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US 8,787,098 B2Granted
System and method of reference cell testing
AssigneeQUALCOMM Incorporated
InventorsJung Pill Kim, Taehyun Kim, Hari M. Rao
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and methods of testing a reference cell in a memory array are disclosed. In a particular embodiment, a method includes coupling a first reference cell of a first reference cell pair of a memory array to a first input of a first sense amplifier of the memory array. The method also includes providing a reference signal to a second input of the first sense amplifier. The reference signal is associated with a second reference cell pair of the memory array.
Claims21
A method comprising:
- coupling a first reference cell of a first reference cell pair of a memory array to a first input of a first sense amplifier of the memory array;
- and
- providing a reference signal to a second input of the first sense amplifier, wherein the reference signal is associated with a second reference cell pair of the memory array.
A method of comprising:
- a first step for coupling a first reference cell of a first reference cell pair of a memory array to a first input of a first sense amplifier of the memory array;
- and
- a second step for providing a reference signal to a second input of the first sense amplifier, wherein the reference signal is associated with a second reference cell pair of the memory array.
A method comprising:
- receiving a data file comprising design information corresponding to a semiconductor device;
- and
- fabricating the semiconductor device according to the design information, wherein the semiconductor device comprises:
- a sense amplifier within a memory array, the sense amplifier operable to test a first reference cell of the memory array, the sense amplifier comprising:
- a data input to receive a first signal from the first reference cell;
- a reference input to receive a second signal from a reference source, wherein the reference source is a second reference cell pair of the memory array;
- and
- comparator circuitry to output a comparator output value that is based on the first signal received at the data input and upon the second signal received at the reference input;
- and
- switching circuitry that is operable to reversibly couple the first reference cell to the data input.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.