Patent ID: 7019554

Claim:
An integrated circuit comprising: an active termination circuit having first and second transistors of opposite type coupled in series between a Vdd node of a first source potential and a Vss node of a second source potential, the second source potential being lower than the first source potential, the active termination circuit including at least one termination node being coupled to a common node between the first and second transistors; and a control circuit operable to bias the first and second transistors, wherein the control circuit includes a first control terminal control circuit operable to provide a first control terminal drive signal to a control terminal of the first transistor, and a second control terminal control circuit operable to provide a second control terminal drive signal to a control terminal of the second transistor, and wherein the first and second control terminal drive signals are such that a quiescent voltage potential of the common node is between the first source potential and the second source potential; and wherein the first control terminal drive signal and the second control terminal drive signal are controlled such that a quiescent current conducted through the first and second transistors is substantially less than a current through two resistors whose parallel resistance approximates the characteristic impedance of a coupled transmission line.