# US 4,399,373 A · FET Power supply for MOS memories

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- Number: US 4,399,373 A
- Document ID: US4399373A
- Status: Granted
- Kind: A
- Application number: 06/315,790
- Filed: 1981-10-28
- Granted: 1983-08-16
- Earliest claimed: 1980-02-11
- Assignees: Rockwell International Corporation
- Inventors: Melvin L. Marmet
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US4399373A

## CPC

- G11C 17/08: using semiconductor devices, e.g. bipolar elements (G11C17/06, G11C17/14 take precedence)
- H03K 19/018507: {Interface arrangements}
- H03K 19/09443: {using a combination of enhancement and depletion transistors}
- G11C: STATIC STORES (semiconductor memory devices H10B)
- H03K: PULSE TECHNIQUE (measuring pulse characteristics G01R; modulating sinusoidal oscillations with pulses H03C; transmission of digital information H04L; discriminator circuits detecting phase difference between two signals by counting or integrating cycles of oscillation H03D3/04; automatic control, starting, synchronisation or stabilisation of generators of electronic oscillations or pulses where the type of generator is irrelevant or unspecified H03L; coding, decoding or code conversion, in general H03M)

## Abstract

The invention applies a reference voltage to a responsive means for producing a signal of one type in the absence of a semi-conductor at the addressed memory location, and applies a voltage less than the reference voltage to the responsive means for producing a signal of another type if a semi-conductor is present at the addressed memory location. The reference voltage is produced by a novel constant low voltage variable current source. The responsive means comprises inverter amplifier means. The reference voltage centers the small voltage swing on the bit line to the trigger point of the inverter amplifier. The means for determining the magnitude of voltage applied to the inverter is a pull up FET in series with the memory FET at the addressed location. If the electrical resistance of the FETs is similar, one half of the reference voltage will be applied to the inverter and it produces an off, or nearly off, type signal indicating presence; otherwise in the absence of a memory FET, full reference voltage is applied to the inverter to produce an on type signal indicating absence. Thus, the sense amplifier is independent of any reference voltage tracking the midpoint of the small bit line swing, and it is faster, requires less die area and restores full MOS output from a one volt signal swing.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A MOS FET power supply suitable for use in a sense amplifier for providing a substantially constant low voltage variable current source comprising in combination;
a current source FET and a load FET connected in series between a source of voltage and ground;
a second pair of FETs connected in series between said source of voltage and ground;
a feedback path from a junction of the current source FET and the load FET to a control gate for one of the FETs of said second pair; and
a voltage control path from a junction of the second pair of FETs to a control gate for said current source FET.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The power supply of claim 1 wherein:
both FETs of said first pair are of the depletion type; and
the FET of the second pair having said control gate being of the enhancement type, and the other FET of the second pair being of the depletion type.