A Low-Power Subthreshold to Above-Threshold Voltage Level Shifter

This brief presents a power-efficient voltage level-shifter architecture that is capable of converting extremely low levels of input voltages to higher levels. In order to avoid the static power dissipation, the proposed structure uses a current generator that turns on only during the transition times, in which the logic level of the input signal is not corresponding to the output logic level. Moreover, the strength of the pull-up device is decreased when the pull-down device is pulling down the output node in order for the circuit to be functional even for the input voltage lower than the threshold voltage of a MOSFET. The operation of the proposed structure is also analytically investigated. Post-layout simulation results of the proposed structure in a 0.18-μm CMOS technology show that at the input low supply voltage of 0.4 V and the high supply voltage of 1.8 V, the level shifter has a propagation delay of 30 ns, a static power dissipation of 130 pW, and an energy per transition of 327 fJ for a 1-MHz input signal.