Level shifter with static precharge circuit

摘要

A level shifter includes a static precharge circuit. During a precharge phase, two nodes of the level shifter are precharged to a voltage at or near a reference voltage. During an evaluate phase, the level shifter maintains one of the nodes at the precharge voltage, while the other node is pulled to a different voltage level, such as at or near a ground voltage level, wherein the node that is maintained is selected based on the state of data input signals of the level shifter. The voltage at the nodes determines the state of the level shifter output signals, such that the output signals represent the input signals at a shifted voltage level. The level shifter can include a capacitor to feed forward a signal that causes the precharging to terminate more quickly.

主权项

1. A level shifter comprising:
a first transistor comprising a first current electrode coupled to a first voltage reference, a second current electrode coupled to a first output signal node, and a control electrode to receive a control signal responsive to a first clock signal; a second transistor comprising a first current electrode coupled to the first output signal node, a second current electrode, and a control electrode responsive to a second clock signal; a third transistor comprising a first current electrode coupled to the second current electrode of the second transistor, a second current electrode coupled to a second voltage reference, and a control electrode to receive a first data input signal; and wherein the level shifter is configured to precharge the first output signal node to a first voltage during a precharge phase and to selectively, based on a state of the first data input signal, perform one of: maintaining the first output signal node at the first voltage during an evaluate phase and transitioning the first output signal node to a second voltage during the evaluate phase.