Abstract: An interconnection circuit having a circuit portion which is provided in one of two integrated semiconductors to be connected, for limiting the amplitude in voltage of the signal output from said one circuit, and another circuit portion which is provided in the other one of the two circuits, for discriminating the logic level of the signal input thereinto based on a threshold level set at an intermediate level between said amplitude. The amplitude of the logic signal transferred across the two circuits is thus compressed, thereby deereasing delay time for the signal to transfer between the two circuits.

Abstract: Voltage levels of an external bus are sampled with results stored to adjust both an output driver and input receiver. The resulting logic signal levels for the input/output (I/O) interface are maintained within acceptable ranges of the standard I/O signal levels.

Abstract: A flip-flop designed for use in gate arrays following LSSD design rules. The flip-flop has a data input D and a scan data input SD which are gated by control signals fmc, fmc' to the flip-flop input terminal 18. The flip-flop input 18 is gated into a master flip-flop consisting of two inverters 30, 32 coupled back-to-back by a gate signal DMC which is valid when the desired input signal is gated to the flip-flop input 18. The master flip-flop is coupled to a slave flip-flop which is gated by a different control signal. The slave flip-flop consists of two inverters 44, 46 coupled back-to-back. Inverters 48, 50 coupled to the slave flip-flop provide a buffered output therefrom.

Abstract: A CMOS tri-state driver circuit is capable of operating in a normal drive mode and in a high impedance mode. The circuit is powered by a 3 volt power supply, and drives an output terminal that is common to a TTL or other device that can apply a 5 volt output to the output terminal. The circuit includes a PMOS pull-up transistor and an NMOS pull-down transistor that are connected to the output terminal. The pull-up transistor is formed in and has a substrate terminal that is connected to an N-well. A switching transistor is controlled to connect the N-well to the power supply in drive mode to ensure stable and strong pull-up drive. A pass-gate transistor is biased to turn off the switching transistor when the voltage at the output terminal is higher than the power supply voltage in high impedance mode, causing the N-well to float. This prevents leakage current from flowing through a semiconductor junction from the output terminal to the N-well through the pull-up transistor.

Abstract: A calculating circuit for outputting a maximum value based on a plurality of inputs. The circuit is comprised of a plurality of nMOS transistors connected in a parallel configuration.

Abstract: An electronic circuit comprises a programmable cell that comprises a cell input, an output, a programmable component, programming means for selectively changing a state of the component, and coupling means for providing a signal path from the cell input to the output dependent on the component's state. The programmable component, e.g., a fuse, is located outside the signal path. Capacitances that limit the speed of operation in the read mode are considerably lower than in the prior art.

Abstract: An OR array including a first multiplicity of OR devices, to which a second multiplicity of product term signals are variably distributed. Some product term signals are distributed to four OR devices, other product term signals are distributed two or three OR devices, and still other product term signals are distributed to only one OR device.

Abstract: A semiconductor integrated circuit includes an oscillator circuit, which amplifies a signal sent from an oscillator by an amplifier circuit operating with a low power supply voltage for outputting the same. In the oscillator circuit, a threshold voltage of a transfer gate forming a switching element is set to a value lower than a threshold voltage of other transistors so as to reduce an on-resistance of the transfer gate and hence to ensure output of a signal supplied from said oscillator.

Abstract: A level conversion circuit for converting a first signal having a first amplitude into a second signal having a second amplitude that is larger than the first amplitude, includes a bipolar transistor supplied at a base thereof with the first signal, a first MOS transistor of a first channel type having a gate supplied with a bias voltage and a source-drain path connected between the emitter of the bipolar transistor and an output node from which the second signal is derived, and a second MOS transistor of a second channel type having a gate supplied with an inverted signal of the first signal and a source-drain path connected between the output node and a reference potential line. A PN junction diode is preferably inserted between the third transistor and the reference potential line.

Abstract: CMOS transistor logic circuitry is permitted to operate at higher power supply voltages while retaining lower voltage processing geometries by inserting input shielding transistors before the gate terminals of each input switching transistor. Each shielding transistor has a gate terminal coupled to a shield voltage of a magnitude substantially midway between ground potential and the positive power supply voltage. The input signal is conveyed by the source-drain channel of the input shielding transistor to the gate of the switching transistor, while preventing the gate of the switching transistor from rising above the shield voltage, in the case of n-channel devices, or below the shield voltage, in the case of p-channel devices.

Abstract: A programmable logic cell suitable for use in a programmable gate array and able to produce any logical function of two inputs, operate as a 2 to 1 multiplexor or a data latch is formed by four multiplexors, five inverters and an OR gate to provide a very fast programmable logic cell.

Abstract: A CMOS circuit (7) receives the potentials V.sub.CC and V.sub.EE1 from potential points (50 and 52), respectively, to apply an output to the gate of a transistor (3a). The drain of the transistor (3a) is connected through a resistor (4) to a potential point (53) providing the potential V.sub.EE2. The gate of a transistor 6, along with the drain of the transistor (3a), is connected through the resistor (4) to the potential point (53). The gate of a transistor (5) is connected to an input terminal (IN). In this circuit configuration, the time constant of potential drop toward the potential V.sub.EE2 at the gate of the transistor (6) through the resistor (4) is smaller because the gate capacitance of the transistor (5) does not relate thereto, so that a quick potential drop at the gate of the transistor (6) can be achieved.

Abstract: An ECL circuit including first and second transistors driven by differential input signals. Both transistors include emitters connected to a common node. The first transistor has a first collector connected to a first output terminal and a first base connected to receive a first biasing signal. The second transistor has a second collector connected to a second output terminal and a second base connected to receive a second biasing signal. The first and second biasing signals driving the first and second transistors are logical complements.

Abstract: A trinary input logic gate (25). A first output transistor (36) is coupled to a first voltage output (V.sub.01) and pulls the voltage output to a high voltage in response to a voltage input (V.sub.IN) below a defined low threshold. A second output transistor (35) is coupled to a second voltage output (V.sub.02) and pulls the second voltage output to a low voltage in response to a voltage input above a defined high threshold. Swing limiting circuitry (28, 26) is coupled to the gates of both the first and second output transistors, and when the voltage input is between the defined thresholds, the swing limiting circuitry operates to keep the gates of the first and second output transistors within a middle range of defined thresholds such that both output transistors are enabled, and therefore the first and second voltage outputs are at opposite polarities. When the input voltage is above the high threshold, both outputs are at a low voltage.

Abstract: A BiMIS circuit has first and second input terminals; first and second output terminals; a first bipolar transistor having a collector receiving a first potential, an emitter connected to the first output terminal, and a base connected to the second output terminal; a second bipolar transistor having a collector connected to the first output terminal and an emitter receiving a reference potential; a first MIS transistor circuit including MIS transistors, connected to the base and the collector of the first bipolar transistor and the first input terminal, and turned on or off depending on a potential of the first input terminal; and a second MIS transistor circuit including MIS transistors, connected to the base of the first bipolar transistor, the second input terminal and the base of the second bipolar transistor, and turned on or off depending on a potential of the second input terminal.

Abstract: A first transistor is connected to a second transistor so that the first and second transistors may be initially biased in a non-conducting state when a first node is at a first voltage potential and a second node is at a second voltage potential. A potential altering circuit selectively alters the voltage potential at the first and second nodes, causes the first and second transistors to be in a conducting state for accelerating a voltage transistion at the first and second nodes toward final values, and maintains the first and second nodes at their final voltage potentials for implementing a desired Boolean function. The biasing circuit is connected to facilitate turning off the first and second transistors when the circuit is being reset for subsequent Boolean evaluations. More specifically, the biasing circuit inhibits current flow through the first and second transistors during a precharge operation to prevent excessive power consumption.

Abstract: A programmable logic output driver includes a bias generator (100), a current mirror (200) and an output stage (300), there being a digital programming feature to maintain the output voltage slew rate at an acceptable value for either high or low values of load capacitances. The driver is programmable and can maintain a constant value of driver output resistance in the circumstances where the load voltage approaches the full swing logic voltage. In the preferred embodiment, the programmed output resistance is independent of variations in process, temperature and VDD supply voltage. TTL loads are driven with the minimum amount of required output current. Because of the constant resistance, the driver supplies a specified amount of current to the load even when the load is pulled down to a specified voltage.

Abstract: A CMOS LSI stably operates with high speed ECL LSI's to provide a data processing system. Two power sources of a negative ECL operation voltage and a positive CMOS operation voltage are provided. In a CMOS LSI, input signals of ECL level are successively amplified through an ECL input interface having a p-channel differential amplifier and an n-channel type differential amplifier, fed to the CMOS output buffer circuit and converted to the CMOS level, processed in a CMOS internal circuit, and output at the ECL level through output open-drain MOSFETs. The CMOS LSI is operated by two power sources which are level-shifted in correspondence with the ECL signal amplitude, instead of using ground potential and a positive voltage such as VDD.

Abstract: A clocking scheme provides for an improved latching of an output from a domino circuit by delaying a precharging of a domino node. The precharging delay is achieved by introducing the delay in the clocking circuitry which activates the precharging of the domino node. No delay is introduced in the data path in order not to delay the evaluation and transmission of the data signal. During one phase of a clocking cycle, the domino node is precharged to a predetermined logic state. Also during this precharge phase, an input latch couples an input data signal to the domino circuit. During the other phase of the clocking cycle, the domino circuit performs a logic operation based on the input signal. Also during this evaluation phase, an output latch latches the logic state of the domino output for transmission from the output latch.

Abstract: A semiconductor circuit for converting high and low input signals at first and second voltage levels to high and low output signals at third and fourth voltage levels includes first, second, and third power supply lines receiving driving voltages at first, second, and third voltages, respectively, the third voltage being intermediate the first and second voltages, a first logic circuit connected to and driven by the first and third power supply lines for receiving high and low input signals at first and second voltage levels and producing output signals in response, a second logic circuit connected to and driven by the second and third power supply lines for receiving input signals and producing high and low output signals at third and fourth voltage levels in response, a level converting circuit connected to and driven by the first and second power supply lines, receiving the output signals of the first logic circuit and supplying input signals to the second logic circuit, a switching element and a load elem