$2 \times \text{VDD}$ Tolerant I/O with Considerations of Hot-Carrier Degradation and Gate-Oxide Reliability

Abstract

This paper presents a <tex>$2 \times \text{VDD}$</tex> tolerant I/O buffer using <tex>$1 \times \text{VDD}$</tex> devices, with hot-carrier and gate-oxide reliability considerations. The circuit for mixed voltage I/O buffer is proposed to solve the hot-carrier and gate-oxide reliability issues. The proposed circuit is implemented in 22nm FinFET technology using 1.8V thick gate devices. The design can be used in any CMOS technology for <tex>$2 \times \text{VDD}$</tex> tolerant I/O buffer to reduce hot-carrier effect.