Patent · US Expired

Non-volatile random access memory device

US5189641A · kind A · utility

50Cited by
6References
4Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateNov 5, 1990
Grant dateFeb 23, 1993
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 5, 2010

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11C14/00
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell including a volatile memory cell portion having a flip-flop and a non-volatile memory cell portion individually and respectively associated with the volatile memory cell portion and including a capacitor portion operatively connected to the volatile memory cell portion, a memory transistor operatively connected to the capacitor portion, and a recall transistor connected between the memory transistor and one of a pair of nodes of the flip-flop and selectively turned ON in a recall operation. The capacitor portion comprises a tunnel capacitor, used in a store operation, connected in series with a further capacitor and to which is applied a difference voltage between the respective voltages appearing at the pair of nodes. The space occupied by the memory cells on a chip is reduced and the degree of integration of the circuit is increased.

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