Renesas Technology Corp.

Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha

Renesas Electronics Corporation

Mitsubishi Electric Engineering Company, Limited

Satoshi Kawasaki

Yoshihiko Kusakabe

Kenichi Oto

Kiyohiro Furutani

Tadaaki Yamauchi

Taku Ogura

Shigehiro Kuge

Minoru Senda

Takeshi Hamamoto

Mikio Asakura

Takeo Miki

Shigeru Kikuda

Yoshitaka Fujiishi

Kenji Tokami

Kazuhiro Sakemi

Satoshi Yodogawa

A sub-decoder element provided corresponding to each word line is constructed by the same conductive type MOS transistors. The sub-decoder elements are arranged in a plurality of columns such that the layout of active regions for forming the sub-decoder elements is inverted in a Y direction and displaced by one sub-decoder element in an X direction. The arrangement of the sub-decoder elements is adjusted such that high voltage is not applied to both of gate electrodes adjacent in the Y direction. A well voltage of a well region for forming the sub-decoder element group is set to a voltage level such that a source to substrate of the transistor of the sub-decoder element is set into a deep reversed-bias state. In a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, the leakage by a parasitic MOS in a sub-decoder circuit or word line driving circuit to which a positive or negative high voltage is supplied, can be suppressed.

Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device

In the present semiconductor device a positive, driving pump circuit is driven by an external power supply potential EXVDD (for example of 1.8V) to generate a positive voltage VPC (for example of 2.4V). A negative pump circuit for internal operation is driven by the positive voltage VPC to generate a negative voltage VNA (for example of &#x2212;9.2V) required in an erasure or similar internal operation for a word line. The negative pump circuit for internal operation can have a smaller number of stages of pump and hence consume a smaller area than when the circuit is driven by the external power supply voltage EXVDD (for example of 1.8V) as conventional.

Semiconductor device with pump circuit

A semiconductor device includes two sense amplifiers provided on a semiconductor substrate. Each of two sense amplifiers is formed of a pair of transistors. Two transistors are separated from each other by an element-isolating insulating portion provided on the semiconductor substrate. Therefore unlike the conventional, two transistors do not share the source region with each other, resulting in a semiconductor device with an improved sensitivity of a sense amplifier.

Semiconductor device having sense amplifier including paired transistors

A semiconductor memory device that can be reduced in chip area while preventing degradation in characteristic is obtained. In DRAM, a plurality of memory cell array regions are arranged in matrix, spaced apart from each other in a row direction and in a column direction, on a semiconductor substrate. A sense amplifier region is arranged in a gap between the memory cell array regions in the column direction. An element forming a sense amplifier is arranged in the sense amplifier region. A subdecoder region is arranged in a gap between the memory cell array regions in the row direction. A cross region is arranged at an intersection of the sense amplifier regions in line and the subdecoder regions in line. A sense amplifier driver element is arranged in the subdecoder region and used in a sense amplifier operation.

Semiconductor memory device with sense amplifier

Excessive CMP (chemical mechanical polishing) of a resistive band region and margin deterioration in processing in a subsequent step are prevented, while a resistive zone is formed with an active region. In the semiconductor device, a source/drain impurity diffusion layer is used as the resistive zone. On a semiconductor substrate, the resistive band region to form the resistive zone, having at least a portion of a surface provided as the active region, is formed. In the resistive band region, the resistive zone is provided. A word line is arranged on the semiconductor substrate so as to surround the resistive zone. In the resistive band region, the area occupancy ratio of the active region per 10 &mgr;m&square; is set to be 40% or higher.

Semiconductor device isolated resistive zone

In an output data control circuit for transferring complementary data signals read from a memory array to an external data output node in accordance with an output clock signal, a clocked gate circuit transferring complementary data signals in synchronization with an output clock signal and an output data latch circuit latching an output signal of the clocked gate circuit are operated using a voltage level not exceeding an internal power supply voltage, and the complementary data signals read from a memory cell is subjected to an amplitude expanding processing in a stage preceding the clocked gate circuit, and then is applied to the clocked gate circuit. A clock synchronous semiconductor memory device allowing reduction of a clock access time is provided.

Clock synchronous semiconductor device having a reduced clock access time

Main word lines are shifted in the width direction in a memory array to generate an empty region formed by a shift-aside region. The width of a conductive interconnection line transmitting a desired signal/voltage is increased in this region. Accordingly, the width of the signal/voltage interconnection line is increased to reduce the resistance without increase in the array occupation area.

Semiconductor memory device having reduced interconnection resistance

An MOS capacitor is provided in the proximity of the boundary between a P well and an N well formed of a bottom N well and an N well. Accordingly, the proximity of the boundary corresponding to the so-called dead space can be used effectively.

Semiconductor device with well of different conductivity types

A dummy pattern that is inserted to stabilize the form of a transistor active region is implanted with an impurity of the same conductivity type as a well, and the impurity-doped region of the dummy pattern is supplied with a potential through a metal interconnection. Hence, fluctuation of a well potential due to noise hardly occurs, and a semiconductor device enduring latch up, for example, to a greater extent can be provided.

Semiconductor device with improved noise resistivity

Each of first and second program circuits includes a determination node, first to fourth fuses, first to fourth N channel MOS transistors, and first to fourth supply lines. The first to fourth N channel MOS transistors receive first to fourth row address predecode signals, respectively. The first N channel MOS transistor included in the first program circuit and the first N channel MOS transistor included in the second program circuit are arranged adjacent to each other. The first supply line provides a first row address predecode signal to the gate of these two N channel MOS transistors. The same applies for the second to fourth N channel MOS transistors and the second to fourth supply lines. Accordingly, the interconnection capacitance of the row address predecode signal line can be reduced. Also, the size of the transistor driving the row address predecode signal and the transistors in the program circuit can be reduced to allow a smaller layout area for the entire chip.

Growing community of inventors

Hyogo, Japan

Satoshi Kawasaki