# US 10,310,536 B2 · Semiconductor device having a mismatch detection and correction circuit

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- Number: US 10,310,536 B2
- Document ID: US10310536B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/166,392
- Filed: 2016-05-27
- Published: 2017-01-26
- Granted: 2019-06-04
- Earliest claimed: 2015-07-23
- Assignees: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Joo-Seong Kim; Sang-Ho Kim; Kwang-Ho Kim
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10310536B2

## CPC

- G05F 3/245: {producing a voltage or current as a predetermined function of the temperature}
- G01K 7/01: using semiconducting elements having PN junctions (G01K7/02, G01K7/16, G01K7/30 take precedence)
- G01K 15/005: {Calibration}
- G01R 31/2829: {Testing of circuits in sensor or actuator systems (testing of apparatus for measuring electric or magnetic variables G01R35/00; testing of indicating or recording apparatus G01D; in airbag systems B60R21/0173; checking gas analysers G01N33/007; monitoring or fail-safe circuits for electromagnets H01F7/1844)}
- G05F 3/262: {using field-effect transistors only}
- G01R 31/2856: {Internal circuit aspects, e.g. built-in test features; Test chips; Measuring material aspects, e.g. electro migration [EM]}
- G05F: SYSTEMS FOR REGULATING ELECTRIC OR MAGNETIC VARIABLES
- G01K: MEASURING TEMPERATURE; MEASURING QUANTITY OF HEAT; THERMALLY-SENSITIVE ELEMENTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (radiation pyrometry G01J5/00)
- G01R: MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES (indicating correct tuning of resonant circuits H03J3/12)

## Abstract

A semiconductor device includes: an integrated circuit (IC) including an internal circuit; and a mismatch detection and correction circuit connected to the internal circuit of the IC, the mismatch detection and correction circuit configured to detect a process mismatch and correct an error in the internal circuit caused by the process mismatch using a current difference between a first current and a second current based on a charged voltage of a capacitor.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A semiconductor device, comprising:
an integrated circuit (IC) including an internal circuit; and
a mismatch detection and correction circuit connected to the internal circuit of the IC, the mismatch detection and correction circuit configured to detect a process mismatch and correct an error in the internal circuit caused by the process mismatch using a current difference between a first current and a second current based on a charged voltage of a capacitor,
wherein the process mismatch is due to a variation in the manufacture of the internal circuit.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein the mismatch detection and correction circuit detects a threshold voltage mismatch and a source-drain conductance mismatch of a transistor of the IC.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein the mismatch detection and correction circuit comprises:
a first transistor connected between a power supply and a first terminal of a first switch;
the capacitor connected between the power supply and a first terminal of a second switch;
a second transistor connected between the power supply and a first terminal of a third switch; and
a third transistor connected between second terminals of the first, second, and third switches and a ground voltage,
wherein the third transistor is controlled by a bias voltage,
wherein gates of the first and second transistors are connected to a connection node between the capacitor and the second switch.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The device of claim 3, wherein when the first and second switches are turned on and the third switch is turned off, the first current is supplied to the first transistor, and
when the first and second switches are turned off and the third switch is turned on, the second current is supplied to the second transistor, and the current difference between the first current and the second current is detected as a threshold voltage mismatch of a transistor of the IC.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The device of claim 4, wherein the bias voltage is adjusted such that the first current is equal to the second current, and an error caused by the threshold voltage mismatch of the transistor of the IC is corrected by using a recovery current supplied to the third transistor in response to the adjusted bias voltage.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein the mismatch detection and correction circuit comprises:
a first transistor connected between a power supply and a first node;
a second transistor connected between the power supply and a second node;
a third transistor connected between the first node and a first terminal of a first switch;
the capacitor connected between the power supply and a first terminal of a second switch;
a fourth transistor connected between the second node and a first terminal of a third switch; and
a fifth transistor connected between second terminals of the first, second, and third switches and a ground voltage,
wherein the fifth transistor is controlled by a first bias voltage,
wherein gates of the first and second transistors are connected to a connection node between the capacitor and the second switch, and gates of the third and fourth transistors are connected to second and third bias voltages.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The device of claim 6, wherein the second and third bias voltages connected to the gates of the third and fourth transistors are equal to one another,
when the first and second switches are turned on and the third switch is off, the first current is supplied to the first transistor, and
when the first and second switches are turned off and the third switch is turned on, the second current is supplied to the second transistor, and a threshold voltage mismatch of a transistor of the IC is determined by the current difference between the first current and the second current.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The device of claim 7, wherein the first bias voltage is adjusted such that the first current is equal to the second current, and an error caused by the threshold voltage mismatch of the transistor of the IC is corrected by using a recovery current added to the fifth transistor in response to the adjusted first bias voltage.

### Claim 9 (depends on 6)

The device of claim 6, wherein when the second bias voltage is the ground voltage, the first current is supplied to the first transistor due to a first voltage difference between a source and a drain of the first transistor,
wherein the third bias voltage is different from the second bias voltage, and when the third bias voltage is applied to the fourth transistor, the second current is supplied to the second transistor due to a second voltage difference between a source and a drain of the second transistor, and
the third bias voltage is varied such that the second voltage difference is larger than the first voltage difference, and a source-drain conductance mismatch of the transistor of the IC is determined by the current difference between the first current and the second current.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The device of claim 9, wherein the first bias voltage is varied such that the first current is equal to the second current, and an error caused by the source-drain conductance mismatch of the transistor is corrected in response to the adjusted first bias voltage.