An energy-efficient subthreshold level converter in 130-nm CMOS

Authors:
Stuart N. Wooters;Benton H. Calhoun;Travis N. Blalock
Affiliations:
Charles L. Brown Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA;Charles L. Brown Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA;Charles L. Brown Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
Venue:
IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems II: Express Briefs
Year:
2010

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Abstract

This brief presents a fast energy-efficient level converter capable of converting an input signal from subthreshold voltages up to the nominal supply voltage. Measured results from a 130-nm test chip show robust conversion from 188 mV to 1.2 V with no intermediate supplies required. A combination of circuit methods makes the converter robust to the large variations in the current characteristics of subthreshold circuits. To support dynamic voltage scaling, the level converter can upconvert an input at any voltage within this range to 1.2 V.