Fast and Energy-Efficient Level Shifter Using Split-Control Driver for Mixed-Signal Systems

摘要

The level shifters (LSs) are the most significant interfacing circuits in multi-supply mixed-signal systems. This letter presentsa high-speed and energy-efficient voltage level shifter with wide-range conversion from sub-threshold to I/O voltage. Theproposed level shifter with split-control output driver significantly enhances the speed, energy and static power performance.The proposed LS is implemented in 0.18μmCMOS technology, and simulation results confirm that it efficiently converts subthresholdinput voltage (240mV) to nominal output voltage (1.8V) without employing multi-threshold devices. The proposedLS exhibits delay of 6.43 ns and energy/transition of 38.39 fJ with significantly low switching current for 0.4 V/1MHz inputsignal and 1.8V output level.