Temperature compensated self-refresh (TCSR) circuit having a temperature sensor limiter

Abstract

A temperature-compensated self-refresh circuit (TCSR) for use in a semiconductor memory device includes a temperature sensor, which is controlled by a temperature sensor control signal, for outputting a temperature voltage based on a temperature; a voltage comparison unit for comparing a reference voltage with the temperature voltage; a delay unit for delaying a signal outputted from the voltage comparison unit; a control unit for generating the temperature sensor control signal in response to a temperature limit signal and a temperature sensor enable signal and a temperature-compensated refresh cycle signal in response to a delayed signal from the delay unit; and a temperature sensor limiter, which is reset by the refresh cycle signal, for generating the temperature sensor limit signal based on a refresh basic cycle signal and the temperature-compensated refresh cycle signal when the temperature sensor is not used.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.