Apparatus and method for precharging a bus to an intermediate level

A bus, comprising:

• a plurality of conductors configured within said bus;
• a plurality of precharge driver circuits, each of which are configured to precharge a respective one of said plurality of conductors to a voltage below a power supply voltage and above ground, each of said plurality of driver circuits comprises:
• a pull-up transistor having a selectable path coupled in series with a plurality of first diodes, each first diode having a first turn on threshold;
• a pull-down transistor having a selectable path coupled in series with a plurality of second diodes, each second diode having a second turn on threshold;
• and
• a clocking signal forwarded to said pull-up and pull-down transistors for increasing voltage upon said conductor if voltage upon said conductor falls below a first amount, and for decreasing voltage upon said conductor if voltage upon said conductor rises above a second amount which is greater in magnitude than said first amount.

A method for precharging a conductor within a bus, comprising:

• providing a clocked pull-up circuit coupled between a power supply and said conductor, and providing a clocked pull-down circuit coupled between said conductor and a ground voltage;
• applying a clocking signal simultaneously to said pull-up and pull-down circuits;
• activating said pull-up circuit if voltage upon said conductor falls below a first amount;
• and
• activating said pull-down circuit if voltage upon said conductor rises above a second amount greater in voltage magnitude than said first amount.