Patent · US Expired

Dynamic adjusting reference voltage for ferroelectric circuits

US5218566A · kind A · utility

125Cited by
9References
30Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateAug 15, 1991
Grant dateJun 8, 1993
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 15, 2011

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11C11/22
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A reference voltage circuit used for determining the polarization state of a ferroelectric capacitor. The circuit includes a pair of ferroelectric capacitors, each polarized to an opposite polarization state. The charge stored in each ferroelectric capacitor is discharged into respective sense capacitors, thereby generating different voltages, each representative of the different polarization states. The sense capacitors are then short circuited together to thereby average the representative voltages and provide a reference voltage that is of intermediate value. The reference voltage can then the used to compare memory cell signals generated by other ferroelectric capacitors to determine the respective polarization states.

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