A Low-Power Level Shifter With Logic Error Correction for Extremely Low-Voltage Digital CMOS LSIs

TLDR: The proposed level shifter circuit can convert low- voltage digital input signals into high-voltage digital output signals and achieves low-power operation because it dissipates operating current only when the input signal changes.

Abstract: This paper presents a level shifter circuit capable of handling extremely low-voltage inputs. The circuit has a distinctive current generation scheme using a logic error correction circuit that works by detecting the input and output logic levels. The proposed level shifter circuit can convert low-voltage digital input signals into high-voltage digital output signals. The circuit achieves low-power operation because it dissipates operating current only when the input signal changes. Measurement results demonstrated that the circuit can convert a 0.23-V input signal into a 3-V output signal. The power dissipation was 58 nW for a 0.4-V 10-kHz input pulse.