Patent · US Expired

Sensing circuit for a memory cell array

US6134164A · kind A · utility

408Cited by
4References
20Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 22, 1999
Grant dateOct 17, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 22, 2019

Classification

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

Abstract

The present invention addresses the foregoing need by providing a memory sensing circuit for accelerating a logic level transition of the complementary memory bit line of a complementary bit line pair having a full logic swing. The memory sensing circuit has a dual-rail circuit and at least one slew-rate acceleration circuit. The dual-rail circuit can be coupled across the complementary bit line pair for conditioning a signal undergoing a logical state transition placed on either of the bit lines. The at least one slew-rate acceleration circuit is coupled to the dual-rail circuit. The conditioned signal is input to the slew-rate acceleration circuit, said slew-rate acceleration circuit having an inverter circuit with an input terminal to receive the conditioned signal. A feed-back loop transistor, having a gate terminal coupled to an output terminal of the inverter circuit is responsive to an output signal placed on the output terminal such that the slew-rate of the conditioned signal is accelerated.

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