International Business Machines Corporation

Elazar Kachir

Noam Jungmann

Israel A Wagner

Hezi Shalom

Donald W Plass

Lidar Herooti

Lior Binyamini

Lior Arie

Rajiv V Joshi

James W Dawson

Tomer Abraham Cohen

Udi Nir

Haining S Yang

Dureseti Chidambarrao

Baozhen Li

Robert C Wong

Rouwaida N Kanj

Atsushi Ogino

Oded Katz

Amira Rozenfeld

Omer Heymann

Moshe Leibowitz

Dan Ramon

Limor Plotkin

Yaron Freiman

Bishan He

Klimentiy Shimanovich

Ehud Nir

Dana Bar-Niv

Assaf Barak

Eli Bloch

Uri Moshe

Anastasia Ester Kapchits

An integrated circuit includes a semiconductor substrate and integrated circuitry on the semiconductor substrate. The integrated circuitry includes a static random access memory (SRAM) array including a conductive line and an assist circuit having a boost capacitor coupled to boost a voltage on the conductive line. The boost capacitor includes first and second plates. The integrated circuit further includes a sense circuit having an input coupled to one of the first and second plates of the boost capacitor and an output and a sample circuit coupled to the output of the sense circuit. The sample circuit is configured to detect a short circuit in the boost capacitor based on a state change at the output of the sense circuit.

Short circuit detection in a read/write assist capacitor of a memory

A clock gating method and circuit for avoiding out-of-spec clock operations. The circuit comprises a clock gating section that gates a clock signal according to an enabling signal generated by an enabling signal controller, the enabling signal controller generating the enabling signal according to a set signal and a reset signal. The circuit further comprises a set signal generator that generates the set signal, a reset signal generator that generates the reset signal, and a feedback section that uses the enabling signal to generate the feedback signal for the reset signal generator. The reset signal generator generates the reset signal by using the feedback signal. The enabling signal controller further generates an acknowledgement signal having a high signal during a blocking period when the clock signal is blocked and utilizes the acknowledgement signal as an announcement to a higher circuit that the clock signal is blocked.

Clock gating circuit for avoiding out-of-spec clock operations in self-timed circuits

A system, program product, and method for processing synchronized memory repairs. The method includes identifying a faulty memory row from a plurality of functioning memory rows in a memory array. The method also includes executing memory row repair operations directed toward the faulty memory row and identifying a repair row to operationally replace the faulty memory row. The method also includes creating a multiple hot state within a memory decoder. The memory decoder includes logic circuitry for executing operation of the plurality of functioning memory rows. The method further includes activating a wordline of the identified repair row through the multiple hot state, and executing one or more memory operations on the identified repair row though the memory decoder. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed herein facilitate synchronization of the repair row and functioning memory rows within the memory array, as well as any associated peripheral signals.

Synchronized memory repair system (SRS)

A dynamic capacitor circuit having a first passive capacitor, a second passive capacitor, a first terminal of the first passive capacitor and a first terminal of the second passive capacitor connected together to receive an input signal through a resistor. The input signal includes a noise signal component. An alternating current (AC) coupled inverting amplifier has an input connecting a second terminal of the second passive capacitor, the second capacitor coupling the input signal to the AC coupled inverting amplifier input. A conductive path couples an output of the AC coupled inverting amplifier to a second terminal of the first passive capacitor to balance out any noise signal component of the input AC signal at the connection. The dynamic capacitor achieves an amount of noise reduction in a reduced space without applying deep trench capacitors (DTCAP) where the DTCAP is a capacitance formed in a plane perpendicular to the substrate.

Area-efficient dynamic capacitor circuit for noise reduction in VLSI circuits

A voltage-controlled delay line including a clipper configured to produce a clipped input voltage from an input voltage, an oscillator configured to produce a strobe pulse train that is initiated by the clipped input voltage, and a divider module configured to divide the strobe pulse train and produce an output voltage from the divided strobe pulse train.

Self-timed, log-space, voltage-controlled delay line

A method in a computer-aided design system for generating a functional design model of a static random access memory is described herein. The method comprises generating a functional representation of a first local evaluation logic coupled to a first set of consecutive global bit lines (GBLs) and a first set of local bit lines (LBLs), the first local evaluation logic comprising a plurality of devices. The method further comprises generating a functional representation of a second local evaluation logic communicatively coupled to the first local evaluation logic via the devices; the second local evaluation logic is coupled to a second set of consecutive GBLs and a second set of LBLs. In addition, the second set of consecutive GBLs consecutive to the first set of consecutive GBLs, the first and second evaluation logics to generate signals from the LBLs such that one GBL is to be active at any point in a read or write cycle and the other GBLs are not concurrently active.

Structure for static random access memory

A design structure can include elements that, when processed in a semiconductor manufacturing facility, produce an SRAM that includes a first local evaluator coupled to a first global bit line (GBL) and a first set of local bit lines (LBLs). The SRAM can also include a second local evaluator communicatively coupled to the first local evaluator. The second local evaluator is coupled to a second GBL and second set of LBLs. The second GBL is consecutive to the first GBL. The first and second evaluators are to generate signals from the LBLs such that one GBL of a combined first and second GBLs is active at any point in a read or write cycle.

A method for testing a circuit comprising a memory element, a voltage comparator and a supply selector, the circuit is configured to be connected to two power supplies, the voltage comparator is configured to provide an output indicative of a voltage difference between the two power supplies above a predetermined threshold, the supply selector is configured to select a power supply to feed power to the memory element in response to the output from the voltage comparator. The method comprises connecting the two power supplies to the circuit, wherein said connecting comprises causing the two power supplies to drive power to the memory element and to another element of the circuit, wherein the voltage different between the two power supplies is above the predetermined threshold. The method further comprises that in response to said connecting, the supply selector of the circuit is invoked and disconnects one power supply from the memory element; whereby stress testing the circuit, the stress testing tests the memory element without a voltage difference condition, the stress testing tests the another element with the voltage difference condition.

Voltage comparator circuit and usage thereof

A circuit comprising a first power supply having a first voltage and a second power supplying having a second voltage, wherein said first and second voltages are different at least in some cycles of said circuit, a memory element, wherein said first and second power supplies are driven into said memory element, a voltage comparator having connected thereto said first and second power supplies, wherein said voltage comparator is an analog to digital converter configured to provide digital output indicting of a voltage difference over a predetermined threshold between said first and second power supplies, and a supply selector element, wherein said supply selector element is configured to disconnect said second power supply from said memory element in response to the digital output of said voltage comparator.

A novel and useful SRAM restore tracking circuit adapted to improve the tracking of SRAM cell behavior for different PVT corners. The SRAM array access path is mainly influenced by two stages: (1) the wordline (WL) delay and (2) the SRAM cell delay. These two stages are usually the most sensitive for process variation in the memory access path. The restore tracking circuit incorporates two novel topologies for enhanced tracking to SRAM cell behavior. The first topology is a circuit that functions to mimic the wordline load and delay characteristics. The WL stage is very sensitive to process variation due to the large load it must drive and the usually relatively poor slope (i.e. depending on the number of cells the WL). The second topology is a circuit that mimics the SRAM cell load and delay characteristics. The SRAM cell is very sensitive to process variation due to its very small device features and the high number of cells in the memory array.

SRAM restore tracking circuit and method

A digital voltage boost circuit, optionally working in parallel with an analog voltage regulator, periodically injects a constant amount of current each cycle into the bit line of a high density memory array to eliminate the bias voltage reduction which would otherwise occur. This results in a much faster recovery time and reduces the semiconductor real estate required. A pulse generator in the boost circuit generates one or more current modulation signals which control corresponding current supply devices in a current source. The boost circuit drives a constant amount of current to the bias voltage node each memory cycle.

Digital voltage boost circuit

Systems and methods for determining optimal memory device precharge voltages are provided herein. In addition, systems and methods for providing localized sense amplification and circuit assist circuitry are described herein. Embodiments provide for determining precharge multipliers that may be used to determine the optimal precharge voltage based on a precharge source voltage. According to embodiments, the precharge source voltage may be Vdd or Vcs. Optimizing the precharge voltage maximizes memory device performance and functional characteristics, including, but not limited to, stability, efficiency, power, writability, and reliability.

Systems and methods for memory device precharging

A method of increasing a drain to source voltage measured at an access pass-gate to a SRAM circuit in a SRAM memory array, including increasing a low voltage from a low voltage source powering said SRAM circuit, and increasing a high voltage from a high voltage source powering the SRAM circuit.

Boost cell supply write assist

Some demonstrative embodiments of the invention include a method, apparatus and system of generating a random number. A random number generator may include, for example, a plurality of different random-number-generation modules adapted to generate random bits at a plurality of bit paths; and a combiner adapted to combine the bits of the plurality of paths. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Growing community of inventors

Haifa, Israel

Elazar Kachir