Patent · US Expired

Memory device with reduced power consumption when byte-unit accessed

US6252807A · kind A · utility

64Cited by
3References
8Claims
0Family size

Assignees

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 9, 1999
Grant dateJun 26, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 9, 2019

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11C11/4076
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A memory device is arranged in such a manner that an access-target memory cell is selected from a plurality of memory cells in accordance with the level of the byte-enable signal at the timing when the level of the corresponding row address strobe signal (/RAS signal) changes, and by this arrangement, the problem resided in the conventional memory device that it could not be decided as to whether a memory block in the DRAM core was to be a selected or non-selected byte until the fall of the corresponding column address strobe signal (/CAS signal), and thus the column decoder and the preamplifier that start operating at the fall of the /RAS signal could not be efficiently controlled is solved, and due to this, electric power that might otherwise be consumed at the time of executing a byte-unit access to the wide-bus DRAM can be reduced.

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