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:
Nov. 26, 2002
Filed:
Apr. 03, 2001
Robert E. Seymour, Tucson, AZ (US);
Texas Instruments Incorporated, Dallas, TX (US);
Abstract
A CDAC circuit is provided that can operate at low supply voltages, for example, at supply voltages of 2.5 volts or less. To accomplish low voltage operation, switches in the CDAC circuit, such as sampling bit switches, mid-point switches or auto-zero switches, are gate-boosted to permit the voltage at the transmission gates to exceed the threshold voltage and thus permit the transmission gates to effectively operate. As a result, the CDAC can continue to operate, even with the existence of lower power supply voltages. In accordance with an exemplary embodiment, a gate-boosting circuit comprises a pair of N-channel transistor devices and a charging capacitor configured to provide a gate-boosting voltage to the transmission gates. In addition, the gate boosting circuit can comprise conventional CMOS devices, rather than more expensive low threshold MOSFET devices.