A 62-ns 16-Mb CMOS EPROM with voltage stress relaxation technique

To meet the increasing demand for higher-density and faster EPROMs, a 16-Mb CMOS EPROM has been developed based on 0.6-μm N-well CMOS technology. In scaled EPROMs, it is important to guarantee device reliability under high-voltage operation during programming. By employing internal programming-voltage reduction and new stress relaxation circuits, it is possible to keep an external programming voltage V_pp of 12.5 V. The device achieves a 62-ns access time with a 12-mA operating current. A sense-line equalization and data-out latching scheme, made possible by address transition detection (ATD), and a bit-line bias circuit with two types of depletion load led to the fast access time with high noise immunity. This 16-Mb EPROM has pin compatibility with a standard 16-Mb mask-programmable ROM (MROM) and is operative in either word-wide or byte-wide READ mode. Cell size and chip size are 2.2 μm×1.75 μm and 7.18 mm×17.39 mm, respectively     

A 3.3-V 12-ns 16-Mb CMOS SRAM

A 16-Mb CMOS SRAM having an access time of 12 ns under a 3.3-V supply has been developed with a 0.4-μm process technology. An address access time of 12 ns has been achieved by an optimized architecture, the use of an automated transistor size optimizer, and a read-bus midlevel preset scheme (RBMIPS). For better yield and efficient testing, an on-chip test circuit with three test modes has been implemented     

A 12.5-ns 16-Mb CMOS SRAM with common-centroid-geometry-layoutsense amplifiers

A 16-Mb CMOS SRAM using 0.4-μm CMOS technology has been developed. This SRAM features common-centroid-geometry (CCG) layout sense amplifiers which shorten the access time by 2.4 ns. A flexible redundancy technique achieves high efficiency without any access penalty. A memory cell with stacked capacitors is fabricated for high soft-error immunity. A 16-Mb SRAM with a chip size of 215 mm² is fabricated and an address access time of 12.5 ns has been achieved     

A 9-ns 16-Mb CMOS SRAM with offset-compensated current senseamplifier

A 9-ns 16-Mb CMOS SRAM has been developed using a 0.35-μm CMOS process, The current-mode fully nonequalized data path has been realized in a CMOS SRAM for the first time by using a stabilized feedback current-sense amplifier (SFCA) that provides a small input resistance and an offset compensation effect. To reduce the test time, a bit-line wired-OR parallel test circuit has been implemented     

A 17-ns 4-Mb CMOS DRAM

A 17-ns nonaddress-multiplexed 4-Mb dynamic RAM (DRAM) fabricated with a pure CMOS process is described. The speed limitations of the conventional DRAM sensing technique are discussed, and the advantages of using the direct bit-line sensing technique are explained. A direct bit-line sensing technique with a two-stage amplifier is described. One readout amplifier is composed of a two-stage current-mirror amplifier and a selected readout amplifier is activated by a column decoder output before the selected word line rises. The amplifier then detects a small bit-line signal appearing on a bit-line pair immediately after the word-line rise. This two-stage amplification scheme is essential to improving access time, especially in the case of a CMOS process. The high sensitivity of the readout amplifier is discussed, and the electrical features and characteristics of the fabricated DRAM are reported     

A 15-ns 4-Mb CMOS SRAM

A 4-Mb SRAM with a 15-ns access time and a uniquely selectable (×4 or ×1) bit organization has been developed based on a 0.55-μm triple-polysilicon double-metal CMOS technology. An input-controlled PMOS-load (ICPL) sense amplifier, Y-controlled bit-line loads (YCLs), and a transfer word driver (TDW) are three key circuits which have been utilized in addition to the 0.55-μm CMOS technology to achieve the remarkable access time of 15 ns. Bit organization of either ×4 or ×1 can be selected purely electrically, and does not require any pin connection procedure     

A 50-ns 256 K CMOS split-gate EPROM

A high-speed 32 K×8 CMOS EPROM has been designed and implemented in a polycide 1.2-μm n-well epi CMOS technology. A high-read-current split-gate EPROM cell combined with address transition detection-based SRAM-like precharge, equalization, and clocked differential sensing schemes has resulted in a typical address access time of less than 50 ns. The typical power dissipation at 18.2 MHz is 60 mW. Row redundancy is used to enhance the yield and the part has been designed to be compatible with plastic packaging     

A 6-ns 1-Mb CMOS SRAM with latched sense amplifier

A 1-Mb (256 K×4) CMOS SRAM with 6-ns access time is described. The SRAM, having a cell size of 3.8 μm×7.2 μm and a die size of 6.09 mm×12.94 mm, is fabricated by using 0.5-μm triple-polysilicon and double-metal process technology. The fast access time and low power dissipation of 52 mA at 100-MHz operation are achieved by using a new NMOS source-controlled latched sense amplifier and a data-output prereset circuit. In addition, an equalizing technique at the end of the write operation is used to avoid lengthening of access time in a read cycle following a write cycle     

A 68-ns 4-Mbit CMOS EPROM with high-noise-immunity design

In a VLSI memory, noise generated by its own operation is a serious problem. The noise disturbs data sensing, especially in EPROMs which have a single-ended sensing scheme. To develop high-density and high-speed EPROMs, it is necessary to solve the noise problems. Incorrect EPROM functions due to the noise are discussed. High-noise-immunity circuit techniques for stable data sensing and high-speed access time are proposed. These are divided bit-line layout, reference line with dummy bit lines, and a chip-enable transition detector. Using these circuit techniques and 0.8-μm n-well CMOS technology, a 512 K×8-b CMOS EPROM was developed. A 68-ns access time was achieved. The die size is 5.62 mm×15.30 mm, and it is assembled in a 600-mil cerdip package     

A 7-ns 140-mW 1-Mb CMOS SRAM with current sense amplifier

A 7-ns 140-mW 1-Mb CMOS SRAM was developed to provide fast access and low power dissipation by using high-speed circuits for a 3-V power supply: a current-sense amplifier and pre-output buffer. The current-sense amplifier shows three times the gain of a conventional voltage-sense amplifier and saves 60% of power dissipation while maintaining a very short sensing delay. The pre-output buffer reduces output delays by 0.5 ns to 0.75 ns. The 6.6-μm² high-density memory cell uses a parallel transistor layout and phase-shifting photolithography. The critical charge that brings about soft error in a memory cell can be drastically increased by adjusting the resistances of poly-PMOS gate electrodes. This can be done without increasing process complexity or memory cell area. The 1-Mb SRAM was fabricated using 0.3-μm CMOS quadrupole-poly and double-metal technology. The chip measures 3.96 mm×7.4 mm (29 mm²)     

A 1-V 46-ns 16-Mb SOI-DRAM with body control technique

A low-voltage high-speed 16-Mb SOI-DRAM has been developed using a 0.5-μm CMOS/SIMOX technology. A newly introduced “FD-PD mode switching” transistor dynamically switches its operation mode between fully depleted (FD) and partially depleted (PD) according to the body bias voltage, thus it has both PD-mode large current drivability and FD-mode small leakage current. By the body bias control, the transistor operates as if it has an S-factor of 30 mV/decade. Enabling both high speed and low power at a low voltage, 30 mV is only one-half the theoretical value. By utilizing the transistor, we have developed body pulsed sense amplifier (BPS), body driven equalizer (BDEQ), body current clamper (BCC), and body pulsed transistor logic (BPTL) to achieve 46 ns access time at 1 V power supply with suppressed standby current     

A 23-ns 1-Mb BiCMOS DRAM

A 1-Mb BiCMOS DRAM having a 23-ns access time is described. The DRAM uses a direct sensing technique and a nonaddress-multiplexing configuration. This technique combines the NMOS differential circuit on each pair of data lines with a common highly sensitive bipolar circuit. The resulting chip has been verified to have high-speed characteristics while maintaining a wide operating margin and a relatively small chip size of 62.2 mm², in spite of a 1.3-μm lithography level     

A 6-ns 4-Mb CMOS SRAM with offset-voltage-insensitive current senseamplifiers

A 4-Mb CMOS SRAM with 3.84 μm² TFT load cells is fabricated using 0.25-μm CMOS technology and achieves an address access time of 6 ns at a supply voltage of 2.7 V. The use of a current sense amplifier that is insensitive to its offset voltage enables the fast access time. A boosted cell array architecture allows low voltage operation of fast SRAM's using TFT load cells     

A 14-ns 14-Mb CMOS DRAM with 300-mW active power

A 4-Mb high-speed DRAM (HSDRAM) has been developed and fabricated by using 0.7-μm L_eff CMOS technology with PMOS arrays inside n-type wells and p-type substrate plate trench cells. The 13.18-mm×6.38-mm chip, organized as either 512 K word×8 b or 1 M word×4 b, achieves a nominal random-access time of 14 ns and a nominal column-access time of 7 ns, with a 3.6-V V_cc and provision of address multiplexing. The high level of performance is achieved by using a short-signal-path architecture with center bonding pads and a pulsed sensing scheme with a limited bit-line swing. A fast word-line boosting scheme and a two-stage word-line delay monitor provide fast word-line transition and detection. A new data output circuit, which interfaces a 3.6-V V_cc to a 5-V bus with an NMOS-only driver, also contributes to the fast access speed by means of a preconditioning scheme and boosting scheme. Limiting the bit-line voltage swing for bit-line sensing results in a low power dissipation of 300 mW for a 60-ns cycle time     

A 34-ns 16-Mb DRAM with controllable voltage down-converter

A high-speed 16-Mb DRAM with high reliability is reported. A multidivided column address decoding scheme and a fully embedded sense-amplifier driving scheme were used to meet the requirements for high speed. A low-power hybrid internal power supply voltage converter with an accelerated life-test function is also proposed and was demonstrated. A novel substrate engineering technology, a retrograded well structure formed by a megaelectronvolt ion-implantation process, provides a simple process sequence and high reliability in terms of soft error and latch-up immunity.<>     

A 5-ns 1-Mb ECL BiCMOS SRAM

A 1-Mword×1-b ECL (emitter coupled logic) 10 K I/O (input/output) compatible SRAM (static random-access memory) with 5-ns typical address access time has been developed using double-level poly-Si, double-level metal, 0.8-μm BiCMOS technology. To achieve 5-ns address access time, high-speed X-address decoding circuits with wired-OR predecoders and ECL-to-CMOS voltage-level converters with partial address decoding function and sensing circuits with small differential signal voltage swing were developed. The die and memory cell sizes are 16.8 mm×6.7 mm and 8.5 μm×5.3 μm, respectively. The active power is 1 W at 100-MHz operation     

A 20-ns 4-Mb CMOS SRAM with hierarchical word decoding architecture

A 20 ns 4-Mb CMOS SRAM operating at a single supply voltage of 3.3 V is described. The fast access time has been achieved by a newly proposed word-decoding architecture and a high-speed sense amplifier combined with the address transition detection (ATD) technique. The RAM has the fast address mode, which achieves quicker than 10-ns access, and the 16-b parallel test mode for the reduction of test time. A 0.6-μm process technology featuring quadruple-polysilicon and double-metal wiring is adopted to integrate more than 16 million transistors in a 8.35-mm×18.0-mm die     

A 1.8-ns access, 550-MHz, 4.5-Mb CMOS SRAM

An ultrahigh-speed 4.5-Mb CMOS SRAM with 1.8-ns clock-access time, 1.8-ns cycle time, and 9.84-μm² memory cells has been developed using 0.25-μm CMOS technology. Three key circuit techniques for achieving this high speed are a decoder using source-coupled-logic (SCL) circuits combined with reset circuits, a sense amplifier with nMOS source followers, and a sense-amplifier activation-pulse generator that uses a duplicate memory-cell array. The proposed decoder can reduce the delay time between the address input and the word-line signal of the 4.5-Mb SRAM to 68% of that of an SRAM with conventional circuits. The sense amplifier with nMOS source followers can reduce not only the delay time of the sense amplifier but also the power dissipation. In the SRAM, the sense-amplifier activation pulse must be input into the sense amplifier after the signal from the memory cell is input into the sense amplifier. A large timing margin required between these signals results in a large access time in the conventional SRAM. The sense-amplifier activation pulse generator that uses a duplicate memory-cell array can reduce the required timing margin to less than half of the conventional margin. These three techniques are especially useful for realizing ultrahigh-speed SRAM's, which will be used as on-chip or off-chip cache memories in processor systems     

A 50-ns 16-Mb DRAM with a 10-ns data rate and on-chip ECC

A high-speed 16-Mb DRAM chip with on-chip error-correcting code (ECC), which supports either 11/11 or 12/0 RAS/CAS addressing and operates on a 3.3- or 5-V power supply, is described. It can be packaged as a 2-Mb×8, 4-Mb×4, 8-Mb×2, or 16-Mb×1 DRAM, And is capable of operating in fast page mode, static column mode, or toggle mode. Speed and flexibility are achieved by a pipeline layout and on-chip SRAMs that buffer entire ECC words. The use of redundant word and bit lines in conjunction with the ECC produces a synergistic fault-tolerance effect     

A 23-ns 4-Mb CMOS SRAM with 0.2-μA standby current

A 4-Mb CMOS SRAM having 0.2-μA standby current at a supply voltage of 3 V has been developed. Current-mirror/PMOS cross-coupled cascade sense-amplifier circuits have achieved the fast address access time of 23 ns. A new noise-immune data-latch circuit has attained power-reduction characteristics at a low operating cycle time without access delay. A 0.5-μm CMOS, four-level poly, two-level metal technology with a polysilicon PMOS load memory cell, yielded a small cell area of 17 μm² and the very small standby current. A quadruple-array, word-decoder architecture allowed a small chip area of 122 mm²