS or PMOS; Y has a value of either S or L and indicates whether the transistors has a standard threshold voltage or a low threshold voltage; and Z has a numerical value that distinguishes the transistor from similar transistors. The described embodiments were formed using proprietary processes that set a standard V T at 700 mV and a low threshold voltage at 300 mV. However, the described embodiments are not limited by this proprietary process and other values of standard and low threshold voltages can also be used.

[0029] FIG. 1 depicts an example of an output buffer for a voltage translator according to an embodiment. Output buffer 100 operates in the second voltage domain, which in the embodiment shown uses upper rail VCC B - PMOS transistors, M PL i and M P si are coupled in parallel with each other between the upper rail VCC B and a signal line that provides VOU T - NMOS transistors, M NL i and M NS i are coupled in parallel with each other between the lower rail and the signal line that provides VOU T - PMOS transistor M PL i and NMOS transistor M NL i are each low V T transistors and are sized to handle voltages under 1 V, while PMOS transistor M P si and NMOS transistor M N si are each standard V T transistors and are sized to handle voltage equal to or greater than 1 V. This differential sizing between standard V T transistors and low V T transistors generally extends across example embodiments. However, sizing for other voltage ranges can be used. Each of PMOS transistors, M PL i, M P si are controlled by gate control signal V P and each of NMOS transistors, M NLI , M N S I are controlled by gate control signal VN; both of the control signals are received from the pre-driver circuit. Additionally, resistor Ri is coupled between PMOS transistor M PL i and output signal VOU T ; resistor R 2 is coupled between transistor M P si and output signal VOU T ; resistor R 3 is coupled between transistor M NLI and output signal VOU T ; and resistor R4 is coupled between transistor M N si and output signal VOU T - [0030] As described hereinbelow for the pre-driver circuit, gate control signals V P and V N can never be ON at the same time. In operation, when gate control signal V P is low, PMOS transistors M PL i and M P si are turned ON and operate together to pull output voltage VOU T high. When gate control signal V P is high, PMOS transistors M PL i and M PS i are OFF and allow output voltage VOU T to be pulled low. As gate control signal V P drops, low V T PMOS transistor M PL i will turn ON first and provide a quick response. Standard V T PMOS transistor M P si turns ON only when gate control signal V P is greater than 1 V, but can handle the larger currents necessary at the higher voltages. Similarly, when gate control signal V N is high, NMOS transistors M NL i and MNS I turn ON and operate together to pull output voltage VOU T low. Low V T transistor MN LI will turn ON first and provide a quick response. Standard V T transistor M N si turns ON only when the input voltages are greater than or equal to 1 V, but can handle the larger currents necessary at the higher voltages.

[0031] Tables 3 and 4 below provide similar information to that given in Tables 1 and 2, but show the operational voltages for an embodiment in which gates of low V T PMOS transistors have widths of 400 microns and lengths of 0.4 microns; standard V T transistors have gate widths of 800 microns. The gates of the low V T NMOS transistors are 150 microns wide and 1.7 microns long, while the gates of the standard V T NMOS transistors are 200 microns wide. As shown in these tables, all levels of operation are within specification.

Table 3

Table 4

[0032] The use of a parallel V T architecture in applications that can receive a wide range of voltages is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 depicts an input buffer 200 for the same voltage translator according to an embodiment. Input buffer 200 operates in the first voltage domain and includes two inverters 202, 204, which receive an input signal V IN and provide input control signals Si and S 2 .

[0033] Inverter 202 includes PMOS low V T transistor M PL2 coupled in series with NMOS low V T transistor M NL2 between the upper rail VCCA and the lower rail. PMOS standard V T transistor M P S 2 is coupled in series with NMOS standard V T transistor M N S 2 between the upper rail and the lower rail. Each of transistors M PL2 , M PS2 , M M . 2 , and M NS2 , are coupled to receive input signal V IN on a respective gate. The midpoint between low V T transistors M PL2 and M NL2 is coupled to the midpoint between standard V T transistors M P S 2 and M N S 2 to provide input control signal Si.

[0034] Inverter 204 includes PMOS low V T transistor M PL3 coupled in series with NMOS low V T transistor M NL3 between the upper rail and the lower rail. PMOS standard V T transistor M PS3 is coupled in series with NMOS standard V T transistor M N S 3 between the upper rail and the lower rail. Each of transistors M PL3 , M P s 3 , MN L3 and M N S3 are coupled to receive input control signal Si on a respective gate. The midpoint between low V T transistors M PL3 and M NL3 is coupled to the midpoint between standard V T transistors M P s 3 and M N S 3 to provide input control signal S 2 .

[0035] Using the described combination of low V T transistors coupled in parallel with standard V T transistors allows input buffer 200 and output buffer 100 to operate effectively across the entire range of voltages of 0.65 V to 3.6 V. The low V T devices are sized for drive strength (i.e., current) requirements below 1 V operation while the standard V T components are sized for the higher voltage drive strength requirements. The combination of low V T transistors and standard V T transistors coupled in parallel minimizes the static leakage current while still supporting the full range of device operation. As described herein for the level shifter and pre-driver circuits, many of the transistors in these modules can be implemented with the described low V T and standard V T transistors coupled in parallel to allow operation across the larger range of voltages while optimizing the operation across the extended range.

[0036] The described configuration is advantageous in that this configuration allows a designer to have another degree of freedom in the circuit architecture, depending on the product requirements across the full operating voltage range. The transistor widths and lengths for both low V T and standard V T components can be selected separately and PMOS devices and MOS devices can each be optimized. Circuits that work over a wider voltage range than existing devices are now possible.

Output Driver Gate Control Circuit

[0037] When designing an output buffer, it is critical to optimize the gate control circuit. This optimization is especially necessary when the output buffer is operated with tristate logic, i.e., the output buffer can be placed in a high impedance state where neither the PMOS pull-ups nor the NMOS pull-downs are enabled. High impedance is required, for example, in embodiments in which current flow can be bi-directional. As described hereinabove, the circuit of FIG. 7 can be implemented with two copies of voltage translator 700, one copy translating from the first domain to the second domain, the second copy translating from the second domain to the first domain. Only one of the two copies can be active at a time, yet the two copies share pins on the chip. Whenever an output buffer is not in use, that output buffer must be placed in a high impedance mode. Improper design of the gate control circuit can allow excess shoot-through current and corresponding ground noise if both output devices are enabled for a short period of time. One method of resolving this issue would be for the gate driver to turn ON the output devices slower to minimize the shoot-through current, but this would result in degraded propagation delay through the data path.

[0038] One existing solution, shown in FIG. 7, uses a NAND-NOR pre-driver 706 for outputs that can be placed in a high impedance state. FIG. 10 is an enlarged reproduction of pre-driver 706. Pre-driver 706 includes two separate circuits: NAND circuit 1002 provides gate control signal Vp and NOR circuit 1004 provides gate control signal V N . [0039] NA D circuit 1002 has two PMOS transistors M P3 , M P4 coupled in parallel between upper rail VCC B and gate control signal V P and two NMOS transistors M N3 , M N4 coupled in series between gate control signal Vp and the lower rail. Transistors M P3 and M N4 are each controlled by a first enable signal ENi and transistors M P and M N3 are each controlled by signal V INT3 , which is received from the level shifter circuit.

[0040] NOR circuit 1004 has two PMOS transistors M P5 , M P6 coupled in series between upper rail VCC B and gate control signal VN and two NMOS transistors M N5 , M N6 coupled in parallel between gate control signal V N and the lower rail. Transistors M P5 and M N5 are each controlled by a second enable signal EN 2 and transistors M P6 and M N6 are each controlled by signal V INT3 from the level shifter circuit. In pre-driver 706, signal V INT3 provides a level-shifted version of the input signal to input buffer 702 and controls the value of gate control signals V P and V N to drive the transistors in output buffer 708. Enable signals ENi and EN 2 operate to ensure that when the output buffer is placed in high impedance mode, V P is pulled high to turn OFF PMOS transistors M PL i and M PS i in output buffer 100 and V N is pulled low to turn OFF NMOS transistors M NLI , M N S I - Enable signals ENi, EN 2 also ensure that the transistors in output buffer 100 are turned OFF during power-on procedures.

[0041] In adapting pre-driver circuit 706 to operate with an extended range of voltages, the majority of the transistors were each replaced by a low-V T transistor coupled in parallel with a standard V T transistor, as described herein in the section about parallel V T architecture. However, due to the additional leakage that low V T transistors have in relationship to standard V T transistors (e.g., three orders of magnitude more), it was also considered desirable to eliminate transistors wherever possible to keep the leakage low and the area necessary for the circuit as small as possible.

[0042] FIG. 3 depicts a gate control circuit 300 according to an embodiment. Gate control circuit 300 is specifically designed to drive an output buffer that operates with tristate logic that can be placed in a high-impedance state. Gate control circuit 300 includes four sections: a gate isolation switch 302, pull-up circuit 304, pull-down circuit 306 and an enable/disable control circuit 308. Gate isolation switch 302 provides isolation of gate control signal V P from gate control signal V N when necessary but allows gate control signals V P and V N to share the pull-up circuit 304 and pull-down circuit 306 when the output buffer is enabled. This is in contrast to circuits 1002, 1004 of FIG. 10, where pull-up transistors and pull-down transistors are coupled to control gate control signal Vp and additional pull-up transistors and pull-down transistors are coupled to control gate control signal V N . Enable/disable control circuit 308 provides enable signals ENi, EN 2 , which ensure that gate control signals Vp and V N can be placed in high impedance when necessary. Pull-up circuit 304 and pull-down circuit 306 use the parallel V T architecture described hereinabove and provide additional helpers and enable signals as described hereinbelow.

[0043] Enable/disable control circuit 308 includes three inverters, coupled in parallel between upper rail VCC B and the lower rail. Enable/disable control circuit 308 receives an input signal 310 and provides enable signals ENi and EN 2 . A first inverter includes PMOS transistor M P24 and MOS transistor M N24 ; this first inverter receives input signal 310 and provides an inverted signal 312. A second inverter includes PMOS transistor M P25 and NMOS transistor M N25, receives input signal 312 and provides the enable signal ENi. A third inverter includes PMOS transistor M P26 and NMOS transistor M N26, receives enable signal ENi and provides enable signal EN 2 . In one embodiment, the enable/disable control circuit 308 is controlled by the settings applied to pins on a chip containing the described gate control circuit 300. In one embodiment, the value of input signal 310 is controlled by the direction of voltage translation and can also be set by an enable pin.

[0044] Gate isolation switch 302 is at the heart of gate control circuit 300 and includes two PMOS transistors M PL9 , M PS9 and two NMOS transistors M NL9 , M NS9 coupled in parallel between gate control signal Vp and gate control signal V N . In accordance with the parallel V T architecture, transistors M PL9 and M NL9 are low V T transistors, which are selected to operate below IV, while transistors M P S 9 and M N S 9 are standard V T transistors, which are selected to operate above IV. The two NMOS transistors M NL9 , M NS9 are controlled by a first enable signal ENi and the two PMOS transistors M PL9 , M P S 9 are controlled by a second enable signal EN 2 . Gate isolation switch 302 connects the gate control signal Vp and gate control signal V N when the output is enabled and disconnects the output signals when the output buffer is disabled, i.e. in the high impedance state. While gate isolation switch 302 is shown as containing both standard V T transistors and low V T transistors, this combination is not necessary in gate isolation switch 302. In another embodiment (not specifically shown) that does not span the wide range of the described embodiment, gate isolation switch 302 includes only a single NMOS transistor controlled by the first enable signal and a single PMOS transistor controlled by the second enable signal. The use of gate isolation switch 302 in place of NAND/NOR gate drivers can reduce the total low V T transistor width while maintaining consistent drive turn-on.

[0045] The output gate pull-up circuit 304 includes five transistors coupled in parallel between the upper rail, VCC B , and gate control signal Vp. PMOS transistors M PL8 and M P s 8 are the main pull-up transistors and are controlled by output control signal S 3T , which is received from the level shifter circuit and will drive the gate control signal V P in response to the input signal received by the voltage translator. However, during development of the overall voltage translator, it was necessary to skew the sizes of the PMOS transistors in relationship to the NMOS transistors throughout the voltage translator. Because of this skewed relationship, helper NMOS transistors M NL7 and M NS7 are provided and are each controlled by input control signal Si, which is received from the input buffer 200. A description of the exact manner in which these helper NMOS transistors, MN L 7, M N S7, operate to assist the main PMOS transistors, M PL8 , M P s 8 is deferred to the section herein that describes the voltage shifter. Using both standard V T transistors and low V T transistors provides for optimal propagation delays across the entire voltage range, while the use of the NMOS helper transistors provides a supply boost where necessary. The final transistor in pull-up circuit 304 is PMOS transistor M PL i2, which is controlled by enable signal ENi. PMOS transistor M PL i2 can be used during power-up of the circuit to pull gate control signal V P high and turn the PMOS output transistors, M PL i, M PL2 , OFF. This transistor can be implemented either as shown or using parallel low V T and standard V T transistors.

[0046] In a similar fashion, output gate pull-down circuit 306 includes five transistors coupled in parallel between gate control signal V N and the lower rail. NMOS transistors M NLH and M NS ii are the main pull-down transistors and are also controlled by output control signal S 3T from the level shifter circuit. Transistors M NLH , M N S I I drive the gate control signal VN in response to the input signal received by the voltage translator. Helper NMOS transistors M NLIO and M N S IO are provided and are each controlled by input control signal S 2 , which is also received from the input buffer 200. The use of one pair of NMOS transistors driven according to the first voltage domain and one pair of NMOS transistors driven according to the second voltage domain provides for optimal propagation delays across the entire voltage range. Further description of the operation of helper NMOS transistors, M NLIO , M N S IO is again deferred herein to the section that describes the voltage shifter. The final transistor in output gate pull-down circuit 306 is NMOS transistor M NLI 2, which is controlled by enable signal EN 2 . NMOS transistor M NLI 2 can be used during power-up of the circuit to pull gate control signal V N low and turn the NMOS output transistors, MN LI , MN L 2, OFF. As with transistor M PL i2, transistor M PL i2 can be implemented either as shown or using parallel low V T and standard V T transistors.

[0047] When it is desirable to place the output buffer into a high impedance mode, input signal 310 can be used to set enable signal EN 1 at the lower rail and to set enable signal EN 2 at the upper rail. This setting turns ON PMOS transistor M PL i2 to pull Vp high and turn OFF the PMOS transistors in output buffer 100; this setting also turns ON NMOS transistor M NLI 2 to pull V N low and turn OFF the NMOS transistors in output buffer 100. At the same time, transistors M PL9 , M NL9 , Mp S9 , M NS9 of gate isolation switch 302 are all turned OFF. During normal operation, enable signal ENi is set at the upper rail and enable signal EN2 is set at the lower rail to turn OFF both PMOS transistor M PL i2 and NMOS transistor M NLI 2, allowing the other transistors in pull-up circuit 304 and pull-down circuit 306 to control the values of Vp and V N . This setting also turns ON the switches in gate isolation switch 302. Although not specifically shown in FIG. 3, enable/disable control circuit 308 can also be implemented using the parallel architecture described earlier.

[0048] In contrast to the pre-driver circuit 706, which has been widely used in the past, the described pre-driver circuit only uses a pull-up device for the PMOS gate driver and a pull-down device for the NMOS gate driver along with the connecting transmission gate. The gate control circuit 300 effectively eliminates transistors M N4 and M P5 from the design, while combining the associated enable signals and additionally using the advantages of parallel V T architecture and the helper transistors that assist across the wide voltage range. Using gate isolation switch 302, gate control circuit 300 provides a simpler control circuit from a timing perspective.

[0049] It should be noted that while the described gate isolation switch 302 was originally designed to operate with a wide range of voltages that called for the use of parallel V T architecture, gate isolation switch 302 can also be implemented in circuits that do not use the parallel architecture. FIG. 3A depicts a gate control circuit 300A according to an embodiment. In this simplified embodiment, gate isolation switch 302A includes a PMOS transistor M P27 coupled in parallel with NMOS transistor M N27 between gate control signal Vp and gate control signal V N . The gate of NMOS transistor M N27 is controlled by enable signal ENi and the gate of PMOS transistor M P27 is controlled by enable signal EN 2 . Pull-up circuit 304A can be configured with a desired configuration of transistors coupled to both the upper rail and to gate control signal V P . Similarly, pull-down circuit 306A can also be configured with a desired configuration of transistors coupled to both the lower rail and to gate control signal V N . This simplified version of gate isolation circuit 302A can connect pull-up circuit 304A and gate control signal Vp to pull-down circuit 306 A and gate control signal V N when gate control circuit 300A is active, yet effectively close the connection when the output buffer controlled by gate control circuit 300A is placed in high impedance mode.

[0050] The described embodiments are advantageous because the gate isolation switch 302 inherently keeps the output in a high impedance state during power-up and provides a natural break-before-make feature due to the transmission gate. Accordingly, when gate control signal Vp goes from a high value to a low value, the charge on gate control signal Vp must discharge through gate isolation switch 302. Before that can occur, gate control signal V N will first drop, turning OFF NMOS output transistors M NLI , M N S I - Only then can gate control signal Vp discharge through pull-down circuit 306. This connection simplifies the gate control circuit, minimizes the overall die area and minimizes the static leakage from the gate control circuit. In one embodiment, the use of gate isolation switch 302 provided the following advantages over the conventional NAND/NOR pre-driver configuration: gate isolation switch 302 is fifty percent smaller, has a 1.3% reduction in total static leakage current, and the propagation delay is 34.5% lower compared to the NAND/NOR circuit.

Level Shifter Boost Circuit

[0051] A challenging problem that arises as a result of expanding the voltage range of the voltage translator is designing level shifter 400 with sufficient transient response. As a general design rule, the width of the PMOS transistors is twice the width of the NMOS transistors, i.e., a 2: 1 ratio. However, when the level shifter is operating to translate a signal from 0.65V to 3.6V, i.e., the maximum upwards level shift, the NMOS transistors are receiving an ON signal that is barely able to turn the NMOS transistors ON, while the PMOS transistors are receiving a much stronger signal. In order to work properly with this large voltage difference, the PMOS transistor widths must therefore be chosen to be significantly smaller than the NMOS transistor widths. In one embodiment, the resulting ratio between the PMOS and NMOS transistor widths is 1 :3, i.e., the PMOS transistor are much smaller than usual. While this extreme skewing of transistor sizes is necessary when the input signal is low and the output signal is high, this skewing causes poor transient response for low-to-high switching when the input signal is higher and closer to the voltage level of the output. The poor transient response in turn makes fast switching difficult to achieve.

[0052] One possible solution to the extreme skewing of sizes of the PMOS/NMOS transistors can be to use passive resistors coupled in parallel with the PMOS transistors to pull-up the output signal. However, these devices will contribute additional leakage current to the design when the output is driven low and will take up a significant amount of area since the resistors would necessarily have large resistance values.

[0053] FIG. 4 depicts a level shifter 400 that has been implemented according to an embodiment. Of the design shown, level shifting circuit 402 of level shifter 400 is the original level shifter as shown in FIG. 7, although in level shifting circuit 402, all of the previous transistors are replaced by low V T transistors. Level shifting circuit 402 is made up of two PMOS transistors M PL i5, M PL i6 and two NMOS transistors M NLI S, M NLI 6- PMOS transistor M PLI 5 is coupled in series with NMOS transistor M NL i5 between upper rail, VCC B , and the lower rail and PMOS transistor M PL i6 is coupled in series with NMOS transistor M NLI 6 between VCC B and the lower rail. The gate of PMOS transistors M PL i5 is coupled to the drain of PMOS transistor M PL i6 and the gate of PMOS transistors M PL i 6 is coupled to the drain of PMOS transistor M PL i 5 . Finally, the gate of NMOS transistor M NL i5 is controlled by input control signal S 2 and the gate of NMOS transistor M NL i6 is controlled by input control signal Si; both of input control signals Si and S 2 are created in the first voltage domain. This means that NMOS transistors M NLI S, M NLI 6 are controlled by signals created in the first voltage domain, while PMOS transistors M PL i 5 , M PL i 6 are controlled by signals in the second voltage domain, creating the problem noted above. Notably, only low V T transistors are used for switching capability over the full voltage range from 0.65V to 3.6V on either supply. The width of low V T transistors is minimized to keep the leakage current as low as possible.

[0054] Rather than providing passive resistors coupled in parallel with the PMOS transistors to pull-up the output signal, level shifter 400 discloses the use of several NMOS transistors coupled in parallel with the PMOS transistors as helper transistors. In the embodiment shown, pull-up circuit 404A includes two NMOS transistors, M NLI 7, M N sn, which are each coupled in parallel with PMOS transistor M PL i 5 between upper rail VCC B and output control signal S 3T . The gates of NMOS transistors M NL i7, M NS n are controlled by input control signal Si. A second pull-up circuit 404B includes two additional MOS transistors MN LI S, M N si8, which are each coupled in parallel with PMOS transistor M PL i6 between upper rail VCC B and output control signal S 2T and have their gates controlled by input control signal S 2 . The size of these helper NMOS transistors M N Li7, M N SI7, MNLIS, M N si8, is small compared to the size of NMOS transistors M N LIS, M N LI6- In one embodiment, the helper NMOS transistors M NLI 7, M N sn, MN LI S, M N si8 , have respective widths that are one-fifth to one-fourth the width of NMOS transistors M NLIS , NL i6- Since the NMOS transistors are driven by the input control signals Si, S 2 , while the PMOS transistors are driven by output control signals S 2T , S 3T , the effectiveness of the pull-up circuits 404 scales with the input and output voltage levels. Accordingly, when the voltage of upper rail VCCA is low, pull-up circuits 404 will only be weakly turned on. However, since the response of NMOS transistors M NLIS , M NLI 6 is weak in this same situation, a strong response from pull-up circuit 404 is not desired. When the voltage on upper rail VCCA is set to be higher and the effect of the skewed sizes of the PMOS transistors M PL i7, M PL i8 is very evident, the effect of pull-up circuits 404 is stronger and continues to scale upward as upper rail VCCA is set to higher values. The pull-up circuits 404 help improve the switching time and data rate. A final element of level shifter 400 is a disable switch 406, which in the described embodiment contains a single low threshold voltage NMOS transistor M N L2i- Disable switch 406 is provided to reduce the dynamic current of the full bitcell by blocking current path of non-switching half bit level shifter. Accordingly, when the output buffer to which the level shifter is coupled is placed in high-impedance mode, the disable switch 406 will turn OFF to keep the level shifter from switching based on the input state. Although not implemented in parallel architecture in the embodiment shown, disable switch 406 could also be implemented in parallel in other embodiments. The width of the low V T transistor is minimized to keep the leakage current as low as possible.

[0055] FIG. 5A illustrates the effects of the added helper transistors on the output control signals S 3T and S 2T in an implementation of the described level shifter 400. Each of signals S 3T , S 2T is shown both with and without the helper NMOS transistors. Use of the NMOS helpers allows output control signal S 2T to rise more quickly, thus turning off PMOS transistor M PL i6 more quickly and allowing output control signal S 3T to be pulled down quicker. Level shifter 400 is able to flip faster, so the downstream transistors controlled by output control signal S 3T also switch faster. In testing using an input upper rail VCCA equal to 0.8V and an output upper rail VCC B equal to 3.3V using weak process models and 130°C, the use of the pull-up circuits 404 improved propagation delay, T PD , from 15 ns to 14 ns. Using the same process conditions for an input upper rail VCCA equal to 1.65 V and an output upper rail VCC B equal to 3.0 V, T PD improved from 3.48 ns to 3.19 ns. This improvement is critical for achieving a data rate of 500 Mbps.

[0056] FIG. 5B is a view of a larger portion of the graph shown in FIG. 5A, but without output control signal S 2T , in order to illustrate the increased amplitude of VOU T that results from the use of the added helper transistors. As shown in FIG. 5B, using the pull-up circuits 404, output control signal S 3T swings higher. As an effect of the higher swing of output control signal S 3T , VOU T also swings higher. As described hereinabove, when upper rail VCC B is 3.0 V, the output high voltage should not drop below 2.3 V. In a test for operation at a data rate of 500 Mbps with VCCA=1.65 V, VCC B =3.0 V, Weak, 130° C, with no pull-up circuits 404, the high level of VOU T was 1.49 V, which is less than the required high voltage of 2.3 V at this level. In contrast, when pull-up circuits 404 were added to the circuit, the high level of VOU T was 2.54 V, which is greater than the required high voltage of 2.3 V. The addition of helper transistors thus allows the level shifter to provide the necessary voltage levels for proper operation. This capability extends across the range of support input and output voltages.

[0057] The described level shifter with NMOS helper transistors is advantageous since it provides a boost to the level shifter output that adjusts with the input and output voltage levels. When the input signal is at a low voltage level compared to the output voltage level, then the NMOS pull-ups provide very little help to the PMOS transistors, which is desirable since the PMOS-to-NMOS ratio is already skewed low. However, when the input signal voltage rail becomes larger, the NMOS pull-ups provide more drive current to pull-up the output signal, which greatly improves the transient response of the level shifter. With the low skewed PMOS-to-NMOS ratio, this extra boost allows the level shifter to provide a good response time across a wide voltage supply range for both input and output levels. In addition, the active pull-ups do not contribute additional leakage current to the design like the use of passive resistors described hereinabove.

[0058] FIG. 6 depicts a voltage translator 600 according to the described embodiments, which is generally a reproduction of the separate circuits described hereinabove, but is provided to give an overview of the various circuits described herein. In this description, references to NMOS and PMOS transistors are used in a generic sense, so these transistors are referred to as metal oxide silicon devices, even though most gates are actually made of polysilicon and other dielectrics besides oxide can be used. Variations to NMOS and PMOS transistors, whether currently known or unknown are covered by these terms.

[0059] Modifications are possible in the described embodiments, and other embodiments are possible, within the scope of the claims.