Patent ID: 9306553
Filing Date: 2016-04-05
CPC Classification: H03K,H03L

Claim Text:
1. A circuit for level shifting an input signal from a first voltage level to a second voltage level, comprising: an alternating current (AC)-coupled voltage boost circuit configured to boost the input signal such that first and second nodes of the voltage boost circuit have a voltage value greater than or equal to the first voltage level; a first logic inverter configured to produce a first output signal having a magnitude up to the second voltage level, wherein the first node of the voltage boost circuit is directly connected to an input of the first logic inverter and to a first capacitor configured to receive a logical inverse of the input signal; and a second logic inverter configured to produce a second output signal having a magnitude up to the second voltage level, wherein the second node of the voltage boost circuit is directly connected to an input of the second logic inverter and to a second capacitor configured to receive the input signal, wherein the voltage boost circuit is powered by a third voltage level that is lower than the second voltage level, and wherein the first voltage level is equal to the third voltage level.