Patent ID: 8008951

Claim:
A high voltage switch having first and second states comprising: (a) an input receiving an input voltage that is greater than a supply voltage; (b) first, second, and third metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) structures of a first conductivity type, each having a gate, a source, and a drain, the sources and drains of each of the MOS structures being electrically coupled in series between the input and ground; (c) an output electrically coupled to the input; (d) at least one additional MOS structure of the first conductivity type and having a gate, a source, and a drain, the source and drain of the at least one additional MOS structure being coupled in series between the second and third MOS structures, whereby: when the switch is in the first state, the gate of the first MOS structure is pulled to ground, the gate of the second MOS structure is pulled to the supply voltage, the gate of the third MOS structure is pulled to a voltage greater than the supply voltage and less than the input voltage, and the gate of the at least one additional MOS structure is pulled to a voltage greater than the voltage of the gate of the second MOS structure and less than the voltage of the gate of the third MOS structures, and when the switch is in the second state, the gates of all of the MOS structures are pulled to the supply voltage.