Patent 7545173 was granted and assigned to Linear Technology on June, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Transition delays in a level shift circuit are equalized by generating a first signal related to the state of the input signal, a second signal inversely related to the state of the input signal, and a third signal that is reciprocal to the second signal. Upon transition of the input signal from a high state to a low state, the third signal is selected for controlling the output until the first signal attains a high state. The first signal is selected for controlling the output when it has reached a high state after the input signal transition. The first signal remains selected upon transition of the input signal from a high state to a low state. Thus, output delays are equalized and reduced to the shortest delay.