Stmicroelectronics International N.v.

Stmicroelectronics (crolles 2) Sas

Saiyid Mohammad Irshad Rizvi

Vinod Kumar

Paras Garg

Sameer Vashishtha

Manoj Kumar Tiwari

Manoj Kumar Kumar Tiwari

Kallol Chatterjee

Pierre Dautriche

Ravinder Kumar

Manish Garg

Atul Dwivedi

Rajesh Yadav

Pradeep Kumar Badrathwal

An integrated circuit includes an input pad and a Schmitt trigger coupled to the input pad. The Schmitt trigger includes a first inverter and a second inverter. The Schmitt trigger includes a pull-up transistor coupled to an input of the second inverter and configure to supply a high reference voltage to the input of the second inverter.

Schmitt trigger with pull-up transistor

A glitch filter is provided. The glitch filter receives an input signal and sets a voltage level of an intermediary input node in accordance with a state of the input signal. The glitch filter charges or discharges a switched capacitance based on the voltage level of the intermediary input node and charges or discharges a filter capacitance based on a charge of the switched capacitance. The glitch filter sets a state of an output signal based on the charge of the filter capacitance. The glitch filter includes a reset stage that at least partially filters a burst of glitches in the input signal from the output signal by controlling the charge of the switched capacitance based on the state of the input signal and the state of the output signal.

Glitch filter having a switched capacitance and reset stages

A hybrid driver receives complementary high-speed input data signals and a pair of low-speed input data signals and selects one of the pairs of input data signals and drives output data signals on first and second output nodes based on the selected pair of input data signals. The hybrid driver includes first and second driver circuits coupled to the first and second output nodes, respectively. Each driver circuit includes first and second series-connected transistors coupled between a first supply voltage node and a reference voltage node, with an interconnection of the first and second series-connected transistors coupled to the corresponding first or second output node. Each first and second driver circuit includes a third transistor coupled in parallel with the corresponding first transistor. Each first and third transistor couples in parallel the corresponding output node to a second supply voltage node responsive to the corresponding low-speed input data signal.

Hybrid driver having low output pad capacitance

One or more embodiments are directed to inter-integrated circuit (I2C) transmitters, receivers, and devices that utilize a stable reference voltage for driving a pre-driver of the transmitter and for driving a first input stage of the receiver. One embodiment is directed to a device A device that includes an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) transmitter and an I2C receiver. The I2C transmitter includes a driver coupled to an I2C data line, and a pre-driver coupled to a variable first supply voltage, a second supply voltage, and a reference voltage. The pre-driver is configured to output a control signal to a control terminal of the driver. The I2C receiver includes a first stage coupled to the I2C data line, the variable first supply voltage, the second supply voltage, and the reference voltage.

High performance I2C transmitter and bus supply independent receiver, supporting large supply voltage variations

An output stage of an output buffer circuit includes a first drive transistor and a first cascode transistor (coupled in series between a first supply node and an output node) and a second drive transistor and a second cascode transistor (coupled in series between the output node and a second supply node). Gates of the first and second cascode transistors are biased with first and second bias voltages, respectively. The first bias voltage equals the first supply voltage at the first supply node when the first supply voltage is less than a threshold, and is fixed at a fixed voltage for any first supply voltage exceeding the threshold voltage. The second bias voltage equals a fixed voltage when the first supply voltage is less than a threshold voltage, and is offset from the first supply voltage by a fixed difference for any first supply voltage exceeding the threshold.

Biasing cascode transistors of an output buffer circuit for operation over a wide range of supply voltages

Biasing cascode transistor of an output buffer circuit for operation over a wide range of supply voltages

An apparatus includes a first input/output (I/O) interface circuit having a maximum voltage rating. The first I/O interface circuit includes a level shifter and an output stage. A reference voltage bias generator is coupled to the first I/O interface circuit, to a first supply voltage, and to a first ground potential. The reference voltage bias generator is configured to generate a plurality of reference bias signals, including a first reference voltage and a second reference voltage. When the first supply voltage is not greater than the maximum voltage rating, the first reference voltage is equal to the first supply voltage and the second reference voltage is equal to the first ground potential. When the first supply voltage is greater than the maximum voltage rating, the first reference voltage is equal to the first supply voltage times a first fraction, and the second reference voltage is equal to the first supply voltage times a second fraction.

Apparatus for reference voltage generation for I/O interface circuit

A drive circuit includes a first drive transistor coupled between a first supply node and an output pad of an integrated circuit and a second drive transistor coupled between a second supply node and the output pad. The first drive transistor and second drive transistors are controlled by a control signal. A body bias generator circuit is configured to apply a variable first body bias to the first transistor and a variable second body bias to the second transistor. The variable first and second body biases are generated as a function of the control signal and a voltage at the output pad.

Driver circuit including driver transistors with controlled body biasing

The Schmitt trigger circuit includes a signal input, a first inverter coupled to the signal input and configured to operate at a first voltage, and a second inverter coupled downstream of the first inverter and configured to operate at a second voltage lower than the first voltage. A protection device is coupled between the first inverter and the second inverter, and configured to limit a voltage input to the second inverter at the second voltage. A feedback circuit is coupled downstream of the protection device between the first inverter and the second inverter and configured to introduce hysteresis. An output circuit is coupled to the second inverter and configured to provide an output signal at the second voltage. The approach provides an architecture for 3.3V receivers designed by using 1.8V devices, without active power consumption from the I/O PAD during transition, and/or that supports CMOS standard levels for 1.8V and 3.3V receivers.

CMOS Schmitt trigger circuit and associated methods

In one embodiment, a circuit includes a differential amplifier having a differential pair with a first transistor and second transistor. Each of the first and the second transistors include a front gate contact and a back gate contact. A first digital feedback loop is coupled between an output of the differential amplifier to the back gate contact of the first transistor. A second digital feedback loop is coupled to the back gate contact of the second transistor. The first digital feedback loop is configured to be opposite in phase to the second digital feedback loop.

Programmable hysteresis comparator

A buffer includes an input configured to receive a first digital signal having first and second logic states referenced, respectively, to a first high voltage and a first low voltage of a first supply domain. A first inverter circuit includes a pMOS transistor and nMOS transistor having gate terminals connected to the input. A second inverter is connected in series with the output of the first inverter. The second inverter has an output configured to generate a second digital signal having first and second logic states referenced, respectively, to a second high voltage and a second low voltage of a second, different, supply domain, wherein at least the second high voltage is greater than the first high voltage. A feedback circuit is configured to apply the second digital signal as a bias to a transistor body of the p-MOS transistor of the first inverter circuit.

Buffer circuit with reduced static leakage through controlled body biasing in FDSOI technology

A circuit having a centralized PT compensation circuit to provide compensation signals to localized I/O blocks on the chip. Process variations and temperature variations tend to be approximately uniform across an integrated circuit chip. Thus, a single, centralized PT compensation circuit may be used instead of one PT compensation circuit per I/O section as with solutions of the past. Further, the PT compensation circuit may generate a digital code indicative of the effects of process and temperature. Further yet, each section of I/O block may have a local voltage compensation circuit to compensate the voltage variation of the I/O block. The voltage compensation circuit utilizes an independent reference voltage. The reference voltage is generated by the PT compensation circuit, which is placed centrally in the IC chip and hence any need to repeat the reference generation for each I/O block is eliminated.

Operating conditions compensation circuit

A level shifter includes an output stage transistor and a level controller. The level controller receives a selection signal and provides a reference voltage at a gate terminal of the output stage transistor based on the selection signal. The output stage transistor, on being enabled by the reference voltage, provides a first level shifted output based on a first output reference voltage.

Level shifter

Skew is reduced by extracting the AC component of an input signal and superimposing it on a common reference voltage to produce a resulting voltage. The resulting voltage is provided as an input to a comparator, which compares it to the reference voltage to provide a final output. Thus, all signals fed to a system, in accordance with an embodiment, are referenced at the same DC level and hence, skew is reduced.

Reduction of signal skew

An IO buffer module optimized for a wide range of drive levels both in terms of area and performance that includes an IO cell module and at least one IO adder module operatively coupled to said IO cell module for enabling the IO buffer module for the wide range of drive levels. The IO adder module can be added with the IO cell module in a number of different combinations for providing the wide range of drive levels, and the IO buffer module can provide drive solutions from 1 mA to 10 mA or higher, in steps of 0.5 mA drive level.

Growing community of inventors

New Delhi, India

Saiyid Mohammad Irshad Rizvi