Level shift circuit and method
OwnerIn-Chul Jeonginventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
We describe various embodiments of a level shift circuit and an associated method that achieve increased responsiveness by simultaneously adjusting the input signal width and shifting the voltage thereby reducing the number of logic gate stages needed for the two operations. A level shift circuit includes a delay unit for delaying an input signal via a plurality of stages to generate a plurality of delayed signals, and a signal width adjusting and level shifting unit for generating a first level of signal that is level-shifted in response to the input signal and a first delayed signal having the same phase as that of the input signal and generating a second level of signal in response to a second delayed signal having a different phase from that of the input signal.
Claims32
A level shift circuit comprising:
- a delay unit for delaying an input signal via a plurality of stages to generate a plurality of delayed signals;
- and
- a signal width adjusting and level shifting unit for generating a first level of signal that is level-shifted in response to the input signal and a first delayed signal having the same phase as that of the input signal and generating a second level of signal in response to a second delayed signal having a different phase from that of the input signal.
A level shift circuit comprising:
- a delay unit for delaying an input signal via a plurality of stages to generate a plurality of delayed signals;
- and
- a signal width adjusting and level shifting unit for generating a first level of shifted signal that is level-shifted in response to the input signal and generating a second level of signal in response to first and second delayed signals having a different phase from that of the input signal.
A level shift circuit comprising:
- a delay unit for delaying an input signal via a plurality of stages to generate a plurality of delayed signals;
- and
- a signal width adjusting and level shifting unit for generating a first level of signal in response to the input signal and a first delayed signal having a different phase from that of the input signal and generating a second level of signal in response to a second delayed signal having a different phase from that of the input signal and a third delayed signal having the same phase as that of the input signal.
A level shift method comprising:
- a delaying step of generating a plurality of delayed signals from an input signal;
- a signal width adjusting step of adjusting the width of an output signal by transitioning the state of the output signal according to states of the input signal and the plurality of delayed signals;
- and
- a level shifting step of allowing the output signal to have a first shifted level when the output signal is in a first state and to have a second level when the output signal is in a second state, and outputting the resultant output signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.