Patent · US Expired

Sense amplifier circuitry selectively separable from bit lines for dynamic random access memory

US5148399A · kind A · utility

18Cited by
9References
11Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 31, 1991
Grant dateSep 15, 1992
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 31, 2011

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11C11/4091
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

An integrated circuit memory device includes a sense amplifier circuit having a first transistor coupling section connected between a pair of bit lines and a pair of sense amplifier nodes. The first transistor coupling section selectively connects the bit lines and the sense amplifier nodes in response to a first control signal. The sense amplifier circuit further includes a first sense amplifier connected between the sense amplifier nodes so as to selectively discharge one of the sense amplifier nodes and a second sense amplifier connected between the sense amplifier nodes so as to selectively charge the other one of the sense amplifier nodes. The first control signal can have a first voltage substantially intermediate a potential equal to a potential threshold of a transistor in the first transistor coupling section and the sum of a potential equal to the potential threshold and a precharge potential at the beginning of a sense operation. At these voltage levels, the first transistor is operative to decouple a first sense node from a first bit line when a selected memory cell stores a logic ONE level while a second transistor connects a second sense node with as second bit line. …

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.