Circuits, Systems, and Signal Processing https://doi.org/10.1007/s00034-021-01864-w SHORT PAPER A Split-Input Driver-Enabled High-Speed and Energy-Efficient Level Shifter Using Hybrid Pull-Up Network A. V. Mayakkannan 1 · Selvakumar Rajendran 2 · Srihari Kannan 3 · Arvind Chakrapani 2 · V. K. Shanmuganathan 4 Received: 6 June 2021 / Revised: 26 September 2021 / Accepted: 29 September 2021 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2021 Abstract Level shifters are the prominent interfacing circuits used in VLSI systems involv- ing multiple supply voltages for their energy-efficient operation. The hybrid pull-up network (HPN)-based level shifter (HPLS) with an enhanced speed and energy perfor- mance is proposed in this paper that minimizes the voltage drop and current contention issue prevalent in the prior art. The HPN comprises the cross-coupled PMOS and the current mirror structure to improve the standby power performance. The proposed HPLS utilizes a split-input driver as an output stage to achieve both the area and energy efficiency. In addition, the usage of a pass transistor in the pull-down network enhances the speed performance by decreasing the rise/fall times. The performance of HPLS is verified by implementing it in CMOS 180 nm technology using Cadence tool and simulated through Spectre circuit simulator. The simulation results of the HPLS B A. V. Mayakkannan avmayakannan@gmail.com Selvakumar Rajendran rselva0590@gmail.com Srihari Kannan harionto@gmail.com Arvind Chakrapani arvichakra@gmail.com V. K. Shanmuganathan shankris21@gmail.com 1 Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, J.N.N Institute of Engineering, Chennai, India 2 Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Karpagam College of Engineering, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu 641032, India 3 Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SNS College of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu 641035, India 4 Department of Mechanical Engineering, J.N.N Institute of Engineering, Chennai, India