Patent ID: 7330053

Claim:
A prestage for generating a control signal for an output driver of an integrated circuit, wherein the integrated circuit can be provided with a reference potential and a supply potential determined in relation to the reference potential, the prestage comprising: an input for receiving an input signal from the integrated circuit; a circuitry for generating an output signal based on the received input signal; an output for outputting the generated output signal as a control signal for the output driver; a current source, which is effectively connected to the circuitry, wherein the circuitry and the current source are connected in series and connected to a first potential and a second potential such that a prestage potential difference across the series circuit is higher than a supply potential difference between the supply potential and the reference potential; wherein the circuitry comprises a first supply voltage terminal and a second supply voltage terminal, the current source comprises a current output and a base terminal, wherein the current output is coupled to the first supply voltage terminal, wherein the second potential is applied to the base terminal as base potential, and the first potential is applied to the second supply terminal.