US Patent No: 7,046,568
Number of patents in Portfolio can not be more than 2000
Memory sensing circuit and method for low voltage operation
Stats
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May 16, 2006
Issued date -
Dec 16, 2004
filing date -
11/015,199
serial no -
In Force
status
ALSO PUBLISHED AS:
20050169082
Importance
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Abstract
A sensing module operates with a sense amplifier sensing a conduction current of a memory cell via a coupled bit line under constant voltage condition in order to minimize bit-line to bit-line coupling. The rate of discharge of a dedicated capacitor as measured by a change in the voltage drop there across in a predetermined period is used to indicate the magnitude of the conduction current. The voltage cannot drop below a minimum level imposed by a circuit for maintaining the constant voltage condition on the bit line. A voltage shifter is used to boost the voltage during the discharge and to unboost the voltage after the discharge, so that the change in voltage drop properly reflects the rate of discharge without running into the minimum level.
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First Claim
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International Classification(s)
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Cited Art Landscape
| Patent Info | (Count) | # Cites | Year |
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| 6,046,935 Semiconductor device and memory system | 627 | 1999 | |
| 6,046,940 Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device | 75 | 1999 | |
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| 6,744,667 BIT LINE CONTROL DECODER CIRCUIT, VIRTUAL GROUND TYPE NONVOLATILE SEMICONDUCTOR STORAGE DEVICE PROVIDED WITH THE DECODER CIRCUIT, AND DATA READ METHOD OF VIRTUAL GROUND TYPE NONVOLATILE SEMICONDUCTOR STORAGE DEVICE | 50 | 2002 | |
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| 5,093,806 Sensing and decoding scheme for a BiCMOS read/write memory | 62 | 1989 | |
Patent Citation Ranking
Maintenance Fees
| Fee | Large entity fee | small entity fee | micro entity fee | due date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.5 Year Payment | $3600.00 | $1800.00 | $900.00 | Nov 16, 2013 |
| 11.5 Year Payment | $7400.00 | $3700.00 | $1850.00 | Nov 16, 2017 |
| Fee | Large entity fee | small entity fee | micro entity fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surcharge - 7.5 year - Late payment within 6 months | $160.00 | $80.00 | $40.00 |
| Surcharge - 11.5 year - Late payment within 6 months | $160.00 | $80.00 | $40.00 |
| Surcharge after expiration - Late payment is unavoidable | $700.00 | $350.00 | $175.00 |
| Surcharge after expiration - Late payment is unintentional | $1,640.00 | $820.00 | $410.00 |