A High-Speed and Ultra Low-Power Subthreshold Signal Level Shifter

In this paper, we present a novel level shifter circuit converting subthreshold signal levels to super-threshold signal levels at high-speed using ultra low-power and a small silicon area, making it well-suited for low-power applications such as wireless sensor networks and implantable medical devices. The proposed circuit introduces a new voltage level shifter topology employing a level-shifting capacitor contributing to increase the range of conversion voltages, while significantly reducing the conversion delay. Such a level-shifting capacitor is quickly charged, whenever the input signal detects a low-to-high transition, in order to boost internal voltage nodes, and quickly reach a high output voltage level. The proposed circuit achieves a shorter propagation delay and a smaller silicon area for a given operating frequency and power consumption compared to other circuit solutions. Measurement results are presented for the proposed circuit fabricated in a 0.18-mu m TSMC technology. The proposed circuit can convert a wide range of the input voltages from 330 mV to 1.8 V, and operate over a frequency range of 100 Hz to 100 MHz. It has a propagation delay of 29 ns and a power consumption of 61.5 nW for input signals 0.4 V, at a frequency of 500-kHz, outperforming previous designs.