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.

Date of Patent:
Jan. 04, 2005

Filed:

Apr. 25, 2003
Applicant:

Thomas J. Davies, Jr., Albuquerque, NM (US);

Inventor:

Thomas J. Davies, Jr., Albuquerque, NM (US);

Assignee:

Xilinx, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);

Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H03L 500 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
Abstract

A level shifter for low voltage operation includes two level shifting stages. The first stage shifts the input voltage level to an intermediate voltage level, and the second stage shifts the intermediate voltage level to an output voltage level. This two-stage arrangement allows the level shifter to function for very low input voltages, and enables functionality across a wide range of output voltages. The first stage is designed to be compatible with very low input voltages and the intermediate voltage level is chosen to be within the safe operating limits of the first stage. The intermediate voltage level is also high enough to drive the high voltage devices of the second stage. This level shifter can be used where multiple output voltage levels are required depending on the particular application or operating mode.


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