Granted Patent B2

US 7,233,201 · App. 10/931,362 · Granted Jun 19, 2007

Abstract

Claims (63)

1. A pseudo-differential driver circuit, comprising:

a first transistor having a gate coupled to receive a first part of a differential signal;

a second transistor having a gate coupled to receive a second part of the differential signal varying opposite the first part of the differential signal, a source of the second transistor coupled to a source of the first transistor;

a pull-down circuit coupling the source of the first transistor and the source of the second transistor to a ground voltage;

a single-ended pseudo-differential output coupled to a drain of the second transistor;

a supply voltage coupled to a drain of the second transistor; and

a third transistor directly electrically coupling the supply voltage to a drain of the first transistor such that the third transistor's source is directly electrically coupled to the supply voltage and the third transistor's drain is directly electrically coupled to the first transistor's drain, the third transistor gate coupled to a control signal operable to cause approximately the same current to flow through the first transistor and the second transistor.

2. The pseudo-differential driver circuit of claim 1 , frirther comprising:

a fourth transistor coupling the drain of the first transistor to a supply voltage, such that the source of the fourth transistor is coupled to the supply voltage, the gate of the fourth transistor is coupled to receive the first part of the differential signal, and the drain of the fourth transistor is coupled to the drain of the first transistor; and

a fifth transistor coupling the drain of the second transistor to a supply voltage, such that the source of the fifth transistor is coupled to the supply voltage, the gate of the fifth transistor is coupled to receive the second part of the differential signal, and the drain of the fifth transistor is coupled to the drain of the second transistor.

3. The pseudo-differential driver circuit of claim 2 , wherein:

the drain of the fourth transistor is coupled to the drain of the first transistor via one or more resistors; and

the drain of the fifth transistor is coupled to the drain of the second transistor via one or more resistors.

4. The pseudo-differential driver circuit of claim 1 , wherein the drain of the second transistor is coupled to the output via one or more resistors.

5. The pseudo-differential driver circuit of claim 1 , wherein the output is coupled to the supply voltage via one or more resistors.

6. The pseudo-differential driver circuit of claim 1 , wherein the pull-down circuit comprises a variable impedance that is adjustable to control the current flowing through the pull-down network.

7. The pseudo-differential driver circuit of claim 1 , wherein the control signal is derived from detecting current flowing in at least one of the pull-down network and the second transistor.

8. A memory module, comprising:

a memory operable to store electronic data;

a memory module interface comprising a pseudo-differential output, the pseudo-differential output comprising:

a first transistor having a gate coupled to receive a first part of a differential signal;

a second transistor having a gate coupled to receive a second part of the differential signal varying opposite the first part of the differential signal, a source of the second transistor coupled to a source of the first transistor;

a pull-down circuit coupling the source of the first transistor and the source of the second transistor to a ground voltage;

a single-ended memory module output coupled to a drain of the second transistor;

a supply voltage coupled to a drain of the second transistor; and

a third transistor directly electrically coupling the supply voltage to a drain of the first transistor such that the third transistor's source is directly electrically coupled to the supply voltage and the third transistor's drain is directly electrically coupled to the first transistor's drain, the third transistor gate coupled to a control signal operable to cause approximately the same current to flow though the first transistor and the second transistor.

9. The memory module of claim 8 , the pseudo-differential driver circuit further comprising:

a fourth transistor coupling the drain of the first transistor to a supply voltage, such that the source of the fourth transistor is coupled to the supply voltage, the gate of the fourth transistor is coupled to receive the first part of the differential signal, and the drain of the fourth transistor is coupled to the drain of the first transistor; and

a fifth transistor coupling the drain of the second transistor to a supply voltage, such that the source of the fifth transistor is coupled to the supply voltage, the gate of the fifth transistor is coupled to receive the second part of the differential signal, and the drain of the fifth transistor is coupled to the drain of the second transistor.

10. The memory module of claim 8 , wherein:

the drain of the fourth transistor is coupled to the drain of the first transistor via one or more resistors; and

the drain of the fifth transistor is coupled to the drain of the second transistor via one or more resistors.

11. The memory module of claim 8 , wherein the memory module output is coupled to the drain of the second transistor via one or more resistors.

12. The memory module of claim 8 , wherein the pull-down circuit comprises a variable impedance that is adjustable to control the current flowing through the pull-down network.

13. The memory module of claim 8 , wherein the control signal is derived from detecting current flowing in at least one of the pull-down network and the second transistor.

14. A memory controller, comprising:

control logic operable to manage a pool of memory; and

a memory interface that includes a pseudo-differential output comprising:

a first transistor having a gate coupled to receive a first part of a differential signal;

a second transistor having a gate coupled to receive a second part of the differential signal varying opposite the first part of the differential signal, a source of the second transistor coupled to a source of the first transistor;

a pull-down circuit coupling the source of the first transistor and the source of the second transistor to a ground voltage;

a single-ended memory controller output coupled to a drain of the second transistor;

a supply voltage coupled to a drain of the second transistor; and

a third transistor directly electrically coupling the supply voltage to a drain of the first transistor such that the third transistor's source is directly electrically coupled to the supply voltage and the third transistor's drain is directly electrically coupled to the first transistor's drain, the third transistor gate coupled to a control signal operable to cause approximately the same current to flow through the first transistor and the second transistor.

15. The memory controller of claim 14 , the pseudo-differential driver circuit further comprising:

a fourth transistor coupling the drain of the first transistor to a supply voltage, such that the source of the fourth transistor is coupled to the supply voltage, the gate of the fourth transistor is coupled to receive the first part of the differential signal, and the drain of the fourth transistor is coupled to the drain of the first transistor; and

a fifth transistor coupling the drain of the second transistor to a supply voltage, such that the source of the fifth transistor is coupled to the supply voltage, the gate of the fifth transistor is coupled to receive the second part of the differential signal, and the drain of the fifth transistor is coupled to the drain of the second transistor.

16. The memory controller of claim 14 , wherein:

the drain of the fourth transistor is coupled to the drain of the first transistor via one or more resistors; and

the drain of the fifth transistor is coupled to the drain of the second transistor via one or more resistors.

17. The memory controller of claim 14 , wherein the memory controller output is coupled to the drain of the second transistor via one or more resistors.

18. The memory controller of claim 14 , wherein the pull-down circuit comprises a variable impedance that is adjustable to control the current flowing through the pull-down network.

19. The memory controller of claim 14 , wherein the control signal is derived from current detected in at least one of the pull-down network and the second transistor.

20. An integrated circuit, comprising:

a substrate;

a plurality of external electrical contacts; and

at least one output circuit, the output circuit comprising:

a first transistor having a gate coupled to receive a first part of a differential signal;

a second transistor having a gate coupled to receive a second part of the differential signal varying opposite the first part of the differential signal, a source of the second transistor coupled to a source of the first transistor;

a pull-down circuit coupling the source of the first transistor and the source of the second transistor to a ground voltage;

a single-ended pseudo-differential output coupled to a drain of the second transistor;

a supply voltage coupled to a drain of the second transistor; and

a third transistor directly electrically coupling the supply voltage to a drain of the first transistor such that the third transistor's source is directly electrically coupled to the supply voltage and the third transistor's drain is directly electrically coupled to the first transistor's drain, the third transistor gate coupled to a control signal operable to cause approximately the same current to flow through the first transistor and the second transistor.

Assignments (8)