Variable voltage bit line precharge
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsAtul Katoch, Adrian Earle
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A memory device includes an array of memory cells, a bit line connected to the memory cells, and a power supply voltage input terminal configured to receive a power supply voltage at a first voltage level to operate the memory cells at the first voltage level. A bit line precharge circuit has an input terminal configured to receive the power supply voltage at the first voltage level, and the bit line precharge circuit is configured to precharge the bit lines to a second voltage level lower than the first voltage level.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- providing a memory array including a memory cell connected to a bit line;
- setting a precharge voltage at a first voltage level;
- precharging the bit line to the first voltage level;
- determining whether a data value of the memory cell has flipped from an initial value;
- and
- if the data value of the memory cell has not flipped, then reducing the precharge voltage to a second voltage level lower than the first voltage level.
A memory precharge system, comprising:
- a power supply voltage input terminal configured to receive a power supply voltage at a first voltage level;
- a bit line precharge circuit having an output terminal configured to output a second voltage level lower than the first voltage level and precharge a memory bit line to the second voltage level,
- wherein the second voltage level is determined by:
- setting a precharge voltage at the first voltage level;
- precharging the memory bit line to the first voltage level;
- determining whether a data value of the memory cell has flipped from an initial value;
- and
- if the data value of the memory cell has not flipped, then reducing the precharge voltage to the second voltage level lower than the first voltage level.
A method, comprising:
- providing a memory array including a memory cell connected to a bit line;
- precharging the bit line to a first voltage level;
- determining whether a data value of the memory cell has flipped from an initial value;
- and
- if the data value of the memory cell has flipped, then increasing the precharge voltage to a second voltage level.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.