Digital logic devices with extremely skewed trip points and reset circuitry for rapidly propagating signal edges

• US 20030132782A1
• Filed: 01/03/2003
• Published: 07/17/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/03/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dean D. Gans, John D. Porter, Larren G. Weber
• Original Assignee: Dean D. Gans, John D. Porter, Larren G. Weber
• Inventors: Porter, John D., Weber, Larren G., Gans, Dean D.
• Granted Patent: US 6,919,735 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 326/112
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 19/01721 by means of a pull-up or down element

Abstract

The invention includes digital logic devices with extremely skewed trip points and reset circuitry for rapidly propagating signal edges. Embodiments of skewed logic devices in accordance with the present invention include inverters, buffers, NOR gates and NAND gates for rapidly propagating a selected “fast” edge of an input signal. Additional embodiments include pulse stretchers, memory devices, substrates, computer systems and methods incorporating the skewed logic devices of the present invention. Each embodiment of a skewed logic device of the present invention is configured to propagate either a fast rising edge or fast falling edge of an output signal, i.e., the “fast” edge, at rates comparable to those of domino logic. An advantage of the skewed logic devices of the present invention over conventional CMOS logic devices is rapid edge propagation. Additionally, virtually all of the input gate loading is devoted to the fast edge being propagated. Additionally, the reset networks, as disclosed herein, are buffered by at least two gates, thus reducing loading seen by the input or the output of the skewed logic device.

Claims

1. A skewed NOR rising logic device for rapidly propagating a rising edge of an output signal, comprising:

a fast NOR gate rising having a large p/n channel width ratio for receiving a first input signal and a second input signal and rapidly propagating a rising edge of said output signal in response to a falling edge on both of said first input signal and said second input signal;

a pull-down reset network connected in parallel with said fast NOR gate rising for resetting said output signal after said rising edge of said output signal has been propagated; and

a feedback delay circuit connected in parallel with said pull-down reset network for delaying and returning said output signal back to an input of said pull-down reset network.

2. The skewed NOR rising logic device of claim 1, wherein said large p/n channel width ratio ranges from about 5 to about 200.

3. The skewed NOR rising logic device of claim 1, wherein said pull-down reset network comprises:

combinational logic having a plurality of inputs and an output; and

a big NMOS transistor having a wide n-channel at least 10 μ

m across, a gate node connected to said output of said combinational logic, a drain node connected to said output signal and a source node connected to ground potential.

4. The skewed NOR rising logic device of claim 3, wherein said combinational logic performs a logical sum of products function.

5. The skewed NOR rising logic device of claim 3, wherein said combinational logic comprises:

a first NAND gate having a first input connected to said first input signal and a second input connected to an output of said feedback delay circuit;

a second NAND gate having a first input connected to said second input signal and a second input connected to said output of said feedback delay circuit; and

a third NAND gate having a first input connected to an output of said first NAND gate, a second input connected to an output of said second NAND gate and an output connected to said gate node of said big NMOS transistor.

6. The skewed NOR rising logic device of claim 1, wherein said feedback delay circuit comprises four inverters connected in series.

7. A skewed NAND rising logic device for rapidly propagating a rising edge of an output signal, comprising:

a fast NAND gate rising having a large p/n channel width ratio for receiving both a first input signal and a second input signal and rapidly propagating a rising edge of said output signal in response to falling edges on either said first input signal or said second input signal;

a pull-down reset network connected in parallel with said fast NAND gate rising for resetting said output signal after said rising edge of said output signal has been propagated; and

a feedback delay circuit connected in parallel with said pull-down reset network for delaying and returning said output signal to an input of said pull-down reset network.

8. The skewed NAND rising logic device of claim 7, wherein said large p/n channel width ratio ranges from about 5 to about 200.

9. The skewed NAND rising logic device of claim 7, wherein said pull-down reset network comprises:

combinational logic having a plurality of inputs and an output; and

a big NMOS transistor having a wide n-channel at least 10 μ

m across, a gate node connected to said output of said combinational logic, a drain node connected to said output signal and a source node connected to ground potential.

10. The skewed NAND rising logic device of claim 9, wherein said combinational logic performs a logical AND function.

11. The skewed NAND rising logic device of claim 9, wherein said combinational logic comprises:

a 3-input NAND gate having a first input connected to said first input signal, a second input connected to said second input signal and a third input connected to an output of said feedback delay circuit; and

an inverter having input connected to an output of said 3-input NAND gate and an output connected to said gate node of said big NMOS transistor.

12. The skewed NAND rising logic device of claim 7, wherein said feedback delay circuit comprises four inverters connected in series.