Patent ID: 7570083

Claim:
A method for implementing a high-speed receiver using semiconductor devices optimized at a higher-voltage level than a desired operating range of the high-speed receiver, the method comprising: providing a first differential pair circuit using a first set of semiconductor devices to produce a first port and a second port, the first and second ports coupled to respective first and second current-steering paths; providing a second differential pair circuit using a second set of semiconductor devices to produce a third port and a fourth port, the third and fourth ports coupled to opposing ends of the first and second current-steering paths; inserting a bridge circuit configured to couple the first differential pair circuit to the second differential pair circuit via the first and second current-steering paths in a present stage of the high-speed receiver; and coupling a first bias circuit to the bridge circuit, the first bias circuit configured to controllably couple a reference voltage and an input signal to the first differential pair circuit and the first and second current-steering paths, the first bias circuit generating a first bias circuit output, a second bias circuit output and a third bias circuit output that are applied at an input of the first differential pair circuit, at an input to the second differential pair circuit and at an input of the bridge circuit, respectively.