International Business Machines Corporation

Mark Adam Beiley

John Atkinson Fifield

Charles E Drake

Thomas E Obremski

A small number of redundant circuits are freely allocable to any of a plurality of partitions or systems within an integrated circuit, such as a large dynamic random access memory (DRAM) consistent with the provision of parallel simultaneous refresh of corresponding addresses in all partitions or systems thereof. A valid address of a redundant circuit substituted for a partial address of a circuit in any partition or system is detected to disable refresh of that address in all partitions. The partition in which the substitution has been made is sensed and the disablement of refresh of all other partitions is overridden so that all partitions or systems in which a substitution has not been made may be refreshed concurrently with the substituted redundant circuit.

Partitioned dynamic memory allowing substitution of a redundant circuit

A transition detector circuit produces an output pulse upon detection of a transition at any one of several input nodes using a single delay path so all input transitions produce the same output pulse width and with only one gate delay in the circuit. The circuit includes precharging means, coupled between the plurality of transitioning inputs and the output node, for charging the output node high. The precharging means comprises stacked field effect transistor (FET) devices, each having a gate connected to a respective one of the transitioning inputs. A first charging device for charging the output node high is coupled to the output node. A second charging device for discharging the output node low is coupled to the output node. A single delay means, coupled between the plurality of transitioning inputs and both the first and second charging devices, both turns off the first charging device and turns on the second charging device. Switching means, controlled by the plurality of transitioning inputs and coupled between the output node and the second charging device, disconnects the second charging device from the output node.

Growing community of inventors

Burlington, VT, United States of America

Mark Adam Beiley