Patent ID: 8289424

Claim:
A booster circuit comprising: an output terminal; a reference voltage generating section that generates a reference voltage; a charge pump section that boosts the reference voltage and outputs a boosted voltage from the output terminal; and an output-terminal voltage holding section that, at a standby time when the booster circuit is in a standby mode, holds the output terminal at a voltage of a high level, the charge pump section including at least (a) an input node to which the reference voltage is input, the input node connected to an output of the reference voltage generating section, (b) a boosting node between the input node and the output terminal, (c) a reference node between the input node and a reference potential, (d) a boosting capacitor having a first terminal connected to the boosting node and a second terminal connected to the reference node, and (e) a plurality of switching transistors, the switching transistors including a first switching transistor connected between the input node and the boosting node, a second switching transistor connected between the boosting node and the output terminal, a third switching transistor connected between the input node and the reference node, and a fourth switching transistor connected between the reference potential and the reference node, the switching transistors being switched on or off by respective switch signals, wherein, at the standby time, the output-terminal voltage holding section (i) connects the output of the reference voltage generating section or the output terminal to a supply voltage equivalent to the voltage of the high level, the output of the reference voltage generating section or the output terminal being connected to the supply voltage using at least a respective switch that is provided separately from the switching transistors in the charge pump section, and (ii) correspondingly controls an on/off action of the switching transistors in the charge pump section, so that the output terminal is held at the voltage of the high level.