Level converters with high immunity to power-supply bouncing for high-speed sub-1-V LSIs

Abstract

We have developed a pump-hopping level-up converter and a differential-input, level-down converter that, enable level conversion for I/O interfacing in sub-1-V LSIs. The level-up converter transforms signals of 0.64 V to 3.6 V within 5 ns with a 0.14-/spl mu/m CMOS technology. The differential input level down converter enables stable operation even at VDD of 0.5 V. These proposed level converters also provide the immunity against power-supply bouncing, which is essential for low-voltage and high-speed LSIs.