Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for amplifying a signal to produce a latched digital signal

US5943274A · kind A · utility

2Cited by
5References
24Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 2, 1998
Grant dateAug 24, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 2, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11C7/065
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Method and apparatus for amplifying a signal (50) to produce a latched digital signal (46). In one embodiment, an output stage circuit (24) of memory (10) includes a differential amplifier circuit (100), a level converter (102), a timing circuit (104), a clock-free latch (106), a high impedance control circuit (108), a high impedance control circuit (110), and an output driver (112). Output stage (24) requires one clock signal to function. Alternate embodiments may skew the disabling edge of the clock to improve the speed characteristics of output stage (24). In one embodiment, signal (50) is a differential pair of signals provided from a memory bit cell array (12).

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