| US 7,466,171 B2 | ||
| Voltage detection circuit and circuit for generating a trigger flag signal | ||
| Wagdi W. Abadeer, Jericho, Vt. (US); Jeffrey S. Brown, Middlesex, Vt. (US); Albert M. Chu, Essex, Vt. (US); and John A. Fifield, Underhill, Vt. (US) | ||
| Assigned to International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y. (US) | ||
| Filed on Jan. 15, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/623,119. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2008/0169844 A1, Jul. 17, 2008 | ||
| Int. Cl. H03L 7/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 327—143 [327/198] | 20 Claims |

| 1. An integrated circuit chip, comprising:
a power supply network for supplying a supply voltage to functional circuitry; and
a trigger circuit that includes:
a first voltage divider stack comprising:
a first input in electrical communication with said power supply network; and
a first internal node for providing a first divided output voltage;
a second voltage divider stack electrically coupled to said power supply network in parallel with said first voltage divider
stack, said second voltage divider stack comprising:
a second input in electrical communication with said power supply network; and
a second internal node for providing a second divided output voltage wherein:
said second voltage divider stack is configured so that said second divided output voltage has a nonlinear relationship to
said supply voltage;
said second voltage divider stack comprises a first capacitor and a second capacitor coupled in series with one another so
as to define said second internal node;
said first capacitor has a first leakage current and coin rises a first transistor having a first gate oxide and said first
leakage current is provided by current tunneling across said first gate oxide;
said second capacitor has a second leakage current and coin rises a second transistor having a second gate oxide and said
second leakage current is provided by current tunneling across said second gate oxide; and
said first transistor is a low-voltage-threshold device and said second transistor is a regular-voltage-threshold device;
and
output circuitry in electrical communication with said first internal node and said second internal node and operatively configured
to generate a digital trigger flag as a function of said first divided output voltage and said second divided output voltage.
|