Patent · US Expired

Sensing circuit for a floating gate memory device having multiple levels of storage in a cell

US5910914A · kind A · utility

21Cited by
6References
7Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateNov 7, 1997
Grant dateJun 8, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 7, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11C2211/5645
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A sensing circuit for sensing the multiple states of a selected memory cell of a floating gate memory device is disclosed. The sensing circuit has a first voltage amplifier which generates a first output voltage, and a plurality of current amplifiers which receive the first output voltage and generate a plurality of first output currents in response thereto. The circuit also comprises a dummy cell, a second voltage amplifier connected thereto for generating a second output voltage. A second current amplifier receives the second output voltage and generates a plurality of second output currents in response thereto. Each of a plurality of inverters receives one of the first and one of the second output currents, and generates an output. The output of the plurality of invertors are supplied to a decoder to generate a decoded signal representative of the plurality of states of the selected memory cell.

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