Output pad drivers often contribute a large part of the total power dissipation of a chip, due to the large capacitive load they drive. Here, we describe a driver capable of significant reduction of this dissipation, for given values of voltage swing, load capacitance, and switching frequency, without performance loss. We accomplish this by stepwise charging, an inductor-free form of adiabatic charging.
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Svensson et al. (2002) studied this question.