A transmitter merges even and odd data streams to drive a serialized signal. Identical even and odd drivers take turns driving symbols from respective even and odd streams using respective pull-up transistors and pull-down transistors. Each transistor exhibits a significant source-gate capacitance that is charged when the transistor is turned onto drive the serialized signal. Charging one of these capacitances loads the power supply and thus introduces noise. Each even and odd driver includes a pre-driver that times the charging of a source-gate capacitance in the active driver to the discharge of a source-gate capacitance in the inactive driver. The discharge of the source-gate capacitance in the inactive driver counters the effect of charging the active driver, providing much of the power required by the active driver and thus reducing supply noise.

Systems and techniques for applying voltage biases to gates of driver circuitry of an integrated circuit (IC) based on a detected bus voltage, IC supply voltage, or both are used to mitigate Electrical Over-Stress (EOS) issues in components of the driver circuitry caused, for instance, by high bus voltages in serial communication systems relative to maximum operating voltages of those components. A driver bias generator selectively applies bias voltages at gates of transistors of a stacked driver structure of an IC to prevent the voltage drop across any given transistor of the stacked driver structure from exceeding a predetermined threshold associated with the maximum operating voltage range of the transistors.

A circuit and method are provided to monitor a clock for a data processor. The method includes receiving a clock signal and producing a first voltage proportional to a frequency of the clock signal. The first voltage is converted to a digital signal. During an initialization mode, the method ensures the clock signal is at a desired frequency and scales the digital signal using a first configurable ratio to produce a high threshold value. When changing from the initialization mode to an operating mode, the method ceases to scale the digital signal and maintains the high threshold value. During the operating mode, the method compares the digital signal to the high threshold value to determine if the clock signal has been increased in frequency beyond a desired level, and if so, triggers an overclock alert to a system management circuit of the data processor.

An input circuit includes: a buffer circuit coupled to a pad, the buffer circuit being driven by a first power voltage; a level shifter circuit coupled to an output terminal of the buffer circuit, the level shifter circuit being driven by a second power voltage; and a voltage stabilization circuit coupled to an input node of the level shifter circuit, the voltage stabilization circuit being driven by the first power voltage and the second power voltage. The voltage stabilization circuit maintains a voltage of the input node of the level shifter circuit equal to or less than a given level sufficient to keep an output signal of the level shifter circuit at a specific logic value, when a voltage level of the second power voltage is rising and a voltage level of the first power voltage is kept at a low level.

A semiconductor device and a method for controlling body bias thereof capable of properly controlling body bias of a transistor even in a case where process variation occurs are provided. Operation speeds of ring oscillators ROSCn and ROSCp respectively change due to an influence of process variation at an NMOS transistor MN side and a PMOS transistor MP side. Speed/bias data represent a correspondence relationship between the operation speeds of the ring oscillators ROSCn and ROSCp and set values V1n and V1p of body biases VBN and VBP. A body bias controller receives speed values Sn and Sp measured for the ring oscillators ROSCn and ROSCp to which the body biases VBN and VBP based on default values are respectively applied, and obtains the set values V1n and V1p on the basis of the speed/bias data.

An integrated circuit includes a logic circuit comprising a plurality of logic transistors, the logic circuit comprising a plurality of logic gate lines extending in a first direction; and a power gating circuit comprising a plurality of power gating transistors, the power gating circuit comprising a first power gate line extending in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction, and the power gating circuit being connected to the logic circuit, wherein a plurality of source regions respectively included in the plurality of power gating transistors are connected to each other, or a plurality of drain regions respectively included in the plurality of power gating transistors are connected to each other.

Push-pull integrated circuit output drivers may interfere with communication by other entities on a bus when an integrated circuit is powered down. When there is no power and/or when the bonding pad is externally driven above the internal supply voltage, the substrate/body/well of the p-channel field effect transistor (PFET) of the output driver is biased to prevent its drain diode from becoming forward biased thereby preventing interference with communication on the bus. Also, when there is no power, driver is powered down or pull up is disabled, the gate of the driver PFET is driven to a voltage that ensures the driver PFET remains off when the bonding pad is externally driven above the internal supply voltage.

A buffer circuit includes an input terminal configured to receive an input signal, an output terminal, an inverter, and a resistor-capacitor (RC) circuit coupled in series with the inverter between the input terminal and the output terminal. The RC circuit includes an NMOS transistor coupled between an RC circuit output terminal and a reference node, a resistor coupled between the RC circuit output terminal and a power supply node, and a capacitor coupled between the RC circuit output terminal and one of the power supply node or the reference node, and the inverter and the RC circuit are configured to generate an output signal at the output terminal based on the input signal.

In examples, a system includes a differential input device having a first input and a second input. The system includes a window generator configured to output, at a first output, a first voltage above a reference voltage and a second voltage, at a second output, below the reference voltage. The system includes a multiplexer coupled to the first output and the second output, the multiplexer configured to receive the first voltage, the second voltage, and an input voltage. The system includes a selector coupled to the multiplexer and configured to select the first voltage, the second voltage, or the input voltage based on a value of the input voltage, where the selector is configured to cause the multiplexer to provide the selected voltage to the first input of the differential input device, where a voltage source provides the reference voltage to the second input of the differential input device.

According to an aspect, a current mode logic circuit comprise a first transistor to which an input voltage is applied, a second transistor connected in parallel with the first transistor; and a voltage sampling circuit which is connected to the first transistor and the second transistor and resets an output voltage output by integrating the input voltage for a predetermined set time (T) in a manner in which the output voltage is integrated in a direction opposite to a direction in which the input voltage is integrated for the predetermined set time (T).