Nonvolatile ferroelectric memory using selective reference cell
US6147896A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 28, 1999 |
| Grant date | Nov 14, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 28, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11C11/22
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A nonvolatile ferroelectric memory that reduces the number of cycles of reference cells to extend lifetime of memory. A reference cell of the memory is activated to provide a reference voltage to a sense amplifier only when the sense amplifier needs the reference voltage. The memory comprises a plurality of cells arranged in a matrix form and including memory cells and reference cells, and a plurality of sense amplifiers arranged in a row of the matrix, in which each sense amplifier compares voltages induced from a reference cell and a selected memory cell to read information stored in the selected memory cell, and in which each reference cell is activated only when both a selection signal from a column address and a word line connected to said reference cell are enabled.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.