Semiconductor memory device including circuit for blocking operation of bias circuit, and method of generating bias voltage
AssigneeSamsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
InventorJun-bae Kim
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Provided are a semiconductor memory device comprising a blocking circuit that blocks the operation of a bias circuit, and a method of generating a bias voltage. In the semiconductor memory device, the bias circuit is disabled by using the blocking circuit in a self-refresh mode, and the output terminal of the bias circuit is not electrically floated, but precharged to a specific voltage by a target current supply circuit while the bias circuit is disabled. Accordingly, it is possible to significantly reduce power consumption in the self-refresh mode without affecting the characteristics of analog circuits connected to the output terminal of the bias circuit.
Claims16
A semiconductor memory device with at least one analog circuit, comprising:
- a bias circuit configured to generate a bias voltage and to supply the bias voltage to the at least one analog circuit;
- a blocking circuit configured to block the operation of the bias circuit in a self-refresh mode of the semiconductor memory device;
- and
- a target current supply circuit configured to supply a target current to an output terminal of the bias circuit while the blocking circuit blocks the operation of the bias circuit.
A method of generating a bias voltage in a semiconductor memory device with at least one analog circuit, the method comprising:
- generating the bias voltage and supplying the bias voltage to the at least one analog circuit in a normal operation mode of the semiconductor memory device;
- blocking the generation of the bias voltage in a self-refresh mode of the semiconductor memory device;
- and
- supplying a target current to an input terminal of the analog circuit when the generation of the bias voltage is blocked.
A semiconductor memory device with at least one analog circuit, comprising:
- a bias circuit configured to generate a bias voltage and to supply the bias voltage to the at least one analog circuit;
- a blocking circuit configured to block the operation of the bias circuit in a self-refresh mode of the semiconductor memory device, wherein the blocking circuit is configured to disable the bias circuit in response to a control signal indicating the self-refresh mode;
- and
- a target current supply circuit configured to supply a target current to an output terminal of the bias circuit while the blocking circuit blocks the operation of the bias circuit, the target current supply circuit comprising:
- a resistor, one end of which is connected to a supply voltage source;
- and
- a switch connected between the other end of the resistor and the output terminal of the bias circuit, the switch configured to be turned on when the operation of the bias circuit is blocked.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.