Device for sensing data in a multi-bit memory cell using a multistep current source
US6069821A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 26, 1999 |
| Grant date | May 30, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 26, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11C16/30
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A device and method for sensing data in a multi-bit memory cell of a memory cell array unit is provided where each memory cell has at least two threshold voltage levels. The device can include a multistep current source unit to provide quantized voltages, each having a width smaller than a threshold voltage distribution in a selected memory cell, according to a current flowing through the selected memory cell. An analog-to-digital converter compares the quantized voltages from the multistep current source unit with a plurality of reference voltages to provide a state of the memory cell in binary form. The device and method for sensing data in the multi-bit memory cell uses the quantized voltages to increase sensing reliability, increases sensing speed and increases a gap between the quantized voltages relative to the threshold voltage distribution.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.