Patent · US Active

Method and circuit to enable wide supply voltage difference in multi-supply memory

US9508405B2 · kind B2 · utility

5Cited by
3References
31Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 3, 2013
Grant dateNov 29, 2016
Priority date
Expiry dateFeb 15, 2034

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11C5/14
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method and apparatus for operating a memory device with wider difference in array and periphery voltage is presented. The memory device includes a bit line, a complementary bit line, a memory cell, a first pre-charge circuit, and a second pre-charge circuit. The memory cell, the first pre-charge circuit, and the second pre-charge circuit are coupled between the bit line and the complementary bit line. The first pre-charge circuit is configured to pre-charge the bit line and the complementary bit line to a first voltage level. The second pre-charge circuit is configured to pre-charge the bit line and the complementary bit line to a second voltage level that is different than the first voltage level. In some examples, two precharge circuits are configured to operate such that memory access is ensured to be static noise margin safe even under wider difference between two voltage levels.

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