Load switch for controlling electrical coupling between power supply and load

A load switch comprising:

• a pass element comprising a first node, a second node and a third node, the pass element configured to be coupled to a power supply and a load, and the pass element further configured to electrically couple the power supply with the load during an ON-state of the pass element and electrically decouple the power supply from the load during an OFF-state of the pass element, the first node positioned to be coupled to the power supply and the second node positioned to be coupled to the load;
• a level-shift circuit comprising a first transistor and a pull-up resistor, the first transistor comprising a first terminal, a second terminal and a third terminal, the pull-up resistor coupled between the first node and the first terminal, the first transistor and the pull-up resistor configured to generate a level-shifted signal at the first terminal in response to an enable signal at the third terminal, and to enable the ON-state and the OFF-state of the pass element based on the level-shifted signal;
• and
• a low-resistance active path coupled in parallel with the pull-up resistor for shunting the pull-up resistor in the OFF-state by providing a path for a leakage current of the first transistor in the OFF-state, the low-resistance active path comprising:
• a second transistor comprising a drain terminal, a source terminal and a gate terminal, the drain terminal and the source terminal coupled to the third node and the first node of the pass element, respectively;
• and
• an inverter coupled between the first terminal and the gate terminal such that the inverter is positioned to provide an inverted signal to the gate terminal,
• wherein the second transistor is configured to be switched to an ON-state in the OFF-state of the pass element in response to the inverted signal to thereby preclude an erroneous switching of the pass element into the ON-state when the pass element is in the OFF-state.

A method of controlling electrical coupling by a load switch, the method comprising:

• implementing a pass element configured to be coupled to a power supply and a load, the pass element further configured to electrically couple the power supply with the load during an ON-state of the pass element and electrically decouple the power supply from the load during an OFF-state of the pass element, the pass element comprising a first node and a second node, the first node positioned to be coupled to the power supply and the second node positioned to be coupled to the load;
• controlling the ON-state and the OFF-state of the pass element by generating a level-shifted signal with a level-shift circuit in response to an enable signal and enabling the ON-state and the OFF-state of the pass element based on the level-shifted signal, the level-shift circuit comprising a first transistor and a pull-up resistor, the first transistor comprising a first terminal, a second terminal and a third terminal, and the pull-up resistor coupled between the first node and the first terminal;
• and
• providing a low-resistance active path for shunting the pull-up resistor in the OFF-state by providing a path for a leakage current of the first transistor in the OFF-state.