US 2006/0232297 A1Published application

Driver circuit

AssigneeSanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

InventorTakashi Tanimoto

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Abstract

A driver circuit is improved in drive capability corresponding to a resolution increase for a CCD sensor while suppressing chip size of a driver circuit. A preceding-stage circuit, operating on VDD2 (>VDD) and VLOW2 (<VLOW), is provided in a stage preceding an output-stage circuit operating on VDD and VLOW. The output-stage has a transistor QPd that turns on when supplied with a gate voltage VLOW2 from the preceding-stage circuit, thus outputting, onto an output terminal Vout, a voltage VDD and a current according to a voltage Vgs (=VDD−VLOW2). In addition, a transistor QNd turns on when supplied with a gate voltage VDD2 from the preceding-stage circuit, thus outputting, onto an output terminal Vout, a voltage VLOW and a current according to a voltage Vgs (=VDD2−VLOW). Because these Vgs are greater than VDD−VLOW, the output-stage circuit can be improved in drive capability and transistor size be correspondingly suppressed.

Claims6

Dependent claims

A driver circuit integrated on a semiconductor substrate and driving an external circuit connected to the circuit, the driver circuit comprising:

a control-stage circuit connected to a voltage source having a first high voltage and a voltage source having a first low voltage lower than the first high voltage, and outputting a control voltage based on any of the first high voltage or the first low voltage selected depending upon an input voltage;
and
an output-stage circuit connected to a voltage source having a second high voltage and a voltage source having a second low voltage lower than the second high voltage, and outputting an output voltage based on any of the second high voltage or the second low voltage selected depending upon the control voltage;
the output-stage circuit having
a first output transistor that puts a first channel between the voltage source having the second high voltage and an output terminal in a conductive state when applied with the control voltage based on the first low voltage, and puts the first channel in a non-conductive state when applied with the control voltage based on the first high voltage, and
a second output transistor that puts a second channel between the voltage source having the second low voltage and the output terminal in a conductive state when applied with the control voltage based on the first high voltage, and puts the second channel in a non-conductive state when applied with the control voltage based on the first low voltage;
wherein a voltage difference between the first high voltage and the first low voltage being greater than a voltage difference between the second high voltage and the second low voltage.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.