An ECL gate with improved speed and low power in a BiCMOS process

An emitter-coupled logic (ECL) gate exhibiting an improved speed-power product over the circuits presented in the past [1], [7[-[11] is described. The improvement is due to a combination of a push-pull output stage driven by a controlled current source, thus reducing the static and increasing the dynamic current. This circuit has better driving capabilities and improved speed, yet it uses an order of magnitude less power than a regular ECL gate. Due to its reduced power consumption, this gate allows for a higher level of integration of ECL logic. The realization of this circuit using a regular bipolar process is also possible.