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US 11,886,376 B2Granted
Apparatus including reconfigurable interface and methods of manufacturing the same
AssigneeMicron Technology, Inc.
InventorsWon Joo Yun, Sang-Hoon Shin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus including reconfigurable interface circuits and associated systems and methods are disclosed herein. An reconfigurable interface circuit may include an output buffer and an input buffer coupled to a connector for respectively generating and receiving signals. The reconfigurable interface circuit may include a control circuit configured to control operation of the input and output buffers along with additional circuits to selectively implement one or more from a set of selectable communication settings.
Claims21
A memory device, comprising:
- a connector configured to communicate signals with an external circuit;
- a variable output source configured to provide a variable driver voltage;
- an output buffer coupled to the connector and the variable output source, the output buffer configured to generate output signals based on the variable driver voltage, wherein the output signals are sent to the external circuit through the connector;
- a variable reference generator configured to provide a variable signal reference;
- an input buffer coupled to the connector and the variable reference generator, the input buffer configured to receive input signals from the external circuit through the connector, wherein the input signals are received based on the variable signal reference;
- and
- a control circuit configured to control the variable output source, the output buffer, the variable reference generator, the input buffer, or a combination thereof to selectively configuring a communication setting for signals exchanged through the connector.
4 more elements
A method of operating a semiconductor device, the method comprising:
- accessing a setting representative of a communication setting for the semiconductor device;
- and
- according to the accessed setting, selectively controlling one or more components of the semiconductor device to select (1) a multi-drop communication configuration or a point-to-point communication configuration, (2) an input communication path and/or an output communication path, (3) a terminated path or a non-terminated path, (4) a single-ended communication configuration or a complementary communication configuration, or a combination thereof for communicated signals,
- wherein selectively controlling the one or more components includes:
- controlling an operating state of an output buffer configured to generate output signals based on a variable driver voltage that is set to one of at least two voltages;
- and
- controlling an operating state of an input buffer configured to receive input signals within a reading range up to a predetermined voltage from an external circuit according to a variable reference.
4 more elements
A method of operating a semiconductor device, the method comprising:
- accessing a setting representative of a communication setting for the semiconductor device;
- and
- according to the accessed setting, selectively controlling one or more components of the semiconductor device to select (1) a multi-drop communication configuration or a point-to-point communication configuration, (2) an input communication path and/or an output communication path, (3) a terminated path or a non-terminated path, (4) a single-ended communication configuration or a complementary communication configuration, or a combination thereof for communicated signals, wherein selectively controlling the one or more components includes:
- controlling an operating state of an output buffer configured to generate output signals based on a variable driver voltage, wherein controlling the operating state includes activating or deactivating a pull-up driver and a pull-down driver;
- setting the variable driver voltage to a system voltage, an intermediate voltage less than the system voltage, or an open circuit setting for generating the output signals;
- controlling an operating state of an input buffer configured to receive input signals from an external circuit according to a variable reference;
- and
- setting the variable reference to provide a reading range up to the system voltage or up to a reduced voltage for receiving the input signals.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.