Reduced-Swing Line Driver Circuit for Low-Power Signal Transmission

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing line driving circuits in semiconductor devices consume high power due to signals swinging fully between VDD and ground voltage, leading to increased power consumption in transmission lines.

Innovation Solution

A line driving circuit comprising NMOS transistors and a differential amplification unit generates output signals with reduced swing width, reducing power consumption by using NMOS transistors as pull-up and pull-down drivers, and a receiver converts reduced swing signals to full swing signals for interior circuits.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a typical CMOS-type inverter driver is used as a line driving circuit, then the signal transmitted through the transmission line swings fully between the VDD and the ground voltage, but the power consumption required in the transmission line increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesignal transmission qualityVSAvoidpower consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the voltage level parameter of the transmission signal from full swing (VDD to ground) to reduced swing (VDD/2 to ground or similar). By modifying the voltage amplitude parameter, the power consumption is reduced while maintaining signal transmission functionality through the differential signaling approach

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of using a single-ended full-swing signal approach, the patent employs differential signaling where complementary signals are transmitted. This inverts the conventional single-ended approach to a differential approach, allowing for reduced voltage swing while maintaining signal integrity through the difference between complementary signals

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Data Source

PatentUS7446569B2Line driving circuit of semiconductor device

Publication Date: 2008.11.04 SK HYNIX INC

AI summary

Disclosed is a line driving circuit which includes two NMOS transistors in series between a supply voltage and a ground voltage. The output of the line driving circuit is applied to an interior circuit through a transmission line, and a repeater is used when the transmission line is long.