Imec

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Ku Leuven R&d

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven

Peter Geens

Wim Dehaene

Disclosed herein are memory devices comprising a plurality of memory cells to which a standby voltage is to be supplied during standby mode to avoid loss of data, and methods of operating said memory devices, the methods comprising: (a) determining an actual value of a bit integrity parameter of the memory cells; (b) comparing said actual value with a predetermined minimal value of the bit integrity parameter which takes into account possible variations in cell properties as a result of process variations; and (c) adjusting the standby voltage towards a more optimal value based on the result of the comparison in such a way that said bit integrity parameter determined for said more optimal value of the standby voltage approaches the predetermined minimal value. The circuitry for measuring the bit integrity parameter preferably comprises a plurality of replica test cells which are added to the memory matrix.

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Wespelaar, Belgium

Peter Geens