S3 Incorporated, Inc.

Frederick S Chiu

David L Hoff

A system for buffering input and output signals in a floating substrate technology environment comprises an output pre-driver and an output driver. The output pre-driver includes a pull-up subsystem and a pull-down subsystem, which both receive an output signal and an output enable signal. The pull-up subsystem includes a multistage delay circuit, a current regulation circuit, and a bootstrap circuit, a keeper circuit, an oscillator circuit, and a turn-off circuit, which are coupled together so that a pull-up signal is generated. The pull-down subsystem includes a stagger circuit and a switch circuit that are coupled together to generate a pull-down signal. The output driver includes a pull-up circuit to receive the pull-up signal and a staggered pull-down circuit to receive the pull-down signal. The output driver generates a pad signal used to drive a peripheral device that is coupled to the mixed voltage drive system. A method for a mixed voltage drive system for floating substrate technology is also disclosed.

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San Francisco, CA, United States of America

Frederick S Chiu