Waferscale Integration, Inc.

Waferscale Integration, Incorporation

Cuong Trinh

Manik Advani

Alex Shubat

A sense amplifier includes: a pull-down device which contains a reference cell which is structurally identical to the PLD cells being sensed; and a pull-up device connected to form a current mirror which causes a saturation current of the pull-up device to be zero or greater than the current through the sensed cell. The pull-down device has a saturation current which tracks the current through the sensed cell. When current flows through the sensed cell, saturation current through the pull-up device exceeds the saturation current through the pull-down device, and an output node is pulled up. When no current flows through the sensed cell, no current flow through the pull-up device, and the pull-down device pulls the output node down. As a result, the sense amplifier exhibits a variable trip point which tracks variations cause by changes in device fabrication process, temperature, and power supply voltage. The reference cell in the sense amplifier conducts a current only during sensing, and therefore consumes no standby power.

Sense amplifier with read current tracking and zero standby power

Dummy circuitry, including a dummy input buffer, associated lines, and an additional row in the PLD array, provides an additional input to the PLD to keep the voltage on the bit line low until the correct input signal has fully propagated through the working input buffer and associated lines, thereby preventing a voltage glitch.

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Cuong Trinh