A 1.6-GB/s data-rate 1-Gb synchronous DRAM with hierarchicalsquare-shaped memory block and distributed bank architecture

This paper describes key techniques for a 1.6-GB/s high data-rate 1-Gb synchronous DRAM (SDRAM). Its high data transfer rate and large memory capacity are targeted to the advanced unified memory system in which a single DRAM (array) is used as both the main memory and the three-dimensional (3-D) graphics frame memory in a time sharing fashion. The 200-MHz high-speed operation is achieved by the unique hierarchical square-shaped memory block (SSMB) layout and the novel distributed bank (D-BANK) architecture. A 0.29 μm² cell and 581.8 mm² small die area are achieved using 0.15-μm CMOS technology. The ×61 chip uses 196-pin BGA type chip-scale-package (CSP). Implementation of a built-in self-test (BIST) circuit with a margin test capability is also described     

16-Mb synchronous DRAM with 125-Mbyte/s data rate

In order to keep up with the growing need for memory bandwidth at low cost, a new synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) architecture is proposed. The SDRAM has programmable latency, burst length, and burst type for wide variety of applications. The experimental 16M SDRAM (2M×8) achieves a 125-Mbyte/s data rate using 0.5-μm twin well CMOS technology     

A 2.5-V, 333-Mb/s/pin, 1-Gbit, double-data-rate synchronous DRAM

A double data rate (DDR) at 333 Mb/s/pin is achieved for a 2.5-V, 1-Gb synchronous DRAM in a 0.14-μm CMOS process. The large density of integration and severe device fluctuation present challenges in dealing with the on-chip skews, packaging, and processing technology. Circuit techniques and schemes of outer DQ and inner control (ODIC) chip with a non-ODIC package, cycle-time-adaptive wave pipelining, and variable-stage analog delay-locked loop with the three-input phase detector can provide precise skew controls and increased tolerance to processing variations. DDR as a viable high-speed and low-voltage DRAM I/O interface is demonstrated     

Three-Dimensional Packaging Technology for Stacked DRAM With 3-Gb/s Data Transfer

A 3-D packaging technology is developed for stacked dynamic random access memory (DRAM) with through-silicon vias (TSVs). Eight different dry etchers were evaluated for deep Si etching. Highly doped poly-Si TSVs were used for vertical traces inside silicon and interconnection between DRAM chips to realize a DRAM-compatible process. Through optimization of process conditions and layout design, a fast poly-Si filling has been obtained. The entire packaging was carried out at the wafer level by using smart chip connection with feedthrough interposer (FTI) technology. A new bump and wiring structure for the FTI has also been developed for fine-pitch and low-cost bonding. Normal operation during DRAM read/write was confirmed on a 512-Mb DRAM with TSVs, with an I/F chip as a memory controller. Simulation and measurement of the transfer function of the FTI wiring showed a 3-Gb/s/pin data transfer capability.     

Design of a 250 Mbit/s biphase modulator

The letter explains the design of an accurate biphase modulator, which uses an ECLIII buffer and an RC network to interface between a baseband digital signal source and a double balanced mixer with two complementary IF ports. Under test, a modulation rate of at least 300 bit/s was achieved, using a carrier frequency up to 1 GHz.     

A 500-megabyte/s data-rate 4.5 M DRAM

A 512-kb×9 DRAM with a 500-Mbyte/s data transfer rate was developed. This high data rate was achieved by designing a DRAM core with a very high internal column bandwidth, and coupling this core with a block-oriented, small-swing, synchronous interface that uses skew-canceling clocks. The DRAM has a 1-kbyte×2-line sense-amp cache and is assembled in a 32-pin vertical surface-mount-type plastic package. The measurement results clearly verified the 500-Mbyte/s data rate     

A 32-bank 1 Gb self-strobing synchronous DRAM with 1 GByte/sbandwidth

This paper describes a 32-bank 1 Gb DRAM achieving 1 Gbyte/s (500 Mb/s/DQ pin) data bandwidth and the access time from RAS of 31 ns at V _cc=2.0 V and 25°C. The chip employs (1) a merged multibank architecture to minimize die area; (2) an extended small swing read operation and a single I/O line driving write scheme to reduce power consumption; (3) a self-strobing I/O schemes to achieve high bandwidth with low power dissipation; and (4) a block redundancy scheme with increased flexibility. The nonstitched chip with an area of 652 mm ² has been fabricated using 0.16 μm four-poly, four-metal CMOS process technology     

An open-loop clock deskewing circuit for high-speed synchronous DRAM

An open-loop clock deskewing circuit (CDC) for high-speed synchronous DRAM is described. Unlike the conventional circuits, the CDC does not require an additional measure delay line, thus power consumption is reduced. The delay is measured directly from the main delay line and both the input and output ports of the delay line are movable. The CDC provides a deskewed clock within two clock cycles.     

A speed-enhanced DRAM array architecture with embedded ECC

An array architecture with countermeasures for the smaller signal charge caused by scaling down is proposed. Based on a new access model, the combination of a hierarchical data bus configuration and multipurpose register (MPR) provides high-speed array access. The MPR also includes practical array-embedded error checking and correcting (ECC) with little area penalty and no access overhead in the page mode. The array architecture is applied to a scaled-down 16-Mb DRAM and has achieved high performance     

On-wafer BIST of a 200-Gb/s failed-bit search for 1-Gb DRAM

An on-wafer built-in self-test (BIST) technique has been developed to implement a 200 Gb/s failed-bit search for a 1-Gb DRAM. The BIST circuits include a 4-kb very-long word bus and an on-wafer test management unit to probe DRAM arrays and compress test results. The 1-Gb DRAM is fabricated as a test device using a 0.16-μm CMOS technology. As a result, the BIST reduces the wafer test time to less than 1/100 that of bit-by-bit testing     

A 45-ns 64-Mb DRAM with a merged match-line test architecture

A single 3.3-V 64-Mb dynamic RAM (DRAM) with a chip size of 233.8 mm² has been fabricated using 0.4-μm CMOS technology with double-level metallization. The dual-cell-plate (DCP) cell structure is applied with a cell size of 1.7 μm², and 30-fF cell capacitance has been achieved using an oxynitride layer (t_eff=5 nm) as the gate insulator. The RAM implements a new data-line architecture called the merged match-line test (MMT) to achieve faster access time and shorter test time with the least chip-area penalty. The MMT architecture makes it possible to get a RAS access time of 45 ns and reduces test time by 1/16000. A parallel MMT technique, which is an extended mode of MMT, leads to the further test-time reduction of 1/64000. Therefore, all 64 Mb are tested in only 1024 cycles, and the test time is only 150 μs with 150-ns cycle time     

一种用于14位250 MS/s ADC的3.5 Gb/s发送器

提出了一种用于14位250 MS/s ADC的数据发送器。该发送器输出采用电流模驱动方式,最高数据传输速率达3.5 Gb/s,数据输出仅需要2个数据端口。电路采用180 nm 1.8 V 1P5M CMOS工艺实现。测试结果表明,该发送器在3.5 Gb/s速率下的输出信号摆幅为800 mV,抖动峰峰值为100 ps,功耗为32 mW。采用该3.5 Gb/s数据发送器的ADC在250 MHz采样率下得到的信噪比为71.1 dBFS,无杂散动态范围为77.6 dB。     

A 1.6 Gbyte/s data transfer rate 8 Mb embedded DRAM

An 8 Mb embedded DRAM has been developed. The salient feature of this embedded DRAM is page fault tolerance. Accessing across different pages can be performed using a minimum column cycle. This feature is achieved by placing a data latch and a transfer gate between the bit line sense amplifier and the column select gate. This DRAM can be reconfigured as separated 2 Mb units when it is embedded as a macro cell of an ASIC library     

A 5.6-ns random cycle 144-Mb DRAM with 1.4 Gb/s/pin and DDR3-SRAM interface

This paper describes a 144-Mb DRAM that operates at a random cycle of 5.6 ns and is capable of producing data rates of 1.4 Gb/s/pin. The 121-mm/sup 2/ die is fabricated in a 0.13-/spl mu/m logic-based process with embedded DRAM. The cycle time is achieved using an early-write sensing technique that eliminates most of the timing overhead associated with the write cycle. Dynamic-precharge decoding in the subarray decode path is implemented to improve the access time. An improved data-formatting circuit is used to arrange the exit order of the eight-word burst. These circuit techniques produce latencies of 5.0 ns. The DRAM uses a DDR3-SRAM interface and is function and package compatible with industry-standard DDR3 SRAMs. Highlights of the DDR3 interface include the use of active termination circuitry on all inputs. The active termination improves the data-eye window and improves data capturing with minimum data setup and hold.     

Synthesis of synchronous communication hardware in a multiprocessor architecture

ESPA is a high level synthesis tool targeted at the design of synchronous communication hardware in a multiprocessor architecture. IO communication can also be handled. It makes use of a new memory based architectural model which allows ESPA to generate efficient solutions for audio, speech and telecom applications. This will be shown using a complex example taken from a compact disc application.     

An embedded DRAM with a 143-MHz SRAM interface using a sense-synchronized read/write

This paper describes a 4-Mb embedded DRAM macro using novel fast random cycle architecture with sense-synchronized read/write (SSR/SSW). The test chip has been fabricated with a 0.15-/spl mu/m logic-based embedded DRAM process and the 1.5-V 143-MHz no-wait row random access operation has been confirmed. Data retention power is suppressed to 92 /spl mu/W owing to the hierarchical power supply and SSR. The macro size is 4.59 mm/sup 2/. The cell occupation ratio of the macro is 46%, which is the same as that of a conventional embedded DRAM macro. The macro size and the data retention power are 30% and 4.6%, respectively, of a 4-Mb embedded SRAM macro fabricated by an identical process.     

A 3.6-Gb/s point-to-point heterogeneous-voltage-capable DRAM interface for capacity-scalable memory subsystems

We describe a DRAM interface operating at 3.6 Gb/s/pin implemented in 130-nm CMOS logic and 110-nm DRAM process technologies. It utilizes simultaneous bidirectional (SBD) signaling in a daisy-chained (repeated), point-to-point configuration to enable high performance scalable memory subsystems; and also provides direct attach capability for DRAMs to memory controllers or other logic devices. Source-synchronous strobes are used for data capture, minimizing strobe-to-data jitter. A low-jitter differential clock retimes the data at each DRAM on a per DIMM basis preventing jitter from accumulating in repeated data. The phase of this clock is adjusted on each DRAM to minimize the latency of the repeaters. 80 mW of total power is dissipated per DRAM I/O at 3.6 Gb/s. We present results from a system using both memory controller and DRAM repeater test chips.     

A 5-GByte/s data-transfer scheme with bit-to-bit skew control forsynchronous DRAM

This paper describes a 5-GByte/s data-transfer scheme suitable for synchronous DRAM memory. To achieve a higher data-transfer frequency, the properties were improved based on the frequency analysis of the memory system. Then, a bit-to-bit skew compensation technique that eliminates incongruent skew between the signals is described with a new, multioutput controlled delay circuit to accomplish bit-to-bit skew compensation by controlling transmission timing of every data bit. Simulated maximum data-transfer rate of the proposed memory system resulted in 5.1/5.8 GByte/s (321/365 MHz, ×64 bit, double data rate) for data write/read operation, respectively     

A 2.5-V, 72-Mbit, 2.0-GByte/s packet-based DRAM with a 1.0-Gbps/pininterface

A 2.5-V, 72-Mbit DRAM based on packet protocol has been developed using (1) a rotated hierarchical I/O architecture to reduce power noise and to minimize the chip-size penalty associated with an 8-bit prefetch architecture implemented with 16 internal banks and 144 I/O lines, (2) a delay-locked-loop circuit using a high-speed and small-swing differential clock to achieve the peak bandwidth of 2.0 GByte/s in a single chip with low noise sensitivity, and (3) a flexible column redundancy scheme to efficiently increase redundancy coverage using a shifted I/O line scheme for multibank architecture     

一种四通道16位250 MS/s A/D转换器

采用0.18μm CMOS工艺设计了一种四通道16位250 MS/s A/D转换器(ADC)。该转换器采用时间交织与流水线结合的结构,内部包含基准、时钟和数字校准等单元。芯片测试结果表明,开启数字校准后,动态指标SNR、SFDR分别达到73 dBFS和90 dBFS,通道功耗为0.25 W,优值(FoM)为0.25 pJ/(conv·step)。