Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Dong-Su Lee

Ho-Young Song

Do-Yeon Kim

Hoon Shin

A memory device a plurality of memory banks, a hammer address manager, and a refresh controller. The hammer address manager manages access addresses with respect to the plurality of memory banks and provides a hammer address for a hammer refresh operation among the access addresses, the hammer address being the access address that is accessed more than other access addresses. The refresh controller generates a hammer refresh address signal based on the hammer address, the hammer refresh address signal corresponding to a row that is physically adjacent to a row corresponding to the hammer address such that the row physically adjacent to the row corresponding to the hammer address is refreshed by the hammer refresh operation.

Refresh control circuit, memory device including the same and method of operating the same for hammer refresh operation

Voltage generators may generate a level of a high target voltage with respect to a low external power supply voltage. A reference voltage generator includes a clamp regulator which is driven by a first power supply voltage supplied from an external source and receives a first voltage to generate a clamp voltage, and a level amplifier which is driven by a second power supply voltage that is higher than the first power supply voltage and receives the clamp voltage to generate a reference voltage. The clamp voltage may be set to have a voltage level which results in a successful restore operation with respect to a memory cell array in a dynamic random access memory (DRAM).

Voltage generators adaptive to low external power supply voltage

I describe and claim a device and method for generating develop voltage signals. The device includes a sense amplifier to sense a voltage difference between a plurality of bit lines responsive to a develop voltage signal, and a voltage generator to generate the develop voltage signal responsive to a reference voltage signal and according to an electrical characteristic of at least one transistor associated with the sense amplifier.

Semiconductor memory device having a develop reference voltage generator for sense amplifiers

The present invention provides a voltage generating circuit and a semiconductor memory device having the same. The voltage generating circuit includes an internal voltage generating portion for generating an internal voltage in response to a signal input from an external portion; a sensing portion for outputting a sensing signal when the signal input from the external portion is input again within a predetermined time period; a control signal generating portion for outputting a control signal in response to the sensing signal; and a compensating portion for compensating the internal voltage in response to the control signal.

Voltage generating circuit and semiconductor memory device having the same

A semiconductor memory device in which a local input/output line sense amplifier may be selectively enabled or disabled. The semiconductor memory device may include a memory cell array block, a redundancy circuit, a switch unit, and/or a control unit. The memory cell array block may include a local input/output line sense amplifier that operates in response to a sense amplifier enable signal. The redundancy circuit may include a redundancy local input/output line sense amplifier that operates in response to the sense amplifier enable signal. The switch unit may selectively output data output from the local input/output line sense amplifier or the redundancy local input/output line sense amplifier, in response to a first select signal and a second select signal. If the redundancy circuit operates, the control unit may generate, in response to the second select signal, a sense amplifier operation control signal that disables the local input/output line sense amplifier. Since the semiconductor memory device selectively enables or disables the local input/output line sense amplifier, unnecessary current consumption caused due to dummy sensing is avoided.

Growing community of inventors

Hwaseong-si, South Korea

Dong-Su Lee