Circuit for shifting switching signals
AssigneeSTMicroelectronics S.r.l.
InventorPascal Debaty
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A circuit for shifting at least one input switching signal includes a CMOS bistable circuit having two branches, and a circuit for accelerating the switching of the bistable circuit. The circuit for accelerating the switching allows an output transistor of each branch to be switched to the off state when an input transistor of the branch switches to the on state. The circuit for accelerating switching includes, for at least one given branch, an associated current mirror generating a turn-off current for the output transistor of the branch on the basis of a turn-on current for the input transistor of the branch.
Claims35
A circuit for shifting at least one input switching signal and comprising:
- a CMOS bistable circuit having two branches, each branch being connected between a first voltage reference and a second voltage reference and comprising
- a MOS input transistor having a first type of conductivity and comprising a drain,
- a MOS output transistor having a second type of conductivity and comprising a drain and a gate, and at least one MOS voltage clamping transistor connected between said input transistor and said output transistor,
- the drain of said output transistor of each branch connected to the gate of said output transistor of the other branch, and the drain being connected to the drain of said input transistor of a same branch through said at least one voltage clamping transistor;
- and
- an acceleration circuit for accelerating switching of said bistable circuit for allowing said output transistor of each branch to be switched to an off state when said input transistor of a same branch switches to an on state, said acceleration circuit comprising, for at least one branch, a current mirror for generating a turn-off current for said output transistor based upon a turn-on current for said input transistor.
A circuit for shifting at least one input switching signal and comprising:
- a bistable circuit having two branches, each branch being connected between a first voltage reference and a second voltage reference, and comprising
- an input transistor comprising a first conduction terminal,
- an output transistor comprising a first conduction terminal and a control terminal, and
- at least one voltage clamping transistor connected between said input transistor and said output transistor,
- the first conduction terminal of said output transistor of each branch being connected to the control terminal of said output transistor of the other branch, and the first conduction terminal being connected to the first conduction terminal of said input transistor of a same branch through said at least one voltage clamping transistor;
- and
- an acceleration circuit for accelerating switching of said bistable circuit for allowing said output transistor of each branch to be switched to an off state when said input transistor of a same branch switches to an on state, said acceleration circuit comprising, for at least one branch, a current mirror for generating a turn-off current for said output transistor based upon a turn-on current for said input transistor.
A method for accelerating shifting of at least one input switching signal for a bistable circuit having two branches, each branch being connected between a first voltage reference and a second voltage reference, and comprising an input transistor comprising a first conduction terminal for providing a first output signal, an output transistor comprising a first conduction terminal for providing a second output signal, and a control terminal, and at least one voltage clamping transistor connected between the input transistor and the output transistor, the first conduction terminal of the output transistor of each branch being connected to the control terminal of the output transistor of the other branch and to the first conduction terminal of the input transistor of a same branch through the at least one voltage clamping transistor, the method comprising:
- generating a turn-off current for the output transistor of at least one branch based upon a turn-on current for the input transistor of the same branch using a current mirror for allowing the output transistor of each branch to be switched to an off state when the input transistor of a same branch switches to an on state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.