US 12,385,972 B2
Latchup detector and clock loss detector
Manar Ibrahim El-Chammas, Austin, TX (US); Vaibhav Tripathi, Santa Clara, CA (US); and Jagdish Kumar Agrawal, Banagalore (IN)
Assigned to Omni Design Technologies, Inc., Milpitas, CA (US)
Filed by Omni Design Technologies, Inc., Milpitas, CA (US)
Filed on Jan. 24, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/158,624.
Prior Publication US 2024/0248134 A1, Jul. 25, 2024
Int. Cl. G01R 31/317 (2006.01); H03K 19/003 (2006.01); H03K 19/0175 (2006.01)
CPC G01R 31/31727 (2013.01) [G01R 31/31721 (2013.01); H03K 19/0033 (2013.01); H03K 19/017509 (2013.01)] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A latchup detector comprising:
a level shifter comprising:
a first level-shifter circuit having an input electrically coupled to an output of a voltage regulator, the output having a regulator output voltage, the first level-shifter circuit configured to lower the regulator output voltage to a first voltage; and
a second level-shifter circuit having an input electrically coupled to an input of a chip, the input of the chip having a target supply voltage, the second level-shifter circuit configured to lower the target supply voltage to a second voltage, the second voltage lower than the first voltage,
wherein a voltage supply rail is electrically coupled to the output of the voltage regulator and to the input of the chip; and
a comparator having a first input electrically coupled to an output of the first level-shifter circuit to receive the first voltage and a second input electrically coupled to an output of the second level-shifter circuit to receive the second voltage, the comparator configured to produce a first output voltage when a difference between the first and second voltages is greater than or equal to a predetermined voltage difference and a second output voltage when the difference between the first and second voltages is less than the predetermined voltage difference;
wherein the comparator has a variable-threshold such that the predetermined voltage difference is programmable.