The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 09, 2000
Filed:
Apr. 29, 1998
Hwang-Cherng Chow, Hsinchu, TW;
Cheng-Hsing Chien, Hsinchu, TW;
Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu, TW;
Abstract
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a bidirectional buffer connects a first device, such as a CMOS chip having a first voltage, such as VDD, to a second device having a second voltage, such as VCC, through a terminal pad. The buffer includes a first driver for driving a terminal pad up to the first voltage, wherein the first driver preferably includes a pair of in series PMOS transistors formed in an n floating well. The buffer further includes a second driver for driving the terminal pad down to a voltage VSS. Such a structure provides a simple circuit that requires only a single terminal pad, a single power supply, and is substantially free of dc leakage currents.