Low power chip select (CS) latency option
US7167401B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 10, 2005 |
| Grant date | Jan 23, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 10, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11C2211/4067
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system and method to reduce standby currents in input buffers in an electronic device (e.g., a memory device) is disclosed. The input buffers may be activated or deactivated by the state of a chip select (CS) signal. In case of a memory device, the active and precharge standby currents in memory input buffers may be reduced by turning off the input buffers when the CS signal is in an inactive state. A memory controller may supply the CS signal to the memory device at least one clock cycle earlier than other control signals including the RAS (row address strobe) signal, the CAS (column address strobe) signal, the WE (write enable) signal, etc. A modified I/O circuit in the memory device may internally delay the CS signal by at least one clock cycle to coincide its timing with the RAS/CAS signals for normal data access operation whereas the turning on/off of the memory input buffers may be performed by the CS signal received from the memory controller on the previous cycle. Thus, activation and deactivation of memory input buffers may be performed without forcing the memory device into power down mode and without employing complex circuits for power management. Because of the rules…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.