Macronix International Co., Ltd.

Other

Megachips Corporation

Macronix Internatioal, Ltd.

Tom D Yiu

Tien-Ler Lin

Fuchia Shone

Ray L Wan

Ling-Wen Hsiao

Ray-Lin Wan

Ling Chen

Takashi Sawada

Tetsuo Hikawa

Akira Takata

Ful-Long Ni

Chun-Hsiung Hung

Yao-Wu Cheng

Liang Chao

Kong-Mou Liou

Kuen-Long Chang

Tzeng-Huei Shiau

I-Long Lee

Han-Sung Chen

Teruhiko Kamei

Chia-Shing Chen

Fu-Chia Shone

Ting-Chung Hu

Ful Long Ni

Chung-Hsiung Hung

Yuan-Chang Liu

Hun-Song Chen

A hybrid memory cell array including a preferable arrangement of a row decoder is proposed, and in the same manner of addressing a memory cell in the memory array a high access speed of the memory cell and high integration layout of a memory chip can be achieved. A hybrid memory cell includes a plurality of memory cells that each includes an electronic circuit to store binary logic values, a plurality of word lines, a plurality of bit lines, a row decoder arranged in the memory cell array to enable the plurality of word lines and select a memory cell on a same word line, and a column decoder arranged outside the memory cell array to enable the plurality of bit lines and select a memory cell on a same bit line.

Decoder arrangement of a memory cell array

A circuit for speeding up the pre-programming of floating gate storage transistors such as FLASH EPROMS, and particularly speeding up the pre-programming of a block or array of floating gate storage transistors includes a controllable voltage source that supplies gate programming potential across the control gate and source of the FLASH EPROM transistor cells to be programmed. A control circuit is provided that controls the voltage source to vary the gate programming potential during a programming interval as a function of time in order to decrease the time required for a given amount of charge movement to program the selected floating gate transistors. The wordline voltages are varied, while the source voltage is held constant. By starting at a lower wordline voltage, and increasing during the programming interval to a high wordline voltage, the programming speed is increased, and the high final turn-on threshold voltage for the programmed floating gate storage transistors is achieved. In addition, in order to speed up pre-programming, a programming potential is applied to four wordlines in parallel during a single programming interval. Further, the load on cells being programmed is adjusted to improve programming speed.

Fast flash EPROM programming and pre-programming circuit design

A read-only memory device is provided which comprises an array of read-only memory cells arranged in rows and columns. An additional row or column of flat, single polysilicon floating gate memory cells is provided. A row or column decoder coupled to the array of read-only memory cells is responsive to addresses corresponding to rows or columns in the array for selecting addressed rows or columns. Control circuitry including a programmable store for identifying a defective row or column in the array to be replaced by the additional row or column, selects the additional row or column and replaces the defective row or column in response to an address corresponding to the defective row or column. In addition, circuitry is provided on the integrated circuit which allows access to the additional row or column of floating gate memory cells for programming the additional row or column. The additional row or column of floating gate memory cells is comprised of flat or single polysilicon floating gate cells having buried diffusion control gates. This structure is particularly applied to an array of mask ROM cells. Furthermore, the additional row or column of floating gate memory cells can be implemented in layout of mask ROM cells itself, and a very dense compact structure without requiring additional process steps to implement the redundant row or column.

Memory redundancy circuit using single polysilicon floating gate

Stacked read-only memory

In order to reduce the chip size of a semiconductor device as well as to separate noises between at least two types of pads having different functions, at least one Vcc and at least one Vss are provided on opposite edges of a package (101) so that output pins or I/O pins are arranged therebetween and input pins are arranged outside the same. Non-connected excess pins (NC) are arranged on upper and lower boundaries, for omitting wires and reducing the chip size.

Semiconductor device

An integrated circuit comprises a functional module such as a FLASH memory with automatic program and erase circuits, test circuitry coupled with the functional module which executes a test of the functional module and generates status information as a result of the test, and non-volatile status write circuitry coupled with the test circuitry on the chip. A circuit in the non-volatile status write circuitry is responsive to the test of the functional circuitry to write the status information to the non-volatile memory. A port is provided on the integrated circuit coupled to the non-volatile memory through which the status information stored in the non-volatile memory is accessible in a test read mode to external devices. In a FLASH EPROM embodiment, the IC includes an array of FLASH EPROM memory cells and a port through which data in the array is accessible by external devices. A test set of FLASH EPROM memory cells is provided in the array. Program and erase circuitry, coupled to the array, has a test mode to exercise the program and erase circuitry to generate status information indicating results of the test and test read mode to read out the status information. Non-volatile status write circuitry, is coupled to the program and erase circuitry and the test set, and writes the status information to the test set. The program and erase circuits include retry counts with programmable thresholds for reducing the test times of the devices.

Automatic test circuitry with non-volatile status write

A circuit is provided for supplying a negative erasing voltage onto the wordlines of selected blocks in an array of floating gate memory cells. The circuit includes a voltage circuit, which has a plurality of local outputs, each of which connects to wordlines of an associated block of floating gate memory cells. A block selector circuit is coupled to the local outputs of the voltage circuit and selectively switches each of the local outputs to apply either an erasing voltage or a non-erasing voltage onto the wordlines of the associated block of floating gate memory cells. Negative wordline stress is thus reduced for wordlines of unselected blocks which receive a less negative, non-erasing voltage during block erase operations.

Block-level wordline enablement to reduce negative wordline stress

Floating gate memory device and method for terminating a program load

Method and system for soft programming algorithm

An improved contactless EPROM array, EPROM cell design, and method for fabricating the same is based on a unique drain-source-drain configuration, in which a single source diffusion is shared by two columns of transistors. An elongated first drain diffusion region, an elongated source diffusion region, and an elongated second drain diffusion region, are formed in a semi-conductor substrate along essentially parallel lines. Field oxide regions are grown on opposite sides of the first and second drain diffusion regions. Floating gates and control gate wordlines are formed orthogonal to the drain-source-drain structure to establish two columns of storage cells having a shared source region. The shared source region is coupled through a bottom block select transistor to a virtual ground terminal. Each drain diffusion region is-coupled through a top block select transistor to global bitline. The cell structure uses two metal global bitlines which extend essentially parallel to the drain, source and drain diffusion regions, and a virtual ground conductor which couples a plurality of columns of transistors to a virtual ground terminal through a horizontal conductor, such as a buried diffusion line.

Non-volatile memory cell and array architecture

Technique for reconfiguring a high density memory

Decoded wordline driver with positive and negative voltage modes

Growing community of inventors

Milpitas, CA, United States of America

Tom D Yiu