Patent ID: 7847590

Claim:
A device for shifting voltage levels, comprising: an input stage comprising a plurality of input transistors connected to a first voltage and an input for receiving an input signal; an output stage comprising a plurality of output transistors directly connected to a second voltage and an output for outputting an output signal having a voltage level different from a corresponding voltage level of the input signal; a plurality of cascode sets, connected between the input stage and the output stage, each cascode set comprising a corresponding plurality of cascode transistors gated to a third voltage, between the first voltage and the second voltage, preventing excessive voltage across terminals of the input transistors and the output transistors; an inverter connected between the input stage and the plurality of cascode sets, the inverter forcing a plurality of input nodes corresponding to drains of the plurality of input transistors into opposite states at start up; and a state latch connected between the output stage and the plurality of cascode sets, the latch forcing a plurality of output nodes corresponding to the output and a complementary output into opposite states at start up.