Wordline voltage boosting circuits for complementary MOSFET dynamic memories
US4954731A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 26, 1989 |
| Grant date | Sep 4, 1990 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 26, 2009 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03K5/023
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Two embodiments of a wordline boost clock circuit that can be used in high speed DRAM circuits are disclosed. The clock circuits require only one boost capacitor and discharge the wordlines faster, improving the DRAM access time. The basic feature of the clock circuit is in the floating gate structure of the nmos device which drives the load to negative during the boosting. In the first embodiment of the clock, the gate of a first device is connected to a first node through a second device. A second node, connected to a wordline, is discharged through the first and a third device when a third node is high with a fourth node low. After a sufficient discharge of the second node, the fourth node is pulled to VDD turning the second device on and a fourth device off. The first (NMOS) transistor has its gate and drain connected together and forms a diode. When a boost capacitor pulls the first node down to negative, the first device stays completely off because of its diode configuration and the second node is pulled to negative through the third device. In the second embodiment, a first device is connected between a boost capacitor and a second node. The load is discharged through a thi…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.