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US 8,867,281 B2Granted
Hybrid chargepump and regulation means and method for flash memory device
AssigneeSilicon Storage Technology, Inc.
InventorsHieu Van Tran, Anh Ly, Thuan Vu, Hung Quoc Nguyen
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Abstract
A hybrid charge pump and control circuit for use in a memory device is disclosed.
Claims31
A hybrid charge pump for a flash memory device, comprising:
- a first charge pump comprising N charging stages, wherein N is a positive integer;
- a second charge pump comprising M charging stages, wherein M is a positive integer;
- and
- a switch coupling the first charge pump and the second charge pump;
- wherein when the switch is on, the first charge pump and second charge pump together comprise a third charge pump with N+M charging stages, and when the switch is off, the first charge pump and second charge pump act as separate charge pumps providing a positive voltage output and a negative voltage output.
2 more elements
A charge pump for a flash memory device, comprising:
- a first switch coupled to a first voltage input;
- a second switch coupled to a second voltage input;
- a plurality of charging stages coupled to the first switch and the second switch and comprising a first output node and a second output node;
- wherein when the first switch is on and the second switch is off, the first output node outputs a positive voltage larger than the voltage of the first voltage input, and when the first switch is off and the second switch is on, the second output node outputs a negative voltage lower than the voltage of the second voltage input.
1 more element
A hybrid charge pump control circuit for a flash memory device, comprising:
- a first input;
- a second input;
- a first switch;
- a second switch;
- a first set of transistors for stepping down the voltage of the first input;
- a second set of transistors for stepping up the voltage of the second input;
- a first reference voltage;
- a second reference voltage;
- a comparator for comparing the first reference voltage with an output of the first set of transistors when the first switch is on and the second switch is off and for comparing the second reference voltage with an output of the second set of transistors when the first switch is off and the second switch is on, wherein the comparator generates an output for controlling a charge pump.
6 more elements
A voltage inverter circuit for a flash memory device, comprising:
- a first switch comprising a first terminal connected to an input of the inverter circuit and a second terminal connected to a first capacitor;
- a second switch comprising a first terminal connected to the first capacitor and a second terminal connected to ground;
- a first set of one or more transistors coupled between the first capacitor and ground;
- and
- a second set of one or more transistors coupled between the first capacitor and an output of the inverter circuit,
- wherein the inverter circuit inverts a voltage on the input to generate a voltage on the output.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.