Abstract :
The migration towards lower power supply voltages has been driven by the ever-growing demand for low power and portability, with no performance compromises. In addition, smaller semiconductor lithography dimensions have been driving internal power busses in ICs to lower voltages as well. 3.3 V power supply voltage has been established as the new standard for electronic systems. Because such a transition cannot encompass all electronic components at one time, we are going through a very long transition period where 5 V and 3.3 V components and system co-exist. With each new supply voltage standard, similar issues are encountered. This paper describes some of the issues which arise in mixed voltage systems, past and current solutions and new logic families specifically designed to address these issues
