Abstract: A neutralization device is provided that is designed to block the operation of an electronic circuit when this device is insufficiently supplied. The device is designed especially for electronic circuits supplied with low supply voltages. The neutralization device comprises, upline with respect to an inhibiting means to block the operation of the electronic circuit, a control circuit reproducing the critical path or the potential critical paths of the functional electronic circuit in the form of elementary circuits. The deactivation of the inhibiting means is done only when the totality of the elementary circuits deliver same-state elementary signals indicating that the supply voltage is sufficient to ensure their efficient operation. The invention is useful in fields requiring low supply voltages such as mobile telephony or portable microcomputers.

Abstract: An integrated circuit including a temperature threshold detector. This detector includes two MOS transistors with a same type of conductivity, circuitry for applying to the second transistor a gate-source voltage higher than the gate-source voltage of the first transistor by a value Vbe, VbE being the drop in voltage at the terminals of a forward-biased PN junction, and a comparator for comparing the currents flowing in the two transistors. The current in the second transistor diminishes faster than the current in the first transistor. If the dimensions of the transistors are accurately chosen, the curves pertaining to the diminishing of current (or curves deduced from these curves by homothetic transformation) intersect one another for a certain temperature. The detection of equality of the currents therefore enables a detection of the passage through this temperature.

Abstract: A reference level generator in integrated circuit form comprises at least one first current circulation arm in which there are, in series, an N channel transistor and a P channel transistor, one of which is referred to as a reference transistor. The reference transistor has a drain connected to a gate in normal mode, the gate being connected to an output of the generator. Standby mode transistors are interposed between each current circulation arm and a supply terminal, and a mode control input gives a mode signal that turns the standby transistors off in standby mode and turns the standby transistors on in normal mode. A transistor controlled by the mode signal may be connected between the output and a non-floating reference potential, or a pass-gate may be inserted between the gate and the drain of the reference transistor, this gate being controlled by the mode signal to be off in the standby mode.