Semiconductor device having internal power supply voltage generation circuit

Abstract

The composing circuit outputs a lower voltage out of voltages output from the constant voltage generation circuit and the dummy pump circuit as a voltage to the sensing circuit. The sensing circuit compares voltages to generate a pump activation signal for activating the pump circuit. Since when an external power supply voltage is a low voltage, the voltage applied to the sensing circuit will be an output voltage of the dummy pump circuit having the same output characteristics as those of the pump circuit in place of the reference voltage, no pump activation signal is generated. As a result, when the external power supply voltage is a low voltage, power consumption can be suppressed without uselessly outputting a pump activation signal.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.