Abstract: An improved cell for use in a mask programmable gate array is disclosed herein. The preferred cell comprises two compute sections, each comprising two pairs of medium size P and N-channel transistors, two small N-channel transistors, and a single small P-channel transistor. Each cell also comprises a high efficiency drive section containing a single bipolar pull-up transistor, a large N-channel pull-down transistor, and a small P-channel transistor. By using this cell, an extremely high compute capability per die area is achieved.

Abstract: A highly efficient CMOS cell structure for use in a metal mask programmable gate array, such as a sea-of-gates type gate array, is disclosed herein. In a basic cell, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, three or more sizes of N-channel transistors and three or more sizes of P-channel transistors are used. The larger size transistors are incorporated in a drive section of a cell, while the smaller size transistors are incorporated in each compute section of a cell. The particular transistors in the compute and drive sections and the arrangements of the compute and drive sections provide a highly efficient use of silicon real estate while enabling the formation of a wide variety of macrocells to be formed.

Abstract: In one embodiment of the invention, an inverter inverts an input signal and provides this inverted input signal into the base of an NPN bipolar transistor, acting as a pull-up device, whose collector is coupled to a positive power supply voltage. The input signal coupled to the input of the inverter is also coupled to the gate of a large N-channel MOSFET, acting as a pull-down device, having its drain coupled to the emitter of the bipolar transistor and its source coupled to ground. The common node of the bipolar transistor and the N-channel MOSFET provides the output signal of the driver. This driver uses much less area than a standard two-bipolar transistor BiCMOS driver with substantially equal performance. A small P-channel MOSFET having its gate connected to the input signal may be connected across the base and emitter of the bipolar transistor to provide a full output voltage at the output of the driver.

Abstract: An improved cell for use in a mask programmable gate array is disclosed herein. The preferred cell comprises two compute sections, each comprising two pairs of medium size P and N-channel transistors, two small N-channel transistors, and a single small P-channel transistor. Each cell also comprises a high efficiency drive section containing a single bipolar pull-up transistor, a large N-channel pull-down transistor, and a small P-channel transistor. By using this cell, an extremely high compute capability per die area is achieved.