Semiconductor device
AssigneeSemiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
InventorMunehiro Kozuma
Life of this patent
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Abstract
To provide a highly reliable and low-power-consumption semiconductor device functioning as a programmable logic device. A monitor circuit is provided to monitor a change in the potential of a configuration memory in which a transistor is turned off to hold charge and a potential corresponding to the charge is stored as configuration data. The reset of the configuration data is controlled in accordance with the potential change. With such a structure, the configuration memory can be reconfigured before the configuration data is lost, resulting in improved reliability of the semiconductor device. In addition, reconfiguration can be performed every time data is lost. Accordingly, power consumption can be reduced as compared with the structure where reconfiguration is performed periodically.
Claims17
A semiconductor device comprising:
- a programmable circuit;
- a monitor circuit comprising a node, a first transistor, and a first capacitor;
- and
- a controller,
- wherein the programmable circuit comprises:
- a programmable switch element comprising a first configuration memory;
- and
- a programmable logic element comprising a second configuration memory,
- wherein one of a source and a drain of the first transistor is electrically connected to the node,
- wherein the node is electrically connected to the first capacitor,
- wherein the monitor circuit is configured to monitor a potential of the node and output a first signal representing a change of the potential of the node to the controller,
- wherein the controller is configured to output a second signal in accordance with the first signal, and
- wherein each of the first configuration memory and the second configuration memory is reconfigured in accordance with the second signal.
A semiconductor device comprising:
- a programmable circuit;
- a monitor circuit comprising a node, a first transistor, and a first capacitor;
- a controller;
- and
- a memory device,
- wherein the programmable circuit comprises:
- a programmable switch element comprising a first configuration memory;
- and
- a programmable logic element comprising a second configuration memory,
- wherein one of a source and a drain of the first transistor is electrically connected to the node,
- wherein the node is electrically connected to the first capacitor,
- wherein the monitor circuit is configured to monitor a potential of the node and output a signal representing a change of the potential of the node to the controller, and
- wherein the controller is configured to read a configuration data stored in the memory device in accordance with the signal.
A semiconductor device comprising:
- a programmable circuit comprising:
- a first transistor;
- and
- a first capacitor;
- a monitor circuit comprising:
- a node;
- a second transistor;
- and
- a second capacitor;
- a controller;
- and
- a memory device,
- wherein the programmable circuit comprises:
- a programmable switch element comprising a first configuration memory;
- and
- a programmable logic element comprising a second configuration memory,
- wherein the monitor circuit is configured to monitor a potential of the node and output a first signal representing a change of the potential of the node to the controller,
- wherein the controller is configured to read a configuration data stored in the memory device in accordance with the first signal,
- wherein the first transistor is electrically connected to the first capacitor, and
- wherein the second transistor is electrically connected to the second capacitor at the node.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.