Semiconductor integrated circuit device having internal supply voltage generating circuit
AssigneeMitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorTakashi Kono
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Abstract
In a precharge operation, when an external supply potential is lower than the lower limit determined by a specification, a VDC circuit in a sense amplifier operating voltage generating circuit supplies to a sense power supply line a potential equal to the external supply potential. When the external supply potential is higher than the lower limit determined by the specification, the VDC circuit supplies a potential equal to the lower limit of the external supply potential. Accordingly, a semiconductor integrated circuit device including this circuitry can achieve power savings without decrease in the sensing operation rate and without supply of charges more than necessary to memory cells.
Claims9
A semiconductor integrated circuit device comprising:
- a bit line pair;
- a memory cell connected to one of said bit line pair;
- a sense amplifier for amplifying a potential difference on said bit line pair generated by reading of data from said memory cell;
- and
- a sense amplifier operating voltage generating circuit for supplying a voltage to said sense amplifier in an active period of said sense amplifier,
- said sense amplifier operating voltage generating circuit including
- an internal potential supply node connected to said sense amplifier,
- a first voltage supply circuit for outputting, when an external supply voltage is higher than a predetermined voltage, said predetermined voltage as an output voltage to said internal potential supply node and outputting, when said external supply voltage is lower than the predetermined voltage, a voltage equal to said external supply voltage as the output voltage to said internal potential supply node, and
- a decoupling capacitor connected to said internal potential supply node.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.