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:
Sep. 19, 2000
Filed:
Feb. 26, 1998
Derek R Curd, San Jose, CA (US);
Hy V Nguyen, San Jose, CA (US);
Xilinx, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
An input/output (I/O) circuit for transmitting output signals on or receiving input signals from an I/O terminal of an integrated circuit device, such as a Programmable Logic Device (PLD). The I/O circuit includes pull-up and pull-down transistors for generating output signals on the I/O terminal in an output mode, and an isolation transistor for limiting the voltage level transmitted to the pull-up transistor from the I/O terminal in an input mode. The isolation transistor is formed with a thicker gate oxide and a longer channel length than that of the pull-up and pull-down transistors, thereby allowing the isolation transistor to withstand voltages greater than Vcc of the PLD without damage. The isolation transistor is controlled using a charge pump provided on the PLD for programming non-volatile memory cells (e.g., EPROM, EEPROM or flash EPROM cells). The isolation transistor is produced during the same process steps used to produce high voltage transistors associated with the non-volatile memory cells.