Patent · US Expired

Bit line discharge control method and circuit for a semiconductor memory

US7257039B2 · kind B2 · utility

12Cited by
6References
43Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 22, 2004
Grant dateAug 14, 2007
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 23, 2024

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11C2213/79
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method of controlling a discharge of bit lines of a matrix of memory cells comprises conditioning a value of a current flowing through a bit line of the matrix during a bit line discharge phase to an absence of an indication of defectiveness of the bit line. The method allows preventing crowbar currents that otherwise flow during the bit line discharge phase when a defective bit line exhibits a short-circuit to a defective word line.

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