Patent · US Expired

Ferroelectric memory and method of reading the same

US6646904B2 · kind B2 · utility

17Cited by
4References
17Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateDec 21, 2001
Grant dateNov 11, 2003
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 21, 2021

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11C11/22
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A ferroelectric memory includes wordlines that cross over bitlines with a ferroelectric cell at each crossing. When reading a select cell of the array, sneak currents are drawn from an active bitline. An integration amplifier begins integrating charge propagated by the active bitline, and an active wordline receives a read level voltage. A first integration value is then obtained from the integration amplifier. Following the first integration, the integration amplifier is cleared and the voltage of the active wordline reduced to a quiescent level. Integration and wordline activation are again performed to obtain a second integration value. The second value is subtracted from the first, and the difference compared to a threshold to determine a data value.

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