Patent ID: 7602217

Claim:
A method for operating a level shifter circuit, the method comprising: providing a data signal to an input circuit of the level shifter circuit, wherein the data signal is provided from a first voltage domain operating at a first voltage, wherein the data signal is provided to a true input node and a complementary input node of the input circuit, the input circuit having first and second transistors coupled to convey a true value of the data signal, and third and fourth transistors coupled to convey a complementary value of the data signal, wherein gate terminals of each of the first, second, third, and fourth transistors are coupled to an intermediate voltage node; on a first portion of a clock cycle, coupling each of a true output node and a complementary output node of the level shifter circuit to a pull voltage node in order to pull the true and complementary output nodes to a pull voltage present on the pull voltage node; on a second portion of the clock cycle, coupling one of the true or complementary output nodes to the intermediate voltage node in order to pull the one of the true or complementary output nodes to an intermediate voltage, wherein the intermediate voltage is greater than a reference voltage; and outputting the true and complementary values of the data signal into the second voltage domain during the second portion of the clock cycle.