A high speed molybdenum gate MOS RAM

Describes a high speed 16K molybdenum gate (Mo-gate) dynamic MOS RAM using a single transistor cell. New circuit technologies, including a capacitive-coupled sense-refresh amplifier and a dummy sense circuit, enable the achievement of high speed performance in combination with reduced propagation delay in the molybdenum word line due to the low resistivity. The n-channel Mo-gate process was established by developing an evaporation apparatus and by an improved heat treatment to reduce surface charge density. Ultraviolet photolithography for 2 /spl mu/m patterns and HCl oxidation for 400 /spl Aring/ thick gate oxide are used. The 16K word/spl times/1 bit device is fabricated on a 3.2 mm/spl times/4.0 mm chip. Cell size is 16 /spl mu/m/spl times/16 /spl mu/m Access time is less than 65 ns at V/SUB DD/=7 V and V/SUB BB/=-2 V. Power dissipation is 210 mW at 170 ns read-modify-write (RMW) cycle.     

A 256K ROM fabricated using n-well CMOS process technology

A 256K bit CMOS ROM with a speed-power product of 0.085 pJ/bit has been developed. The excellent speed-power product and the high packing density have been achieved by using n-well CMOS technology and a serial-parallel ROM cell structure. The concept and characteristics of a serial-parallel ROM cell structure are discussed and compared to conventional ROM cell structures. The serial-parallel ROM cell structure gives more flexibility for ROM matrix design. The chip size and memory cell size of the 256K CMOS ROM are 5.98/spl times/6.00 mm and 7.0/spl times/7.0 /spl mu/m, respectively. Access time is 370 ns. The power supply currents in active and quiescent modes are 12 mA and less than 0.1 /spl mu/A at +5 V, respectively.     

A 256K dynamic random access memory

A 5 V 256K/spl times/1 bit NMOS dynamic RAM employing redundancy is described. Using 2.3 /spl mu/m design rules, the cell is laid out in a folded bit line configuration having a row pitch of 6.5 /spl mu/m and a sense-amplifier pitch of 18 /spl mu/m. Tantalum silicide/polysilicon is used as the second polysilicon level to reduce the row line time constant. A storage capacitance of 60 fF and the Hi-C cell structure provides this memory with high alpha-particle insensitivity. The die measures 4.66/spl times/11.65 mm, and fits into a standard 0.3 in wide 16-pin DIP. The memory operates with 256 refresh cycles with a 4 ms refresh time. Typical RE/CE access times are 105/45 ns with an active power dissipation of 250 MW. Typical standby power is less than 20 mW. The part is compatible with the present Western Electric 5 V 64K part.     

25-ns 256K/spl times/1/64K/spl times/4 CMOS SRAM's

Through a metal option, a 256K word/spl times/1-bit and a 64K word/spl times/4-bit CMOS SRAM organization has been obtained. A fast access time has been achieved with a short bit-line structure and a data-bus precharging technique which minimize the bit-line and data-bus delay. A feedback-controlled address-transition-detector circuit has been adopted to assure the fast access time in the presence of address skew. A 1.0-/spl mu/m double-polysilicon and single-metal process technology with a polycide gate offers a memory cell size of 90 /spl mu/m/SUP Z/ and a chip size of 47.4 mm/SUP 2/.     

A 288K CMOS EPROM with redundancy

A 150 ns 288K CMOS EPROM with a nine-block cell array and a standby current of less than 1 /spl mu/A has been developed. This device can be used as an 8 or 9-bit EPROM. The ninth block can be used as a redundant block by electrically programmable polysilicon fuses. A redundant row decoder is also included. Improvements in the lithography and process technologies have reduced the cell size to 9 /spl times/ 6 /spl mu/m and the chip size to 7.44 /spl times/ 4.65 mm.     

A 256 kbit ROM with serial ROM cell structure

The realization of a 256 kbit ROM using a 500 /spl Aring/ E/D NMOS technology is described. A high packaging density has been achieved by using a NAND structure in the memory array and in the decoders. Some characteristics of this serial ROM structure are discussed and compared with the conventional parallel configurations. The 32K/spl times/8 bit ROM with a bit size of 5.25/spl times/5.5 /spl mu/m/SUP 2/ has a total chip area of 18.6 mm/SUP 2/. Operating from a single 5 V supply, the device has a typical access time of 850 ns with a minimum cycle time of 1500 ns and dissipates 70 mW. In the power-down mode this power is reduced to 5 mW.     

A fast 256K DRAM designed for a wide range of applications

A 256K DRAM designed for a variety of organizations and operation modes is described. The chip may be organized as 64K/spl times/4, 128K/spl times/2, or 256K/spl times/1. Four data I/O buffers are selectable by gate signals. Besides the standard RAM mode, it may be operated in the page mode, in the parallel or serial buffer mode, and in a combination of page and serial buffer modes. With these options, the design covers a wide range of applications. RAS/CAS access times are 80.55 ns. In the combined page and serial buffer mode, a data rate of up to 50 MHz is possible. The chip is built in metal-gate n-channel technology with 2-/spl mu/m minimum line width and two metal interconnection planes.     

A 16 DIP, 64 kbit, static MOS-RAM

A 64K/spl times/1 bit fully static MOS-RAM has been fabricated. For the purpose of replacement of 64 kbit dynamic RAM, this static RAM has been designed to be assembled in a standard 300 mil 16 pin DIP. It is the first time address multiplexing has been in static RAMs. The device with multiple addressing and improved row decoder employs a double poly Si layer and a 1.5 /spl mu/m design rule which is achieved by advanced process technology. As a result, the RAM has a 11.0 /spl mu/m/spl times/26.5 /spl mu/m (291.5 /spl mu/m/SUP 2/) cell size and a 3.84 mm/spl times/7.40 mm (28.40 mm/SUP 2/) chip size. The address access time is less than 150 ns with an active power dissipation of 400 mW.     

A 65 mW 128K EB-ROM

A low power read-only memory (128K EB-ROM) has been developed using direct electron-beam data writing and 2 /spl mu/m VLSI fabrication technology. Programming of information in the ROM is accomplished by selective use of a field oxide in place of a thin gate oxide. The memory cell array is divided into eight current discharge (CD) units. Only one of the eight CD units, which contains a selected cell, is activated by the 3-bit extra decoder. The large capacitance enlarged by the Miller effect is markedly reduced. Moreover, the total capacitance to be precharged is also reduced. High performance output buffer circuitry is adopted, which has a high logic threshold voltage. As a result, the fabricated 128K EB-ROM is capable of 65 mW power dissipation under 400 ns cycle time and 5 V DC supply voltage conditions and 200 ns access time. Memory cell and chip dimensions are 8 /spl mu/m/spl times/7.75/spl mu/m and 3.75 mm/spl times/5.5 mm, respectively.     

A Submicrometer Megabit DRAM Process Technology Using Trench Capacitors

This paper describes guidelines for developing a 1-4-Mbit DRAM process, and device/process technologies for fabricating an experimental 1-Mbit DRAM. A single transistor cell combined with a trench capacitor and on-chip ECC technologies has the potential to realize a cell size of 10 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ without degrading soft error immunity. A depletion trench capacitor, submicrometer n-well CMOS process, Mo-poly gate, and sub-micrometer pattern formation technologies are developed, and an experimental 1-Mbit DRAM with a cell size of 20 /spl mu/m/sup 2/ is successfully developed by using these technologies.     

A 0.85-ns 1-kbit ECL RAM

A 1-kb ECL RAM with an address access time of 0.85 ns is described. This excellent performance is achieved by combining super self-aligned technology (SST) with 1-/spl mu/m design rules and high-speed circuit design. SST provides a narrow emitter stripe width of 0.5 /spl mu/m and a high cutoff frequency of 12.4 GHz at V/SUB CE/=3 V. A two-level metallization process is used. The minimum metallization pitches are 3 /spl mu/m in the first layer and 6 /spl mu/m in the second one. The chip size is 2.5/spl times/2.5 mm/SUP 2/ and the power dissipation is 950 mW. This RAM is promising for use in super computers and/or high-speed digital systems.     

A 4-Mbit CMOS EPROM

A high-density (512K-word/spl times/8-b) erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) has been designed and fabricated by using 0.8-/spl mu/m n-well CMOS technology. A novel chip layout and a sense-amplifier circuit produce a 120-ns access time and a 4-mA operational supply current. The interpoly dielectric, composed of a triple-layer structure, realizes a 10-/spl mu/s/byte fast programming time, in spite of scaling the programming voltage V/SUB PP/ from 12.5 V for a 1-Mb EPROM to 10.5 V for this 4-Mb EPROM. To meet the increasing demand for a one-time programmable (OTP) ROM, a circuit is implemented to monitor the access time after the assembly. A novel redundancy scheme is incorporated to reduce additional tests after the laser fuse programming. Cell size and chip size are 3.1/spl times/2.9 /spl mu/m/SUP 2/ and 5.86/spl times/14.92 mm/SUP 2/, respectively.     

An 8K/spl times/8 bit static MOS RAM fabricated by n-MOS/n-well CMOS technology

A 64 kbit fully static MOS RAM which contains about 402500 elements on the chip area of 5.44/spl times/5.80 mm has been designed. The memory cell is a basic cross-coupled flip-flop with four n-MOSFETs and two polysilicon load resistors. The memory cell size is decreased to 16/spl times/19 /spl mu/m (304 /spl mu/m/SUP 2/) by using advanced n-MOS technology with double-level polysilicon films and photolithography of 2 /spl mu/m dimensions. By applying n-well CMOS technology fabricated on a high-resistivity p-type silicon substrate to peripheral circuits of the RAM, high performance characteristics with high speed access times and low power dissipation are obtained. The RAM is designed for single 5 V operation. Address and chip select access times are typically 80 ns. Power dissipation in the active and standby mode is typically 300 and 75 mW, respectively.     

A wide-band current-controlled oscillator using bipolar-JFET technology

A 256K/spl times/1 bit NMOS dynamic RAM, fabricated using conventional n-channel two-layer polysilicon gate technology, is described. The memory cell was laid out in 5.7 /spl mu/m/spl times/12.5 /spl mu/m, and the die measured 4.84 mm/spl times/8.59 mm which can use a standard 300 mil 16 pin DIP. Reduction of the bit line capacitance was accomplished using the second polysilicon layer for the bit line. Through the use of large memory cell capacitance and special device coating techniques, alpha particle immunity was increased. The memory offers a 160 ns typical access time, 350 ns cycle time, and 250 mW active power dissipation.     

A 256-kbit flash E/SUP 2/PROM using triple-polysilicon technology

A high-density 256-kb flash electrically erasable PROM (E/SUP 2/PROM) with a single transistor per bit has been developed by utilizing triple-polysilicon technology. As a result of achieving a novel compact cell that is as small as 8/spl times/8 /spl mu/m/SUP 2/, even with relatively conservative 2.0-/spl mu/m design rules, a small die size of 5.69/spl times/5.78 mm/SUP 2/ is realized. This flash E/SUP 2/PROM is fully pin-compatible with a 256-kb UV-EPROM without increasing the number of input pins for erasing by introducing a novel programming and erasing scheme. Programming time is as fast as 200 /spl mu/s/byte and erasing time is less than 100 ms per chip. A typical access time of 90 ns is achieved by using sense-amplifier circuitry.     

A 2K/spl times/8-bit static MOS RAM with a new memory cell structure

A 2K/spl times/8-bit static MOS RAM with a new memory cell structure has been developed. The memory cell consists of six devices including four MOSFETs and two memory load resistors. Two load resistors are fabricated in the second-level polysilicon films over the polysilicon gate MOSFET used as the driver. Thus the memory cell area is determined only by the area of four MOSFETs. By applying the new cell structure and photolithography technology of 3 /spl mu/m dimensions, the cell area of 23/spl times/27 /spl mu/m and the chip area of 3.75/spl times/4.19 mm have been realized. The RAM is nonclocked and single 5 V operation. Access time of about 150 ns is obtained at a supply current of 120 mA.     

A high performance 1 Mbit EPROM

A high-performance 1-Mb EPROM has been developed by utilizing advanced 1.2-/spl mu/m minimum design rule technology. The device technology used is n-channel E/D MOS. The memory cell size is 5.5/spl times/7.5 /spl mu/m and the die size is 9.4/spl times/7.2 mm. The word organization is changeable between 64K words/spl times/16 bits and 128K words/spl times/8 bits. The active power dissipation is 500 mW and the standby power dissipation is 150 mW. The access time is typically 200 ns. The programming voltage is 12-14 V and the programming pulse width is typically 1 ms/word. In order to realize such a high-density, high-speed, low power 1-Mb EPROM, 1.2-/spl mu/m minimum patterning process technology, a high-speed sense amplifier, and a high-speed decoder are used.     

A 20 ns 64K (4K/spl times/16) NMOS RAM

A 64K (4K/spl times/16) NMOS RAM is described which uses new circuit techniques and design concepts to achieve an average nominal access time of 20 ns. The RAM was built using a relatively straightforward NMOS technology with single-level metal, single-level polycide, an average minimum feature size of 1.7 /spl mu/m, and an effective channel length of 1.2 /spl mu/m. The chip is organized physically into four 16K blocks. Cell area is 292 /spl mu/m/SUP 2/ with a chip area of 32.6 mm/SUP 2/. A four-device split-wordline cell was used to reduce the wordline delay. Chip organization, simplified clocking and timing, and new circuits were especially important for improved performance. An address buffer with internal reference, a switched decoupled bootstrapped decoder, and a self-timed sense amplifier are described.     

A 24-bit microprocessor for data communication systems designed on the basis of a general cell library

A 24-bit microprogrammed processor with 200 ns instruction cycle time has been realized as an experimental special purpose VLSI chip. The design was based on a general cell library and a set of advanced CAD tools. The technology used is a 3 /spl mu/m silicon gate, n-channel, single metallization MYMOS process. The chip integrates 9400 gate functions plus a 256/spl times/27 bit static RAM on 78.5 mm/SUP 2/.     

A 40-ns/100-pF low power full-CMOS 256 K (32 K/spl times/8) SRAM

A fast and low-power full-CMOS 256 K (32 K/spl times/8-b) static RAM is described. Typical access time is 40 ns with a 100-pF load. Power dissipation is 100 mW at 10 MHz and <1 /spl mu/W in standby mode. The low standby power has been achieved by introducing a novel six-transistor, polysilicon-interconnected, double-cross-coupled cell. A novel output buffer design, a data-transition detection (DTD) circuit, and several other circuit techniques are introduced to obtain the speed and low active power dissipation. This chip is made in a 1.3-/spl mu/m, twin-tub, single-poly, double-metal technology with a p epi layer on p/SUP +/ substrate.