Sense amplifier and method for performing a read operation in a MRAM
US6760266B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 28, 2002 |
| Grant date | Jul 6, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 18, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11C27/02
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A sense amplifier (1300, 1500) is provided for sensing the state of a toggling type magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) cell without using a reference. The sense amplifier (1300, 1500) employs a sample-and-hold circuit (1336, 1508) combined with a current-to-voltage converter (1301, 1501), gain circuit (1303), and cross-coupled latch (1305, 1503) to sense the state of a bit. The sense amplifier (1300, 1500), first senses and holds a first state of the cell. The cell is toggled to a second state. Then, the sense amplifier (1300, 1500) compares the first state to the second state to determine the first state of a toggling type memory cell.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.