Ncr Corporation

James A Topich, Deceased

George C Lockwood

Raymond A Turi

A multiconfigurable integrated circuit having volatile and nonvolatile segments configured and interconnected so that data can be nonvolatilely entered and transferred at high frequency in the volatile segment, so that formerly entered data can be nonvolatilely stored while new data is entered and volatiley utilized, and so that previously stored nonvolatile data can be recalled and volatilely utilized. In one form, the circuit is comprised of a shift register stage selectively connectable to a nonvolatile memory cell structure. Interconnection of multiple circuits and the addition of analog switches creates electronic equivalents of DIP switches and various other multiple pole selectively controlled switching configurations.

Nonvolatile multiconfigurable circuit

The circuit and structure of a direct write differential nonvolatile memory cell. The features of the cell include high speed read sensing, write without a prior erase operation, single polysilicon fabrication capability, and memory margining capabilities. The structural and functional symmetry maximizes cell density while providing complementary differential operation. In a preferred arrangement, the cell utilizes a pair of cross-coupled, capacitively complementary, centrally disposed floating gate electrodes. The cell is written directly by the provision of complementary signals on a pair of program lines, which lines are capacitively coupled to the floating gate electrodes. The data state of the cell is sensed by conduction in two bit lines, the conductive states of the lines being determined by the charge transferred onto the two floating gate electrodes during the simultaneous but complementary programming of such electrodes.

Growing community of inventors

Centerville, OH, United States of America

James A Topich, Deceased