A Scalable High-Voltage Output Driver for Low-Voltage CMOS Technologies

Overstress-Free 4 × VDD Switch in a Generic Logic Process Supporting High and Low Voltage Modes

“…VDD). Cost-sensitive applications such as the ubiquitous sensor ICs integrating the control circuits for high power and MEMS devices, and the embedded non-volatile memories in a single logic die [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] requires this HV switch circuit to be implemented using only low voltage logic transistors without special HV transistors, as it reduces the process cost significantly. The design of HV switch circuits is a challenging task when logic compatibility, power consumption, circuit reliability, and switching speed are all taken into consideration.…”

“…For example, the HV switch in [1,5] can generate a 2 x VDD or 3 × VDD pulse by utilizing special HV devices such as Drain-Extended MOS (DE-MOS) that require additional process optimization over a generic logic process. The HV switches in [2,3] incur static current dissipation during switching operation, preventing the output from switching rail-to-rail. Transistors used in other HV switch circuits [4][5][6][7] were subject to voltage overstress and hence these designs result in circuit reliability concerns.…”

A compact stacked-device output driver in low-voltage CMOS Technology

“…Transient voltage stress may degrade device characteristics and reduces the circuit's mean time to failure. Other stacking architectures that address reliability during switching transitions are proposed in [4,5]. The stacked-device driver in [4] invests in an intricate predriver circuit to provide the required gate controls for a reliable stacked device operation.…”

“…Also, the design is not scalable, in the sense that a new predriver design is needed for every additional stacked device. While the driver design in [5] is scalable, it requires the use of diodes and resistors to maintain device reliability. Also, larger resistors are needed to reduce off-current leakage.…”

A 7V-to-30V-Supply 190A/µs Regulated Gate Driver in a 5V CMOS-Compatible Process

“…Lu & Lee (Lu & Lee, 2002) proposed a CMOS class-AB amplifier which can only drive around 6mA and does not meet the driver requirements of large and fast current responses (Hu & Jovanovic, 2008). Mentze et al (Mentze et al, 2006) proposed a HV driver using pure low-voltage (LV) devices but this architecture requires an expensive silicon-on-insulator (SOI) process to sustain substrate breakdown in HV application. Tzeng & Chen (Tzeng & Chen, 2009) proposed a driver that consumes a large die area with all transistors inside the circuit being HV transistors.…”