KR20230094210A - Multi-channel level shifter using mirror circuit and Electronic device having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a multi-channel level shifter using a mirror circuit and an electronic device having the same. The multi-channel level shifter comprises: at least one channel performing voltage conversion; and one mirror circuit connected to the channel. Therefore, the multi-channel level shifter can reduce the number of components through circuit changes.

Description

Multi-channel level shifter using mirror circuit and Electronic device having the same}

The present invention relates to a level shifter, and more particularly, to a multi-channel level shifter using a current mirror circuit and an electronic device having the same.

For digital communication between each chip, the voltage level must be the same. Otherwise, if a high voltage device sends a signal to a device with a low operating voltage, it will be damaged or malfunction. Since each chip has a different voltage level, in order to communicate with each other, a level shifter circuit must be added in the middle to convert the voltage.

As the number of level shifter channels increases due to the increase in communication channels, two resistors per channel and one switching element such as FET (Field Effect Transistor) are required. Particularly, as the number of channels of the level shifter increases, the number of components increases, and a circuit diagram and printed circuit board (PCB) layout become complicated.

In other words, as the number of channels of the level shifter increases, the number of pullup resistors on the low voltage side increases as much as the number of channels, resulting in an increase in resistance material cost and complexity of PCB layout.

Accordingly, there is an increasing demand for reducing the number of parts through circuit change.

1. Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 1999-023388

The present invention has been proposed to solve the problems caused by the above background art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a multi-channel level shifter capable of reducing the number of parts through a circuit change.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device having such a multi-channel level shifter.

In order to achieve the object presented above, the present invention provides a multi-channel level shifter capable of reducing the number of parts through a circuit change.

The level shifter,

at least one or more channels arranged in parallel and performing voltage conversion; and

It is characterized in that it includes; one mirror circuit connected to the channel.

At this time, the channel may include a first resistor connected to the mirror circuit; and a first semiconductor element to which the first resistor is connected to a first input terminal.

Further, the mirror circuit is characterized in that it is a current mirror circuit.

In addition, the mirror circuit may include a second resistor connected in parallel with the first resistor; and a second semiconductor element to which the second resistor is connected to a second input terminal.

In addition, the second semiconductor device is a field effect transistor (FET), and the gate and drain of the FET are connected to each other.

In contrast, the second semiconductor element is a Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT), and a collector and a base of the BJT are connected to each other.

On the other hand, another embodiment of the present invention, the controller; the multi-channel level shifter described above; and a single electronic component that transmits and receives a digital signal whose voltage level is converted through the multi-channel level shifter to and from the controller.

According to the present invention, by adding a mirror circuit, it is possible to function as a level shifter while reducing the number of resistors required for each channel from two to one.

In addition, as another effect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce material costs and reduce the size of a printed circuit board (PCB) through a reduction in the number of resistors.

In addition, another effect of the present invention is that the complexity of the layout can be reduced through circuit simplification.

In addition, another effect of the present invention is that production costs can be reduced by reducing the number of points of surface mount technology (SMT) parts in mass production.

1 is a block diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a detailed circuit diagram of the level shifter shown in FIG. 1 .
3 and 4 are circuit operation diagrams for transmitting data from a controller to a single electronic component according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 and 6 are circuit operation diagrams for transmitting data from a single electronic component side to a controller side according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a signal measurement result when data is transmitted from a controller to a single electronic component according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a signal measurement result when data is transmitted from a single electronic component to a controller side according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Since the present invention can make various changes and have various embodiments, specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention.

In describing each figure, like reference numbers are used for like elements.

Terms such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. These terms are only used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

For example, a first element may be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element may be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present invention. The term "and/or" includes any combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs.

Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and unless explicitly defined in this application, it should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning. Should not be.

Hereinafter, a multi-channel level shifter using a mirror circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention and an electronic device having the same will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a block diagram of an electronic device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The electronic device 100 may include a controller 110, a level shifter 120, a single electronic component 130, a mirror circuit 140, and the like.

The controller 110 performs a function of generating a control signal for control. Accordingly, the controller 110 may be a micro control unit (MCU), a micro processing unit (MPU), a microprocessor, or the like. An MCU is an integrated chipset that includes a core device that functions as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and its peripheral devices. The peripheral device may be RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), I/O (Input/Output), and the like. Of course, in the case of an MPU or microprocessor, peripheral devices may be additionally configured.

The level shifter 120 performs a function of converting a voltage level between the controller 110 and the single electronic component 130 .

The mirror circuit 140 is connected in parallel to the level shifter 120 to perform a level shifter function.

The single electronic component 130 may be a modem or the like.

FIG. 2 is a detailed circuit diagram of the level shifter 120 shown in FIG. 1 . A number of channels 200 are configured in parallel. The channel 200 is composed of a semiconductor element 222 and a resistor 221 connected to an input terminal of the semiconductor element 222 . The semiconductor element 222 is installed for each channel, and although 8 channels are illustrated in FIG. 2 , the semiconductor device 222 is not limited thereto and may be less than or more than 8 channels.

The semiconductor device 222 is mainly used as a Field Effect Transistor (FET), but is not limited thereto, and a Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) or the like may be used.

The mirror circuit 140 may include a resistor 141 connected in parallel to the resistor 221 and a semiconductor element 142 connected in series with the resistor 141 .

Gates of the semiconductor elements 222 of the channel 200 are connected to each other. In addition, the gate of the semiconductor element 142 of the mirror circuit 140 and the gate of the semiconductor element 222 of the channel 200 are also connected.

Meanwhile, the drain and gate of the semiconductor element 222 of the mirror circuit 140 are connected to each other.

Of course, in the case of a BJT, bases of the semiconductor elements 222 of the channel 200 are connected to each other. In addition, the base of the semiconductor element 142 of the mirror circuit 140 and the base of the semiconductor element 222 of the channel 200 are also connected.

Meanwhile, in the semiconductor element 222 of the mirror circuit 140, a base and a collector are connected to each other.

As shown in FIG. 2, the function of the level shifter is implemented while reducing the number of resistors required for each channel from two to one.

Referring to FIG. 2 , signals output from the controller 110 may be 0V or 3.3V, and signals reaching the communication circuit 130 by the level shifter 120 may be 0V or 1.8V.

3 and 4 are circuit operation diagrams for transmitting data from the controller 110 to the single electronic component 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In particular, FIG. 3 shows a circuit operation when a digital signal is transmitted from the controller 110 to a modem among the single electronic components 130 . Referring to FIG. 3, when 2.5V-Vgs = 1.8V or more, the FET is turned off, so it goes up only until it is not turned off. For example, 1.65V. As a result, if 1.8 x 0.7 = 1.26V or more, it is recognized as High.

4 receives a digital “0” when 0V is transmitted.

5 and 6 are circuit operation diagrams for transmitting data from the single electronic component 130 side to the controller 110 side according to an embodiment of the present invention. In particular, referring to FIG. 5 , 1.8V is transmitted from the single electronic component 130 and the FET is turned off because Vgs does not secure a voltage exceeding 0.7V. In this case, 3.3V across the resistor 141 is conducted to the controller 110, and the controller 110 recognizes it as a digital "1".

Referring to FIG. 6 , when 0V is transmitted from the single electronic component 130, the FET is turned on by 3.3V applied to the resistor 141, and the controller 110 receives 0V while the current flows toward the source. That is, it becomes digital "0".

7 is a signal measurement result when data is transmitted from the controller 110 to the single electronic component 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 7 , a drain voltage (ie, input voltage) 720, a gate voltage 710, and a source voltage (ie, output voltage) 730 are sequentially displayed from the top. That is, data transmission of the controller (3.3V) => modem (1.8V), and 0V <--> 3.3V. For 0V <--> 3.3V, the high recognition threshold is 3.3V x 0.7 = 2.31V. For 0V <--> 1.65V, the high recognition threshold is 1.8 x 0.7 = 1.26V.

8 is a signal measurement result when data is transmitted from the single electronic component 130 to the controller 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 8 , a drain voltage (ie, output voltage) 820, a gate voltage 810, and a source voltage (ie, input voltage) 830 are sequentially displayed from the top. That is, data transmission of the modem (1.8V) => controller (3.3V), and 0V <--> 3.25V. For 0V <--> 3.25V, the high recognition threshold is 3.3 x 0.7 = 2.31V. For 0V <--> 1.65V, the high recognition threshold is 1.8 x 0.7 = 1.26V.

100: electronic device
110: controller
120: level shifter
130: single electronic component
140: mirror circuit
200: channel
221,141: Resistance
222,142: semiconductor element

Claims (7)

at least one or more channels arranged in parallel and performing voltage conversion; and
one mirror circuit connected to the channel;
Multi-channel level shifter using a mirror circuit, characterized in that it comprises a.
According to claim 1,
The channel is
a first resistor coupled to the mirror circuit; and
A multi-channel level shifter comprising a; first semiconductor element to which the first resistor is connected to a first input terminal.
According to claim 2,
The multi-channel level shifter, characterized in that the mirror circuit is a current mirror circuit.
According to claim 2,
The mirror circuit may include a second resistor connected in parallel with the first resistor; and
A multi-channel level shifter comprising a; second semiconductor element to which the second resistor is connected to a second input terminal.
According to claim 4,
The second semiconductor device is a field effect transistor (FET), and the gate and drain of the FET are connected to each other.
According to claim 4,
The second semiconductor element is a BJT (Bipolar Junction Transistor), and a multi-channel level shifter, characterized in that a collector and a base of the BJT are connected to each other.
controller;
A multi-channel level shifter according to any one of claims 1 to 6; and
a single electronic component that transmits and receives a digital signal whose voltage level is converted through the multi-channel level shifter to and from the controller;
An electronic device comprising a.

Images