Patent · US Expired

Semiconductor device which is low in power and high in speed and is highly integrated

US6862235B2 · kind B2 · utility

27Cited by
3References
20Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateFeb 27, 2003
Grant dateMar 1, 2005
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 27, 2023

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11C11/1675
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

There is disclosed a write operation of a MRAM in which a current necessary for inverting magnetization of an MTJ element has to be passed through a data line and therefore current consumption is large. The write operation comprises: comparing input data DI with read data GO read from a memory cell array and encoding the input data DI to form write data GI by a data encoder WC; and decoding the read data GO by a data decoder RD to form output data DO. In a nonvolatile semiconductor memory in which the current is passed through the data line to write data into a memory cell, the number of bits to be written during the write operation is reduced, and the current consumption can be reduced. This can realize the MRAM including a low-power highly-integrated memory.

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