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US 9,070,422 B2Granted
Apparatus and method for sense amplifying
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsCaleb Yu-Sheng Cho, Jih-Chen Wang, Yu-Fan Lin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A sense amplifier includes four sub-circuits: pre-charge, sense enable, sense output, and buffer. The pre-charge sub-circuit provides a voltage between zero volts and the positive power supply (denoted VDD) to the sense enable sub-circuit. The sense enable sub-circuit is configured to adjust the received voltage based on the sensed value of bit lines and sends the adjusted voltage to the sense output sub-circuit. The sense output sub-circuit removes interference, inverts and amplifies the adjusted voltage, and sends an output voltage to the buffer sub-circuit. The buffer sub-circuit amplifies the output voltage of the sense output sub-circuit and provides it to an output bus.
Claims21
A sense amplifier comprising:
- a pre-charge sub-circuit configured to provide a pre-charge voltage to a sense enable sub-circuit, wherein said pre-charge voltage is a voltage between zero volts and the voltage of a positive power supply node;
- said sense enable sub-circuit configured to sense a voltage difference between a pair of bit lines to which the sense enable sub-circuit is coupled, to adjust the received pre-charge voltage based on said voltage difference between the pair of bit lines, and to output the adjusted voltage to a sense output sub-circuit;
- and
- said sense output sub-circuit configured to receive the adjusted voltage via a coupling capacitor and to invert and to amplify said adjusted voltage.
1 more element
A sense amplifier comprising:
- a pre-charge sub-circuit for providing a pre-charge voltage to a sense enable sub-circuit, wherein said pre-charge voltage is a voltage between zero volts and the voltage of a positive power supply node;
- said sense enable sub-circuit for reading bit lines values, adjusting the received pre-charge voltage based on said bit line values, and sending the adjusted voltage to a sense output sub-circuit;
- said sense output sub-circuit for inverting and amplifying said adjusted voltage;
- and
- a capacitor providing capacitive coupling between said sense enable sub-circuit and said sense output sub-circuit.
2 more elements
A method comprising:
- providing a pre-charge voltage from a pre-charge sub-circuit to a sense enable sub-circuit, wherein said pre-charge voltage is a voltage between zero volts and the voltage of a positive power supply node;
- raising or lowering the received pre-charge voltage at said sense enable sub-circuit based on bit line values sensed at said sense enable sub-circuit;
- providing the adjusted voltage to a sense output sub-circuit;
- and
- inverting and amplifying said adjusted voltage at said sense output sub-circuit.
2 more elements
A sense amplifier comprising:
- a pre-charge sub-circuit configured to provide a pre-charge voltage to a sense enable sub-circuit, wherein said pre-charge sub-circuit comprises an inverter disposed in parallel with a switch, with both inverter and switch connected to a common node linking said pre-charge sub-circuit with said sense enable sub-circuit and said sense output sub-circuit;
- said sense enable sub-circuit configured to sense a voltage difference between a pair of bit lines to which the sense enable sub-circuit is coupled, to adjust the received pre-charge voltage based on said voltage difference between the pair of bit lines, and to output the adjusted voltage to a sense output sub-circuit;
- and
- said sense output sub-circuit configured to receive the adjusted voltage via a coupling capacitor and to invert and to amplify said adjusted voltage.
1 more element
A sense amplifier comprising:
- a pre-charge sub-circuit configured to provide a pre-charge voltage to a sense enable sub-circuit;
- said sense enable sub-circuit configured to sense a voltage difference between a pair of bit lines to which the sense enable sub-circuit is coupled, to adjust the received pre-charge voltage based on said voltage difference between the pair of bit lines, and to output the adjusted voltage to a sense output sub-circuit, wherein said sense enable sub-circuit comprises a first transistor of a first type, and a first transistor of a second type, the first transistor of the first type configured such that its source is connected to a positive power supply node, its gate is connected to an inverse sense enable line, and its drain is connected to a common node coupling said sense enable sub-circuit to said pre-charge sub-circuit and to said sense output sub-circuit;
- the first transistor of the second type configured such that its drain is connected to said common node, its gate is connected to a sense enable line, and its source is coupled to ground;
- and
- said sense output sub-circuit configured to receive the adjusted voltage via a coupling capacitor and to invert and to amplify said adjusted voltage.
2 more elements
A sense amplifier comprising:
- a pre-charge sub-circuit configured to provide a pre-charge voltage to a sense enable sub-circuit;
- said sense enable sub-circuit configured to sense a voltage difference between a pair of bit lines to which the sense enable sub-circuit is coupled, to adjust the received pre-charge voltage based on said voltage difference between the pair of bit lines, and to output the adjusted voltage to a sense output sub-circuit;
- and
- said sense output sub-circuit configured to receive the adjusted voltage via a coupling capacitor and to invert and to amplify said adjusted voltage, wherein said sense output sub-circuit comprises an inverter, a switch, and the coupling capacitor, configured such that the coupling capacitor is disposed in series between said sense enable sub-circuit and said inverter, and said inverter is disposed in parallel with said switch.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.