Patent · US Expired

Sense circuit for a multi-level flash memory cell

US6191977A · kind A · utility

31Cited by
11References
19Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateMar 25, 1999
Grant dateFeb 20, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateMar 25, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11C16/32
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A sense circuit for multi-level flash memory cell includes a control signal generator for generating a plurality of voltage control signals, a clock signal having constant period and a plurality of control pulses according to a sense amplifier enable signal; a control voltage generator for generating multi-steps voltage according to the clock signal and the plurality of voltage control signals, sequentially supplying the multi-steps voltage to a program gate of the memory cell, generating a reference voltage according to the sense amplifier enable signal and supplying the reference voltage to a program gate of a reference cell; and a sense amplifier for sequentially comparing a plurality of data stored in the memory cell and a data of the reference cell, storing the result according to the control pulse and converting it into binary data.

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