High-speed sense amplifier
US6310810A · kind A · utility
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 14, 2000 |
| Grant date | Oct 30, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 14, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11C11/4091
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The invention pertains to a high-speed sense amplifier and to a method to operate the sense amplifier. The sense amplifier to which a power supply voltage can be applied via a semiconductor switch can be used to amplify a binary data signal read from a memory cell and it is arranged between two mutually complementary bit lines. The load output of the semiconductor switch can be precharged with a reference voltage source, wherein the amount of the reference voltage is less than or equal to the difference of the power supply voltage and the threshold voltage of the semiconductor switch. Due to this design, the read cycles can be clearly reduced. In addition, a greater read sensitivity is possible.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.