Patent · US Expired

Memory cell with single bit line read back

US5687130A · kind A · utility

0Cited by
4References
14Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateNov 30, 1994
Grant dateNov 11, 1997
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 30, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG09G2300/0857
  • WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

The spatial light modulator (30) of the DMD type having associated memory cells (10) with a single bit line memory read back architecture (54). The memory cells (10) include a charge equalization switch (50) comprising a transistor connected across the bit lines (16,18) of the memory cell (10). This charge equalization transistor (50) is momentarily turned on (T.sub.3) to balance residual charge on the memory cell bit lines (16,18), after a write cycle (T.sub.2) but before the read cycle (T.sub.4). When the memory cell contents are subsequently read (T.sub.4), the memory cell contents will not change state. A single amplifier (54) is connected to one bit line for reading the memory cell contents. The single bit line (18) memory read back architecture provides a more efficient circuit layout to the spacing constraints required with DMDs, consumes less power than designs with a differential amplifier, and additionally, provides yield improvements.

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