Source-coupled Logic (e.g., Current Mode Logic (cml), Differential Current Switch Logic (dcsl), Etc.) Patents (Class 326/115)
  • Patent number: 11386036
    Abstract: At least some aspects of the present disclosure provide for a method. In some examples, the method includes receiving, at a circuit, data via a differential input signal, detecting a rising edge in the data received via the differential input signal, and precharging a common mode voltage (Vcm) node of the differential input signal responsive to detecting the rising edge in the data received via the differential input signal, wherein the Vcm node is a floating node.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 6, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Win Naing Maung, Saurabh Goyal, Bhupendra Sharma, Huanzhang Huang, Douglas Edward Wente, Suzanne Mary Vining, Mustafa Ulvi Erdogan
  • Patent number: 11323115
    Abstract: A high-speed multiplexor comprises a set of differential input pairs to receive and mix a set of differential input signals at a differential output node pair. The high-speed multiplexer further comprises an active inductive load pair driven by the input stage using the mixed set of differential input signals. Each active inductive load comprises a p-channel field effect transistor (pFET) device connected to one of the differential output node pairs and a resistor connected between a gate node and a drain node of the pFET device. The multiplexer further comprises a first cross-coupling capacitor connected between the gate node of a first inductive load and a second output node of the differential output node pair and a second cross-coupling capacitor connected between the gate node of a second inductive load and a first output node of the differential output node pair.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Xiaobin Yuan, Dimitrios Loizos, Varun Joshi
  • Patent number: 11245555
    Abstract: Embodiments of a passive buffer circuit and a wideband communication circuit that uses the passive buffer circuit are disclosed. In an embodiment, the passive buffer circuit includes buffer elements connected between input terminals and output terminals that are connected to input terminals of a communication component circuit with a plurality of input transistors. Each of the buffer elements provides a first path with a resistor and a second path with a series-connected capacitor and inductor. The passive buffer circuit further includes current sources connected between the output terminals and at least one fixed voltage and a feedback loop from the input transistors to the current sources to control direct current (DC) voltage at each of the input terminals of the communication component circuit. The feedback loop includes an error amplifier that controls the current sources based on voltages on the input transistors with respect to a reference voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventor: Siamak Delshadpour
  • Patent number: 11095300
    Abstract: A comparator circuit includes a first transistor configured to receive a first input and a second transistor configured to receive a second input. The comparator circuit further includes a third transistor coupled to a terminal of each of the first and second transistors. The third transistor is configured to be controlled by a first control signal. A gate of a fifth transistor is coupled to a terminal of a fourth transistor at a first node and a gate of the fourth transistor is coupled to a terminal of the fifth transistor at a second node. A sixth transistor is coupled between the first and fourth transistors. A seventh transistor is coupled between the second and fifth transistors. A gate of the sixth transistor and a gate of the seventh transistor are coupled together at a fixed voltage level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Sovan Ghosh, Amal Kumar Kundu, Janakiraman Seetharaman
  • Patent number: 11088878
    Abstract: A transceiver includes a transmitter modulating a data signal into code information in a modulation section unit and individually supplying a common mode current to a plurality of transmission lines and a receiver detecting the code information according to a voltage level of each of the transmission lines and outputting the data signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 10, 2021
    Assignee: Korea University Research and Business Foundation
    Inventors: Chulwoo Kim, Jonghyuck Choi
  • Patent number: 11031936
    Abstract: A hybrid transmitter includes a current-mode driver, a voltage-mode driver and an auxiliary driver. The current-mode driver is configured to perform a current transmission. The voltage-mode driver is configured to perform a voltage transmission. The auxiliary driver, coupled to the current-mode driver and the voltage-mode driver, is configured to cooperate with the current-mode driver to enhance a driving capability of the current transmission and cooperate with the voltage-mode driver to enhance a driving capability of the voltage transmission.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2021
    Assignee: NOVATEK Microelectronics Corp.
    Inventors: Ren-Hong Luo, Kun-Jui Shen, Ying-Cheng Lin
  • Patent number: 11024356
    Abstract: Described are apparatuses for improving resistive memory energy efficiency. An apparatus performs data-driven write to make use of asymmetric write switch energy between write0 and write1 operations. The apparatus comprises: a resistive memory cell coupled to a bit line and a select line; a first pass-gate coupled to the bit line; a second pass-gate coupled to the select line; and a multiplexer operable by input data, the multiplexer to provide a control signal to the first and second pass-gates or to write drivers according to logic level of the input data. An apparatus comprises circuit for performing read before write operation which avoids unnecessary writes with an initial low power read operation. An apparatus comprises circuit to perform self-controlled write operation which stops the write operation as soon as bit-cell flips. An apparatus comprises circuit for performing self-controlled read operation which stops read operation as soon as data is detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2021
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Liqiong Wei, Fatih Hamzaoglu, Yih Wang, Nathaniel J. August, Blake C. Lin, Cyrille Dray
  • Patent number: 10979036
    Abstract: A frequency divider is provided which uses common circuitry to switch between different duty cycle outputs. The divider has one or more memory elements with a feedback loop and which are controllable to adjust a duty cycle of an output signal. Each memory element has a first regenerative cell and a second regenerative cell, and where one of the regenerative cells is a controllable regenerative cell which can be controlled to vary the duty cycle of an output of the frequency divider circuit. The controllable regenerative cell can be selectively activated so that in a first configuration where the controllable regenerative cell is activated an output of the frequency divider circuit has a first duty cycle and in a second configuration where the controllable regenerative cell is deactivated an output of the frequency divider circuit has a second duty cycle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: Dialog Semiconductor B.V.
    Inventors: Mahbub Reja, Shobak Kythakyapuzha, Jan Prummel
  • Patent number: 10911045
    Abstract: A segmented direct gate drive circuit of a depletion mode GaN power device, a gate voltage of the GaN power device is charged from a negative voltage turn-off level to a threshold voltage of the GaN power device; when the gate voltage of the GaN power device is charged to the threshold voltage of the GaN power device, a current mirror charging module first turns on less than N of charging current mirror modules to charge the gate voltage of the GaN power device from the threshold voltage of the GaN power device to a Miller platform voltage of the GaN power device, and turns on N charging current mirror modules to charge the gate voltage of the GaN power device from the Miller platform voltage of the GaN power device to a zero level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: UNIVERSITY OF ELECTRONIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF CHINA
    Inventors: Xin Ming, Bo Zhang, Qifei Xu, Shuai Mao, Xudong Feng, Zhuo Wang
  • Patent number: 10895887
    Abstract: An example current mirror arrangement includes a first portion and a second portion, each of which includes a current mirror having transistors Q1 and Q2, a buffer amplifier that has an input coupled to a base/gate terminal of Q1 and an output coupled to a base/gate terminal of Q2, a master resistor coupled to an emitter/source terminal of Q1, and a slave resistor coupled to an emitter/source terminal of Q2. Furthermore, the slave resistor of the first portion is coupled to the slave resistor of the second portion. Providing additional resistors on master and slave sides of a current mirror arrangement may advantageously allow benefiting from the use of buffers outside of a feedback loop of a current mirror while reducing the sensitivity of the current mirror arrangement to buffer offsets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2021
    Assignee: ANALOG DEVICES, INC.
    Inventors: Devrim Aksin, Omid Foroudi
  • Patent number: 10861507
    Abstract: Systems, apparatuses, and methods for implementing a sampling circuit with increased headroom are disclosed. A sampling circuit includes at least a pair of input signal transistors connected via their drains to a cross-coupled pair of state nodes. The cross-coupled pair of state nodes are coupled to a tail transistor device via the sources of N-type transistors. When clock goes low, the circuit precharges the cross-coupled pair of state nodes while simultaneously attempting to amplify the difference between the pair of input signals. The amplification is performed by a pair of transistors in series between a source of each input signal transistor and ground. Each gate of the pair of transistors is connected to an inverted clock signal. When clock goes high, the circuit stops precharging and a voltage difference between the pair of input signals is regenerated to create a resulting differential voltage on the pair of state nodes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 8, 2020
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Milam Paraschou, Jeffrey Cooper
  • Patent number: 10791002
    Abstract: Embodiments of a method, a device and a computer-readable storage medium are disclosed. In an embodiment, a method for operating a Controller Area Network (CAN) device involves detecting a transition of a CAN transceiver of the CAN device from a dominant state to a recessive state and in response to detecting a transition of the CAN transceiver from the dominant state to the recessive state, controlling an output impedance of the CAN transceiver to be within a predefined range of an impedance value at the dominant state while a differential driver voltage on a CAN bus connected to the CAN transceiver decreases to a predefined voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2020
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Clemens Gerhardus Johannes de Haas, Matthias Berthold Muth
  • Patent number: 10791203
    Abstract: A multi-protocol receiver for receiving at least one input signal comprises: a comparator, a protection controller, and a multi-stage current mode logic (“CML”) buffer. The comparator compares a reference voltage and a predefined voltage. At least one output of the comparator is coupled to at least one input of the protection controller. The multi-stage current mode logic buffer receives the input signal and the reference voltage. Outputs of the protection controller are coupled to control inputs of the multi-stage CML buffer for operating the multi-stage CML buffer to process the input signal and the reference signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2020
    Assignee: Synopsys, Inc.
    Inventors: Prasad Chalasani, Venkata N. S. N. Rao, Majid Jalali Far
  • Patent number: 10673413
    Abstract: A supply-less transmitter output termination resistor with high accuracy is presented. This termination resistor can be used for applications with high supply voltage and low voltage devices. The termination resistor is programmable and includes many parallel branches. Each branch can be turned off or on with a switch. The biasing for the switch is in such a way that it keeps the resistance of the switch constant independent of the supply voltage or the output common mode voltage. This will increase the accuracy of the termination resistor. Besides HDMI this technique can be used for many other applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2020
    Assignee: PICO Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventor: Kamran Iravani
  • Patent number: 10601423
    Abstract: A Low-Voltage Differential Signaling (differential signaling) driver circuit (10) comprising enable circuitry for enabling and disabling the differential signaling driver circuit (10) in accordance with an control signal is described. The differential signaling driver circuit (10) comprises: a differential output (12, 13) connected or connectable to a differential signaling receiver circuit via a differential transmission line; current control circuitry (14) for driving a signal current through the differential output (12, 13) in accordance with a driver signal; feedback circuitry (16) for driving the current control circuitry (14) to counteract a difference between a common mode voltage of the differential output (12, 13) and a reference voltage from a reference voltage provider; and the enable circuitry (18).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: NXP USA, INC.
    Inventors: Alexey Michailovich Balashov, Andrey Evgenevich Malkov
  • Patent number: 10594157
    Abstract: A wireless charger output protection system and method is provided for protecting a battery in an electric vehicle during wireless charging. A wireless power transfer system includes a wireless charger on the electric vehicle side that receives power wirelessly from a charging base. The wireless charger output protection system and method shuts down the wireless charger output and dumps energy in a receive antenna (e.g., a vehicle pad) when a charging error is detected before the charging base can be shut down. The system and method employs a zero-voltage switching (ZVS) scheme to shut down the wireless charger output, in response to the charging error, to protect the switching devices and enhance overall reliability.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2020
    Assignee: LEAR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Steven Cong, David A Hein, Ryan Cleveland, Eric Salem
  • Patent number: 10523104
    Abstract: A direct current-direct current (DC-DC) converter includes an upper transistor, a lower transistor, a first bias circuit and a second bias circuit. A first input end of the first bias circuit is coupled to a first voltage reference, a second input end of the first bias circuit is coupled to a power source (PVDD), and an output end of the first bias circuit is coupled to a gate of the upper transistor to provide a first bias voltage for the gate of the upper transistor. A first input end of the second bias circuit is coupled to a second voltage reference, a second input end of the second bias circuit is coupled to a power ground (PGND), and an output end of the second bias circuit is coupled to a gate of the lower transistor to provide a second bias voltage for the gate of the lower transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Xinyu Wang, Qiang Xie, Liang Chen
  • Patent number: 10447290
    Abstract: A comparator circuit includes a first transistor configured to receive a first input and a second transistor configured to receive a second input. The comparator circuit further includes a third transistor coupled to a terminal of each of the first and second transistors. The third transistor is configured to be controlled by a first control signal. A gate of a fifth transistor is coupled to a terminal of a fourth transistor at a first node and a gate of the fourth transistor is coupled to a terminal of the fifth transistor at a second node. A sixth transistor is coupled between the first and fourth transistors. A seventh transistor is coupled between the second and fifth transistors. A gate of the sixth transistor and a gate of the seventh transistor are coupled together at a fixed voltage level.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Sovan Ghosh, Amal Kumar Kundu, Janakiraman Seetharaman
  • Patent number: 10224885
    Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment, a method includes receiving a first differential logic signal using a first branch of a circuit that extends from a voltage supply of the circuit as far as an earth terminal of the circuit and has at least one first differential transistor pair, receiving a second differential logic signal using a second branch of the circuit that extends from the voltage supply to the earth terminal and has at least one second differential transistor pair, conducting a current flow between the first branch and the second branch, and outputting an output signal by the second branch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG
    Inventors: Johann Peter Forstner, Vadim Issakov, Saverio Trotta
  • Patent number: 10153771
    Abstract: A negative-level shifting circuit includes a first level shifter including an input circuit configured to receive a logic signal having a first voltage level and a load circuit configured to generate a first output signal having a second voltage level based on a voltage generated by the input circuit, and a second level shifter configured to receive the first output signal from the first level shifter and generate a second output signal having a third voltage level. The first level shifter further includes a shielding circuit connected between the input circuit and the load circuit and configured to separate an operating voltage region of the input circuit from an operating voltage region of the load circuit such that the input circuit operates in a positive voltage region and the load circuit operates in a negative voltage region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Seong-Young Ryu, Yong-Hoan Kim, Eun-Jeong Park
  • Patent number: 10135442
    Abstract: A current-mode logic circuit is provided. The current-mode logic circuit includes a transmitter module. The transmitter module includes an output impedance circuit, a switch circuit, and a current source. The output impedance circuit provides an adjustable output resistor. The adjustable output resistor includes floating resistors and/or pull-up resistors. The switch circuit is coupled to the output impedance circuit. The switch circuit receives differential input signals, outputs differential output signals, and controls high-low level switching of the differential input signals and the differential output signals according to the adjustable output resistor. The current source is coupled to the output impedance circuit and the switch circuit. The current source provides currents to the output impedance circuit and the switch circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 20, 2018
    Assignee: MEDIATEK SINGAPORE PTE. LTD.
    Inventors: Yiming Tang, Bo Hu, Kun Lan
  • Patent number: 10122348
    Abstract: A multiplexer comprises: an output circuit comprising a multiplexer output; and a first buffer coupled to the output circuit and comprising: a first selection input configured to receive a first selection signal; a first logical input configured to receive a first logical input signal; and a first ground; wherein the multiplexer is configured to: couple the first logical input to the multiplexer output when the first selection signal is a first value; and couple the first logical input to the first ground when the first selection signal is a second value. A method comprises: receiving a selection signal and a first logical input signal; coupling a first logical input to a multiplexer output when the selection signal is a first value; and coupling the first logical input to a ground when the selection signal is a second value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2018
    Assignee: Futurewei Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Liang Gu, Yuming Cao, Gong Lei, Yen Dang, Yifan Gu, Hungyi Lee, Mamatha Deshpande, Shou-Po Shih, Yan Duan
  • Patent number: 10033412
    Abstract: A driver circuit includes a plurality of output circuits coupled in parallel between a differential input and a differential output and having a first common node and a second common node. Each of the plurality of output circuits includes a series combination of a pair of inverters and a pair of resistors, coupled between the differential input and the differential output; first source terminals of the pair of inverters coupled to the first common node; and second source terminals of the pair of inverters coupled to the second common node. The driver circuit further includes a first voltage regulator having an output coupled to the first common node of the plurality of output circuits; a second voltage regulator having an output coupled to the second common node of the plurality of circuits; and a current compensation circuit coupled between the outputs of the first voltage regulator and the second voltage regulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: XILINX, INC.
    Inventors: Siok Wei Lim, Kok Lim Chan, Kee Hian Tan, Hongyuan Zhao, Chin Yang Koay, Yohan Frans, Kun-Yung Chang
  • Patent number: 10032487
    Abstract: An apparatus including a Correlated Electron Switch (CES) element and a programing circuit is provided. The programing circuit provides a programing signal to the CES element to program the CES element to an impedance state of multiple impedance states when a number of times the CES element has been programed is less than a threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: ARM Ltd.
    Inventors: Lucian Shifren, Robert Campbell Aitken, Vikas Chandra, Bal S. Sandhu
  • Patent number: 9985631
    Abstract: Digital circuits are disclosed that may include multiple transistors having controllable current paths coupled between first and second logic nodes. One or more of the transistors may have a deeply depleted channel formed below its gate that includes a substantially undoped channel region formed over a relatively highly doped screen layer formed over a doped body region. Resulting reductions in threshold voltage variation may improve digital circuit performance. Logic circuit, static random access memory (SRAM) cell, and passgate embodiments are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: MIE FUJITSU SEMICONDUCTOR LIMITED
    Inventors: Scott E. Thompson, Lawrence T. Clark
  • Patent number: 9948293
    Abstract: An integrated circuit includes first and second transmitter driver circuits. The first transmitter driver circuit includes a first pull-up circuit and a first pull-down circuit that are configured as a first voltage mode driver to drive a first single-ended output signal to a first pad during a voltage mode operation. The second transmitter driver circuit includes a second pull-up circuit and a second pull-down circuit that are configured as a second voltage mode driver to drive a second single-ended output signal to a second pad during the voltage mode operation. The first and second pull-up circuits and the first and second pull-down circuits drive a differential output signal to the first and second pads during a current mode operation when the first and second transmitter driver circuits are configured as a current mode driver.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2018
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventor: Ker Yon Lau
  • Patent number: 9853842
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to data communication systems and methods. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention provide a CML that uses one or more equalization modules to apply equalization via secondary windings of transformers that are coupled, directly or indirectly, to the CML outputs. The equalization modules comprises a DAC component that generates switching signals based on control signals received from an external equalization module. The equalization module also includes switchable resistors and/or capacitors. The switching signals are used to select switchable resistors and/or capacitors. By switching resistors and/or capacitors at the equalization module, the outputs of the CML are equalized. There are other embodiments as well.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2017
    Assignee: INPHI CORPORATION
    Inventors: Parmanand Mishra, Steffen Nielsen, Michael S. Harwood
  • Patent number: 9645604
    Abstract: Circuits and techniques for mesochronous processing are provided. A communication method for a mesochronously clocked system may include synchronizing processing of first and second processing units to first and second mesochronous clock signals, respectively. The first and second mesochronous clock signals may have a same frequency and different phases, respectively. The method may further include sending data from the first processing unit to the second processing unit, and enabling or disabling receipt of the data by the second processing unit based, at least in part, on states of the first and second mesochronous clock signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2017
    Assignees: Bitfury Group Limited
    Inventor: Valerii Nebesnyi
  • Patent number: 9595975
    Abstract: A low-latency, high-gain (LLHG) slicer includes an input stage coupled to a differential output port and configured to receive a differential analog input signal, and to track the differential analog input signal during a tracking phase, an output stage coupled to the differential output port and configured to generate digital output bits corresponding to the differential analog input signal during a regeneration phase, and a tunable resistor coupled to the differential output port and configured to provide a first load impedance during the tracking phase and to provide a second load impedance during the regeneration phase, the first load impedance being lower than the second load impedance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2017
    Assignee: Samsung Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Sanquan Song, Amir Amirkhany
  • Patent number: 9564896
    Abstract: A circuit is disclosed that includes a plurality of voltage control circuits and a control module. Each of the voltage control circuits is controlled by a control signal. The control module is configured to generate the control signal and to determine a voltage level or a pulse width of the control signal in accordance with a current process corner condition of the voltage control circuits and at least one of first predetermined data and second predetermined data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2017
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jerry Chang-Jui Kao, Chien-Ju Chao, Chin-Shen Lin, Nitesh Katta, Kuo-Nan Yang, Chung-Hsing Wang
  • Patent number: 9537685
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to data communication systems and methods. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention provide a CML that uses one or more equalization modules to apply equalization via secondary windings of transformers that are coupled, directly or indirectly, to the CML outputs. The equalization modules comprises a DAC component that generates switching signals based on control signals received from an external equalization module. The equalization module also includes switchable resistors and/or capacitors. The switching signals are used to select switchable resistors and/or capacitors. By switching resistors and/or capacitors at the equalization module, the outputs of the CML are equalized. There are other embodiments as well.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2017
    Assignee: INPHI CORPORATION
    Inventors: Parmanand Mishra, Steffen Nielsen, Michael S. Harwood
  • Patent number: 9520708
    Abstract: A protection circuit includes a control circuit coupled to a first power-supply wire applied with a first power-supply voltage. The control circuit generates a control voltage in accordance with the first power-supply voltage and an input voltage. A voltage limitation circuit is coupled between a first node applied with the input voltage and a second power-supply wire applied with a second power-supply voltage. The voltage limitation circuit includes a variable resistance unit having a resistance value that changes according to the control voltage. When the first power-supply voltage is not supplied to the protection circuit and the input voltage is larger than a first voltage, the control circuit generates the control voltage such that the resistance value of the variable resistance unit is smaller than that in a case where the input voltage is equal to or less than the first voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2016
    Assignee: SOCIONEXT INC.
    Inventor: Tunehiko Moriuchi
  • Patent number: 9520196
    Abstract: A voltage switch circuit is connected to a memory cell of a non-volatile memory. When the non-volatile memory is in a program mode and the memory cell is a selected memory cell, two output terminals provide a high voltage. When the non-volatile memory is in the program mode and the memory cell is a non-selected memory cell, the two output terminals provide a medium voltage and a ground voltage. When the non-volatile memory is in an erase mode and the memory cell is the selected memory cell, the two output terminals provide the high voltage and the ground voltage. When the non-volatile memory is in the erase mode and the memory cell is the non-selected memory cell, the two output terminals provide the ground voltage. When the non-volatile memory is in a read mode, the two output terminals provide a read voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2016
    Assignee: EMEMORY TECHNOLOGY INC.
    Inventor: Chen-Hao Po
  • Patent number: 9520872
    Abstract: A linear equalizer is configured with load transistors that load a corresponding differential pair of transistors. The linear equalizer is configured to selectively diode connect each load transistor to boost a high frequency gain.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2016
    Assignee: QUALCOMM Incorporated
    Inventor: Bupesh Pandita
  • Patent number: 9350335
    Abstract: A combined multiplexer and latch circuit is provided that has only a single gate delay between the input of the overall circuit and the output of the circuit. Two complementary input signal stages each receive a complementary input signal and a multiplexer input. A clocked preset circuit presets a signal at the output of the combined multiplexer and latch circuit with timing based on a first phase of an input clock. A storage circuit stores a value based on the output of the combined multiplexer and latch circuit with timing based on a second phase of the input clock. The circuit has a preset mode during which the output of the combined multiplexer and latch circuit is preset, and has a latch mode during which a value output by the selected complementary signal input stage is output by the circuit and also stored in the storage circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2016
    Assignee: INPHI CORPORATION
    Inventor: Travis William Lovitt
  • Patent number: 9240786
    Abstract: Homogenous dual-rail logic for DPA attack resistive secure circuit design is disclosed. According to one embodiment, an HDRL circuit comprises a primary cell and a complementary cell, wherein the complementary cell is an identical duplicate of the primary cell. The HURL circuit comprises a first set of inputs and a second set of inputs, wherein the second set of inputs are a negation of the first set of inputs. The HURL circuit has a differential power at a level that is resistive to DPA attacks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 19, 2016
    Assignee: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
    Inventors: Kazuyuki Tanimura, Nikil Dutt
  • Patent number: 9136854
    Abstract: In one embodiment of the invention, a digital to analog convertor (DAC) is disclosed for converting a digital input signal into an analog output signal. The DAC includes a switch controller coupled to a digital input signal; a bias voltage generator coupled to a first terminal of an analog voltage power supply; and a switched current source array coupled to the switch controller and the bias voltage generator. The bias voltage generator generates a bias voltage. The switch controller generates a plurality of digital enable signals. The switched current source array includes a plurality of hybrid switched current cells coupled to the switch controller and the bias voltage generator. The plurality of hybrid switched current cells are coupled together at an analog output terminal to sum unit currents together, if any, and form the analog output signal in response to the digital input signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignee: Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Sung-Hwan Hong
  • Patent number: 8994406
    Abstract: A digital cell for performing a logic operation on a logic input to produce a logic output, includes an evaluation block and a sense-amplifier block, both configured to receive input signals representative of the logic input, and to detect when the logic input and/or input signals validly encode at least one bit. The digital cell is configured to alternate between an evaluate state and a reset state. Upon the digital cell being in the reset state and the detection, the digital cell is switched from the reset state to the evaluate state in which the evaluation block generates a difference in its output signals, and the sense-amplifier block amplifies the difference so that the output signals encode at least one valid bit. Upon the digital cell being in the evaluate state, the digital cell can be triggered to reset to the reset state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 31, 2015
    Assignee: Nanyang Technological University
    Inventors: Joseph Sylvester Chang, Bah Hwee Gwee, Kwen Siong Chong
  • Patent number: 8975920
    Abstract: A multi-function programmable transceiver is described. The transceiver includes a driver circuit and a receiver circuit, which allows an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) device to drive and receive data from other ASIC devices. Both the driver and receiver circuits share a common input/output (I/O) pin. The driver circuit can be programmed to provide one of the several driver functions, such as CMOS, TTL, PCI, HSTL, SSTL and LVDS. Other functional features of the transceiver that can be programmed are driving strengths or output impedance, output power supply voltage, single ended or differential mode of HSTL/SSTL transceivers, and class 1 or class 2 operations for SSTL/HSTL transceivers. The receiver circuit can also be programmed to provide one of the several receiver functions, such as CMOS, TTL, PCI, HSTL, SSTL and LVDS.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.
    Inventor: Jai P. Bansal
  • Patent number: 8928355
    Abstract: There is presented a high bandwidth circuit for high-speed transceivers. The circuit may comprise an amplifier combining capacitor splitting, inductance tree structures, and various bandwidth extension techniques such as shunt peaking, series peaking, and T-coil peaking to support data rates of 45 Gbs/s and above while reducing data jitter. The inductance elements of the inductance tree structures may also comprise high impedance transmission lines, simplifying implementation. Additionally, the readily identifiable metal structures of inductors and t-coils, the equal partitioning of the load capacitors, and the symmetrical inductance tree structures may simplify transceiver implementation for, but not limited to, a clock data recovery circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Broadcom Corporation
    Inventors: Delong Cui, Afshin Momtaz, Jun Cao
  • Patent number: 8901964
    Abstract: A level shifter transfers a first voltage signal to a second voltage signal. The level shifter comprises a comparison circuit, a delay circuit, and a selection circuit. The comparison circuit generates a first signal according to the comparison result between the first voltage signal and the reverse-phase signal of the first voltage signal. The delay circuit generates a second signal according to the first voltage signal. The selection circuit receives the first and the second signals and chooses the higher voltage one from the first signal and the second signal to be the second voltage signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Industrial Technology Research Institute
    Inventor: Shien-Chun Luo
  • Patent number: 8890566
    Abstract: Described herein is a low-voltage circuit with an inductor tail and a common mode feedback loop for amplitude and current control. A first transistor pair can receive clock inputs, and a second transistor pair can receive data inputs and output the data to a logic gate. A tail inductor can be coupled to the first transistor pair to suppress high frequency common mode bounce induced by clock transitions in independent common emitter branches. A common mode feedback loop can be provided to maintain a constant average current. The common mode feedback loop and the tail inductor can together function in the same way as a tail current source at low frequencies and high frequencies respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2014
    Assignee: Semtech Corporation
    Inventor: Daniel Kurcharski
  • Patent number: 8847628
    Abstract: Integrated circuit devices may utilize automatic methods for adjusting the tail currents of current mode logic (CML) cells, which compensate for variations in process corners and thereby enable reliable operation of high performance circuits, such as frequency synthesizers. An integrated circuit may include a current mode logic (CML) circuit responsive to at least one input signal and a variable current source electrically coupled to the CML circuit. This variable current source can be configured to sink (or source) a first current from (or to) the CML circuit in response to a control signal. A control circuit may also be provided, which is configured to generate the control signal in response to a process corner indication signal. This process corner indication signal, which may be generated by a process corner detection circuit, preferably has a magnitude that estimates a relative speed of a process corner associated with the integrated circuit device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: Integrated Device Technology inc.
    Inventors: Minhui Yan, Chien-Chen Chen, Harmeet Bhugra
  • Patent number: 8823421
    Abstract: An embodiment of a pre-emphasis circuit, an embodiment of a method for pre-emphasizing complementary single-ended signals, an embodiment of a transmitter, and an embodiment of a communication system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: STMicroelectronics International N.V.
    Inventors: ManoharRaju K.S.V., Hiten Advani
  • Patent number: 8787831
    Abstract: A smart data storage apparatus and data transmitting method for the same are to combine the hard disk with the dual interface memory, and are to use radio frequency identification (RFID) technology or near field communication (NFC) technology. The information of the self-monitoring analysis and reporting technology (SMART) of the hard disk still could be received by the handheld device without the power for the hard disk. Moreover, the external hard disk could be registered with the handheld device quickly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2014
    Assignee: Jogtek Corp.
    Inventors: Wei-Chun Huang, Tsung-Hsing Hsieh
  • Patent number: 8766668
    Abstract: An integrated circuit chip includes a first single ended type buffer configured to receive a first signal through a first pad, a second single ended type buffer configured to receive a second signal through a second pad, a differential type buffer configured to receive a third signal through the first pad and the second pad, a strobe input unit configured to receive a strobe signal synchronized with the third signal inputted to the first pad and the second pad, and a buffer control unit configured to control activation of the first and second single ended type buffers and the differential type buffer in response to the strobe signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2014
    Assignee: SK Hynix Inc.
    Inventor: Seung-Min Oh
  • Patent number: 8723712
    Abstract: A digital to analog converter including at least one current steering source and a master replica bias network. Each current steering source includes a data current source, two switches, two buffer devices, and two activation current sources. The switches are controlled by a data bit and its inverse for switching the source current between first and second control nodes. The buffer devices buffer the control nodes between corresponding output nodes. The activation current sources ensure that each buffer device remains active regardless of the state of the switches. The master replica bias network includes a replica buffer device coupled to a replica control node and a master buffer amplifier. The master buffer amplifier drives the first, second and replica buffer devices in parallel to maintain the first, second and replica control nodes at a common master control voltage to minimize noise and glitches at the output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2014
    Assignee: Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventors: Mohammad Nizam U. Kabir, Brandt Braswell, Douglas A. Garrity
  • Patent number: 8692576
    Abstract: A level shifting circuit and methodology involving a switching current generator responsive to switching of an input signal for producing a switching current to switch an output signal, and a holding current generator for producing a holding current to hold the logic level of the output signal in accordance with the logic level of the input signal. The holding current is produced independently of the switching current.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
    Assignee: Linear Technology Corporation
    Inventor: Jeffrey Lynn Heath
  • Patent number: 8674725
    Abstract: A transmitter circuit in which a driver circuit includes MOS transistors for bias voltage application, in which a driving current flows, cascode-connected to MOS transistors for differential signal input controlled by a voltage value of transmitted data signals, controlled by a voltage value of a bias voltage, and driver circuits include MOS transistors for bias voltage application, in which a driving current flows, cascode-connected to MOS transistors for differential signal input that is controlled by a voltage value of signals obtained by the transmitted data signals, connected to a load portion, and controlled by a voltage value of a bias voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroaki Kurahashi, Tomofumi Hokari, Takashi Muto, Goichi Ono, Hiroki Yamashita
  • Patent number: 8659319
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are circuitry and methods for transmitting data across a parallel bus using both high common mode and low common mode signaling. The transmitter stages are configured to work with two of three possible power supply voltages: a high Vddq voltage, a low Vssq voltage, and an intermediate Vx voltage. In one embodiment, the odd numbered transmitter stages, that drive the odd numbered outputs to the bus, use the Vddq and Vx supplies, such that the odd numbered outputs comprise high common mode signals. The even numbered transmitter stages, that drive the even numbered outputs to the bus, use the Vx and Vssq supplies, such that the even numbered outputs comprise low common mode signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2014
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Timothy M. Hollis