Patent ID: 8093938

Claim:
A cascoded level shifter for receiving an input signal in a low voltage range and for generating an output signal in a high voltage range, said cascoded level shifter being subdivided into a first voltage section and a second voltage section, said first voltage section having a lower voltage supply than said second voltage section, and a combined voltage across said first voltage section and said second voltage section corresponding to said high voltage range, said cascoded level shifter comprising: an input node configured to receive an input signal; a cascoded device disposed in one of said first voltage section or said second voltage section, said cascoded device comprising a driver switch connected in series with a cascode switch at a midpoint node, said cascode switch switching in dependence on a reference voltage of a reference node and said input signal; and reference voltage perturbation circuitry, connected to said reference node, configured to cause a transient perturbation to said reference voltage in response to a transition of said input signal to cause said cascode switch to switch, wherein said cascoded device is disposed in said first voltage section, and said reference voltage perturbation circuitry comprises a capacitor connecting said reference node to said input node and a further capacitor connecting said reference node to said midpoint node.