Transmission gate based signal transition accelerator
AssigneeSun Microsystems, Inc.
InventorsSudhakar Bobba, Pradeep Trivedi
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Abstract
A negative impedance device that accelerates signal transitions on a signal is provided. The negative impedance device is highly responsive to high to low and low to high transitions on the signal, and when one of these types of transitions begins to occur on the signal, the negative impedance device senses the transition and quickly drives the signal to the intended value before a point in time when the signal would have reached the intended value had the negative impedance device not been used. Further, a signal transition accelerator design that reduces signal rise and fall times is provided. Further, a method for accelerating a signal transition is provided.
Claims47
An integrated circuit having a signal path to which a negative impedance device is operatively connected, the negative impedance device comprising:
- a pull-up stage having an input and an output operatively connected to the signal path;
- a pull-down stage having an input and an output operatively connected to the signal path;
- and
- a reset stage having an input operatively connected to the signal path,
- wherein the pull-up stage is arranged to be active in advance of and during a low to high transition on the signal path, and wherein the pull-down stage is arranged to be active in advance of and during a high to low transition on the signal path.
An integrated circuit having a signal to which a negative impedance device is operatively connected, the negative impedance device comprising:
- pull-up means for accelerating a low to high transition on the signal;
- pull-down means for accelerating a high to low transition on the signal;
- and
- reset means for activating at least one of the pull-up means and the pull-down means after a transition occurs,
- wherein the pull-up means is arranged to be active in advance of and during the low to high transition, and wherein the pull-down means is arranged to be active in advance of and during the high to low transition.
A signal transition accelerator, comprising:
- a pull-up stage having an output responsive to a low to high transition on a signal path, wherein the pull-up stage is active in advance of and during the low to high transition;
- a pull-down stage having an output responsive to a high to low transition on the signal path, wherein the pull-down stage is active in advance of and during the high to low transition;
- and
- a reset stage that activates the pull-up stage after the high to low transition,
- wherein the pull-up stage responds more quickly to the low to high transition than does the pull-down stage.
A method for accelerating a transition of a signal on a signal path, comprising:
- inputting the signal to a pull-up stage, wherein an output signal of the pull-up stage is responsive to the signal path in advance of and during a low to high transition on the signal;
- and
- inputting the signal to a pull-down stage, wherein an output signal of the pull-down stage is responsive to the signal path in advance of and during a high to low transition on the signal,
- wherein the pull-up stage outputs an accelerated low to high transition when the signal begins to transition from low to high.
A method for accelerating a transition of a signal on a signal path, comprising:
- activating a pull-up stage in advance of and during a low to high transition on the signal;
- detecting a beginning of the low to high transition on the signal;
- and accelerating the low to high transition on the signal when the beginning of the low to high transition is detected.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.