Ferroelectric non-volatile logic elements
AssigneeRamtron International Corporation
InventorJarrod Eliason
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Various logic elements such as SR flip-flops, JK flip-flops, D-type flip-flops, master-slave flip-flops, parallel and serial shift registers, and the like are converted into non-volatile logic elements capable of retaining a current output logic state even though external power is removed or interrupted through the strategic addition of ferroelectric capacitors and supporting circuitry. In each case, the building blocks of a cross-coupled sense amplifier are identified within the logic element and the basic cell is modified and/or optimized for sensing performance.
Claims16
A ferroelectric, non-volatile, D-type flip-flop comprising:
- a D input;
- a Q output;
- a clocked transmission-gate based master stage having an input coupled to the D input, and an output;
- and
- a ferroelectric, non-volatile, transmission-gate based slave stage having an input coupled to the output of the master stage, at least one ferroelectric load capacitor, at least one ferroelectric storage capacitor, and an output coupled to the Q output.
A ferroelectric, non-volatile, D-type flip-flop comprising:
- a D input;
- a Q output;
- a ferroelectric, non-volatile, transmission-gate based master stage having an input coupled to the D input, at least one ferroelectric load capacitor, at least one ferroelectric storage capacitor, and an output;
- and
- a clocked transmission-gate based slave stage having an input coupled to the output of the master stage, and an output coupled to the Q output.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.