A 60-ns 16-Mbit CMOS DRAM with a transposed data-line structure

Low-noise, high-speed circuit techniques for high-density DRAMs (dynamic random-access memories), as well as their application to a single 5-V 16-Mb CMOS DRAM with a 3.3-V internal operating voltage for a memory array, are described. It was found that data-line interference noise becomes unacceptably high (more than 25% of the signal) and causes a serious problem in 16-Mb DRAM memory arrays. A transposed data-line structure is proposed to eliminate the noise. Noise suppression below 5% is confirmed using this transposed data-line structure. A current sense amplifier is also proposed to maintain the data-transmission speed in common I/O lines, in spite of a reduced operating voltage and increased parasitic capacitance loading in the memory array. A speed improvement of 10 ns is achieved. Using these circuit techniques, a 16-Mb CMOS DRAM with a typical RAS access time of 60 ns was realized     

A 60-ns 3.3-V-only 16-Mbit DRAM with multipurpose register

A single 3.3-V 16-Mbit DRAM with a 135-mm/sup 2/ chip size has been fabricated using a 0.5- mu m twin-well process with double-metal wiring. The array architecture, based on the twisted-bit-line (TBL) array, includes suitable dummy and space word-line configurations which suppress the inter-bit-line noise and bring yield improvement. The multipurpose register (MPR) designed for the hierarchical data bus structure provides a line-mode test (LMT), copy write, and cache access capability. The LMT with on-chip test circuits using the MPR and a comparator creates a random test pattern and reduces the test time to 1/1000. A field shield isolation and a T-shaped stacked capacitor allow the layout of a 4.8- mu m/sup 2/ cell size with a storage capacitance of 35 fF. These techniques enable the 3.3-V 16-Mbit DRAM to achieve a 60-ns RAS access time and 300-mW power dissipation at 120-ns cycle time.<>     

A 4-Mbit DRAM with half-internal-voltage bit-line precharge

A single 5-V supply 4-Mb dynamic random access memory (DRAM) was developed by using a buried-storage-electrode memory cell, a half-internal-voltage bit-line precharge method combined with a constant voltage converter, and a high signal-to-noise ratio sensing scheme. The chip was designed in a double-polycide, single-Al, epitaxial substrate NMOS technology with a 0.8-/spl mu/m minimum design rule. As a result, a 4M word/spl times/1-bit DRAM with 95-ns typical access time and 99.2-mm/SUP 2/ chip area was attained by 10.58-/spl mu/m/SUP 2/ storage cells.     

A 60-ns 4-Mbit CMOS DRAM with built-in selftest function

A 4-Mb CMOS DRAM measuring 6.9/spl times/16.11 mm/SUP 2/ has been fabricated using a 0.9-/spl mu/m twin-tub CMOS, triple-poly, single-metal process technology. N-channel depletion-type trench cells, 2.5/spl times/5.5 /spl mu/m/SUP 2/ each, are incorporated in a p-well. A novel built-in selftest (BIST) function which enables a simultaneous and automatic test of all the memory devices on a board is introduced to reduce the RAM testing time in a system. This function is effective for system maintenance and a daily start-up test even in a relatively small system. A high-speed low-power 4-Mb CMOS DRAM with 60-ns access time, 50-mA active current, and 200-/spl mu/A standby current is realized by widening the DQ line bus which connects the sense amplifiers with DQ buffers, thereby reducing the parasitic capacitance of the DQ lines.     

A 25-ns 4-Mbit CMOS SRAM with dynamic bit-line loads

A 25-ns 4-Mbit CMOS SRAM with 512 K word*8-bit organization has been developed. The RAM was fabricated using a 0.5- mu m double-poly and double-aluminum CMOS technology and was assembled in a 32-pin 400-mil DIP. A small cell size of 3.6*5.875 mu m/sup 2/ and a chip size of 7.46*17.41 mm/sup 2/ were obtained. A fast address access time of 25 ns with a single 3.3-V supply voltage has been achieved using the newly developed dynamic bit-line load (DBL) circuit scheme incorporated with an address transition detector (ATD), divided word-line structure (DWL), three-stage sense amplifier, and low-noise output circuit approach. A low operating current of 46 mA at 40 MHz and low standby currents of 70 mu A (TTL) and 5 mu A (CMOS) were also attained.<>     

A 65-ns 4-Mbit CMOS DRAM with a twisted driveline sense amplifier

A 4-Mb word/spl times/1-b/1-Mb word/spl times/4-b CMOS DRAM characterized by a twisted driveline sense-amplifier (TDSA) scheme and a multiphase drive circuit which enable faster access time and a smaller peak power supply current, respectively, is described. The implementation of an initialize mode with CAS-before-RAS (CBR) logic control, which reduces the memory-chip initialization time by almost a thousand times, is also discussed. The chip measures 6.38/spl times/17.38 mm/SUP 2/ and has been fabricated by using double-well CMOS technology with a minimum design rule of 0.8 /spl mu/m. A typical access time of 65 ns and a peak power supply current of less then 150 mA have been obtained.     

A 22-ns 1-Mbit CMOS high-speed DRAM with address multiplexing

Describes a 1-Mbit high-speed DRAM (HSDRAM), which has a nominal random access time of less than 27 ns and a column access time of 12 ns with address multiplexing. A double-polysilicon double-metal CMOS technology having PMOS arrays inside n-wells was developed with an average 1.3- mu m feature size. The chip has also been fabricated in a 0.9*shrunken version with an area of 67 mm/sup 2/, showing a 22-ns access time. The chip power consumption is lower than 500 mW at 60-ns cycle time. This HSDRAM, which provides SRAM-like speed while retaining DRAM-like density, allows DRAMs to be used in a broad new range of applications.<>     

A 16-Mbit DRAM with a relaxed sense-amplifier-pitch open-bit-linearchitecture

A 16-Mb dynamic RAM has been designed and fabricated using 0.5-μm CMOS technology with double-level metallization. It uses a novel trench-type surrounding high-capacitance cell (SCC) that measures only 3.3-μm² in cell size with a 63-fF storage capacitance. A novel relaxed sense-amplifier-pitch (RSAP) open-bit-line architecture used on the DRAM achieves a high-density memory cell array, while maintaining a large enough layout pitch for the sense amplifier. These concepts allow the small chip that measures 5.4×17.38 (93.85) mm² to be mounted in a 300-mil dual-in-line package with 65-ns RAS access time and 35-ns column address access time     

An experimental 80-ns 1-Mbit DRAM with fast page operation

An experimental general purpose 5-V 1-Mb dynamic RAM has been designed for increased performance, high density, and enhanced reliability. The array consists of a one-device overlapped I/O cell with a metal bitline architecture. The cell measures 4.1 /spl mu/m by 8.8 /spl mu/m, which yields a chip size of 5.5 mm by 10.5 mm with an array to chip area ratio of 65.5%. The chip was designed in a double-poly single-metal NMOS technology with selected 1-/spl mu/m levels and an average feature size of 1.5 /spl mu/m. Key design features include a fast page mode cycle with minimum column precharge delay and improved protection for short error rate using a boosted word-line after sense amplifier set scheme. The CAS access time is 40 ns and the cycle is 65 ns at 4.5 V and 85/spl deg/C. The RAS access time is 80 ns and the cycle is 160 ns at 4.5 V and 85/spl deg/C with a typical active power of 625 mW. The chip is usable as a X1, X2, or X4 with the use of block select inputs and the selected package option. The package options include a 500-mil/SUP 2/ pin grid array module with 23 pins, and a 22 pin or 26 pin 300-mil surface solder plastic package.     

A 4-Mbit DRAM with 16-bit concurrent ECC

A 256 K-word×16-bit dynamic RAM with concurrent 16-bit error correction code (ECC) has been built in 0.8-μm CMOS technology, with double-level metal and surrounding high-capacitance cell. The cell measures 10.12 μm² with a 90-fF storage capacitance. A duplex bit-line architecture used on the DRAM provides multiple-bit operations and the potential of high-speed data processing for ASIC memories. The ECC checks concurrently 16-bit data and corrects a 1-bit data error. This ECC method can be adapted to higher-bit ECC without expanding the memory array. The ratio of ECC area to the whole chip is 7.5%. The cell structure and the architecture allow for expansion to 16-Mb DRAM. The 4-Mb DRAM has a 70-ns RAS access time without ECC and a 90-ns RAS access time with ECC     

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 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 divided/shared bit-line sensing scheme for ULSI DRAM cores

A new dynamic RAM (DRAM) signal sensing principle, a divided/shared bit-line (DSB) sensing scheme, is proposed. This sensing scheme provides folded bit-line sensing operation in a crosspoint-type memory cell array. The DSB scheme offers a high-density DRAM memory core with the common-mode array noise eliminated. A bit-line architecture based on this new sensing principle and its operation are demonstrated. A divided/pausing bit-line sensing (DIPS) scheme, which is an application of this DSB principle to the conventional folded bit-line type of memory cell arrangement, is also proposed. The DIPS architecture achieves complete pausing states for alternate bit lines throughout the active period. These alternate pausing bit lines shield the inter-bit-line coupling noise between active bit lines. Here the inter-bit-line coupling noise is eliminated by a slight architectural change to the conventional folded bit-line memory cell array. These new memory core design alternatives provide high-density DRAM memory cores suitable for the 64-Mb level and beyond. with the memory array noise reduced significantly     

A reliable 1-Mbit DRAM with a multi-bit-test mode

A single 50V supply 1-Mb DRAM using a half V/SUB cc/ biased memory cell with a reduced electric field of 2 MV/cm and a shared sensing scheme for reasonable cell signal is described. A testability concept which allows 1/4 reduced test time, page/nibble functions including a continuous nibble mode, and an effective redundancy circuit are also described. A typical access time of 90 ns has been obtained using a titanium polycide world-line technology.     

A 20-ns 128-kbit×4 high speed DRAM with 330-Mbit/s data rate

The authors describe a high-speed DRAM (HSDRAM), designed primarily for high performance, while retaining the density advantage of the one-transistor DRAM cell. The 128-kb×4, 78-mm² chip shows a random access time of 20 ns and a column access time of 7.5 ns, measured at 5.0 V, 25°C, and 50-pF load. A 256-b×4 high-speed page mode is provided which has 12-ns cycle into 60 pF, resulting in a data rate of 330 Mb/s. Additional measurements on HSDRAM further demonstrate that DRAM operation in a high-speed regime is not precluded by noise, power, wiring delay, and soft error rate. The device is implemented in a 1.0 μm n-well CMOS process     

Dual-operating-voltage scheme for a single 5-V 16-Mbit DRAM

A dual-operating-voltage scheme (5 V for peripheral circuits and 3.3 V for the memory array) is shown to be the best approach for a single 5-V 16-Mb DRAM (dynamic random-access memory). This is because the conventional scaling rule cannot apply to DRAM design due to the inherent DRAM word-line boosting feature. A novel internal voltage generator to realize this approach is presented. Its features are the switching of two reference voltages, a driver using a PMOS-load differential amplifier, and the word-line boost based on the regulated voltage, which can ensure a wider memory margin than conventional circuits. This approach is applied to an experimental 16-Mb DRAM. A 0.5% supply-voltage dependency and 30-ns recovery time are achieved     

A 4-Mbit DRAM with trench-transistor cell

An experimental 5-V-only 1M-word/spl times/4-bit dynamic RAM with page and SCD modes has been built in a relatively conservative 1-/spl mu/m CMOS technology with double-level metal and deep trenches. It uses a cross-point one-transistor trench-transistor cell that measures only 9 /spl mu/m/SUP 2/. A double-ended adaptive folded bit-line architecture used on this DRAM provides the breakthrough needed to take full density advantage of this cross-point cell. The 30-fF storage capacitance of this cell is expected to provide high alpha immunity since the charge is stored in polysilicon and is oxide isolated from the substrate. A 150-ns now-address-stable access time and 40-ns column-address-strobe access time have been observed.     

A 55-ns 16-Mb DRAM with built-in self-test function usingmicroprogram ROM

A single 5-V power supply 16-Mb dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) has been developed using high-speed latched sensing and a built-in self-test (BIST) function with a microprogrammed ROM, in which automatic test pattern generation procedures were stored by microcoded programs. The chip was designed using a double-level Al wiring, 0.55-μm CMOS technology. As a result, a 16-Mb CMOS DRAM with 55-ns typical access time and 130-mm² chip area was attained by implementing 4.05-μm² storage cells. The installed ROM was composed of 18 words×10 b, where the marching test and checkerboard scan write/read test procedures were stored, resulting in successful self-test operation. As the BIST circuit occupies 1 mm² and the area overhead is about 1%, it proves to be promising for large-scale DRAMs     

A 70 ns 256K DRAM with bit-line shield

A 256K/spl times/1 dynamic RAM has been developed in a triple-poly, single-metal NMOS technology with a open bit-line architecture. Noncommon-mode noise inherent in the architecture is shielded by a third-level polysilicon plate placed between bit lines and signal lines. The die is 30.2 mm/SUP 2/ and is housed in the standard 300-mil and 16-pin dual-in-line plastic package. The RAM has a worst-case access time of 70 ns. Wire bonding of an extra bonding pad determines whether the RAM is for nibble mode or for page mode; this, it is noted, gives much flexibility to production. Laser repairable redundancy with eight spare columns is implemented for yield enhancement.     

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