Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Toshiaki Edahiro

Takuya Futatsuyama

Koji Hosono

Haruki Toda

Toshihiro Suzuki

Naoya Tokiwa

Shigeo Ohshima

Masahiro Yoshihara

Kazushige Kanda

Fumitaka Arai

Yoshihisa Iwata

Yoshihiro Ueda

Akira Umezawa

Masaki Kondo

Norihiro Fujita

Tohru Maruyama

Koki Ueno

Yuui Shimizu

Katsumi Abe

Toshiyuki Enda

Fumiharu Nakajima

Masahiro Noguchi

Takahisa Wada

Kazuto Kubota

Go Shikata

Osamu Nagao

Kyosuke Katayama

Yuya Suzuki

Ayako Yamano

Takahiro Otsuka

According to one embodiment, a device state estimation apparatus includes a detector and an operating state estimator. The detector detects devices in the ON operating state, based on a comparison between a calculated one of a first characteristic of a current or power harmonic in a power feed line and a reference one of the first characteristic which has been predetermined for at least one device. The operating state estimator extracts at least one set of the second characteristics from plural sets of second characteristics associated with harmonic, which have been predetermined. Each set of the second characteristics is for operating states of each of the devices. The one set of the second characteristics is for operating states of the device in the ON operating state which is detected by the detector. The operating state estimator estimates the operating state of the device based on the similarity between the extracted one of the second characteristics and a calculated one of the second characteristics obtained from the current or power harmonic.

Device state estimation apparatus, device power consumption estimation apparatus, and program

A non-volatile semiconductor memory device according to embodiments has a memory cell array and a reading circuit, and, in a reading sequence, the reading circuit executes a prereading operation of supplying a first reading voltage to an adjacent word line and supplying a first reading pass voltage to a selected word line, and after executing the prereading operation, executes a main reading operation of supplying a fixed second reading voltage to the selected word line and supplying a fixed second reading pass voltage to the adjacent word line while sensing a plurality of electrical physical amounts of a target memory cell with different reading conditions.

Non-volatile semiconductor memory device

A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell which stores data and which is capable of being rewritten electrically, a bit line which is connected electrically to one end of a current path of the memory cell, a control circuit which carries out a verify operation to check a write result after data is written to the memory cell, and a voltage setting circuit which sets a charging voltage for the bit line in a verify operation and a read operation and makes a charging voltage in a read operation higher than a charging voltage in a verify operation.

Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device

According to one embodiment, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory includes a source line connected to first and second cell units, a cell-source driver setting the source line on a fixed potential in a programming, a data latch circuit temporary storing program data, a hookup circuit connecting one of the first and second bit lines to the data latch circuit, and connecting the other one of the first and second bit lines to the source line, in the programming, a level detection circuit detecting a potential level of the source line, and a control circuit determining a completion of a charge of the first and second bit lines when the potential level of the source line is larger than a threshold value, and making a charge time of the first and second bit lines variable, in the programming.

Nonvolatile semiconductor memory with a source line potential level detection circuit

According to one embodiment, a semiconductor device having a pattern layout includes a first interconnect pattern and a contact pad. The first interconnect pattern includes lines and spaces which are alternately aligned in a first direction with a predetermined pitch. The contact pad is arranged between the lines in the first interconnect pattern and has a width that is triple the predetermined pitch. An interval between the line in the first interconnect pattern and the contact pad is the predetermined pitch, and the predetermined pitch is 100 nm or below.

Pattern layout in semiconductor device

According to one embodiment, a threshold detecting method for detecting threshold values of nonvolatile semiconductor memory cells comprises applying a preset voltage to a word line connected to the memory cells, and performing bit-line sense at two different timings during discharging of one of a bit line connected to the memory cells and a node corresponding to the bit line, while a potential of the word line is kept constant.

Threshold detecting method and verify method of memory cells

A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device for raising operating speed is provided. The nonvolatile semiconductor memory device includes plural bit lines extending in a first direction, and a memory cell that includes plural blocks each having plural NAND strings each of which includes a group of memory cells connected in series with one another and selecting transistors connected to the respective ends of the memory cell group. One ends of current paths in ones of the selecting transistors are connected to the bit lines, while one ends of current paths in the other selecting transistors are connected to a source line. The nonvolatile semiconductor memory device further includes a memory cell array and a voltage control circuit that is disposed in the memory cell array in a manner of bisecting the memory cell array and that charges or discharges the bit lines.

A memory includes plurality of word lines extending in a first direction, plurality of bit lines extending in a second direction to intersect with the word lines, and a memory cell array including plurality of memory cells connected to the word lines and the bit lines. Plurality of sense amplifiers include detectors configured to detect data transmitted from the memory cells to sense nodes via the corresponding bit lines, and capacitors connected between the sense nodes and a reference potential, respectively, and are provided to be arranged in the second direction from at least a side of one ends of the bit lines. Each of k capacitors corresponding to k detectors, where k is equal to or greater than 2, has a width corresponding to widths of the k detectors, the k capacitors are arranged in the second direction, and the k detectors are arranged in the first direction.

Semiconductor storage device

A nonvolatile semiconductor storage device according to an embodiment includes an erase circuit executing an erase sequence, wherein in the erase sequence, the erase circuit executes: an erase operation to change a selection memory cell group to an erased state, after the erase operation, a soft program operation on the selection memory cell group to solve over-erased state, and after the soft program operation, a first soft program verification operation performed on at least one partial selection memory cell group of a first partial selection memory cell group and a second partial selection memory cell group so as to confirm whether the partial selection memory cell group includes a predetermined number of memory cells or more that have threshold values equal to or more than a predetermined first threshold value, and after the first soft program verification operation.

Nonvolatile semiconductor storage device

According to one embodiment, a semiconductor memory device includes memory cells, a memory cell array, a word line, a bit line, a source line, a row decoder, a sense amplifier, and a first MOS transistor. The word line is connected to gates of the memory cells. The bit line is electrically connected to drains of the memory cells. The source line is electrically connected to sources of the memory cells. The row decoder selects the word line. The sense amplifier senses and amplifies data read onto the bit line in a read operation. The first MOS transistor is capable of connecting a well region where the memory cells are formed with the source line and is arranged between the row decoder or the sense amplifier and the memory cell array.

Semiconductor memory device with memory cells having charge accumulation layer

A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device according to one embodiment includes: a memory cell array; word lines; bit lines; and a control circuit configured to write multi-value data in the memory cells. The control circuit sets either even-ordinal-number bit lines or odd-ordinal-number bit lines as selected bit lines while setting the other as unselected bit lines; applies a write inhibiting voltage to the unselected bit lines; applies a write voltage to the selected bit lines corresponding to unwritten memory cells to be given one of threshold voltage distributions representing different written states; and applies the write inhibiting voltage to the selected bit lines corresponding to unwritten memory cells to be given any other of the threshold voltage distributions representing the different written states, memory cells already written, and memory cells to be maintained in a threshold voltage distribution representing an erased state, thereby executing a write operation.

Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and operation method thereof

According to one embodiment, a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array, threshold voltages of memory cells being set lowest in an erase state and sequentially set higher according to data in a program state, a plurality of bit lines connected to the memory cells, a word line connected to the memory cells, and a control circuit. In a case where a first memory cell is programmed to a first threshold voltage that is lowest among threshold voltages in the program state, the control circuit is configured to charge a first bit line connected to the first memory cell to a third voltage between a first voltage applied to a bit line when a memory cell is programmed to a second threshold voltage higher than the first threshold voltage and a second voltage applied to a bit line when a memory cell is inhibited from being programmed.

A semiconductor memory device comprises a plurality of memory cells connected to a bit line; and a sense amplifier operative to sense the magnitude of cell current flowing via the bit line in a selected memory cell connected to the bit line to determine the value of data stored in the memory cell. The sense amplifier includes a first transistor for precharge operative to supply current in the bit line via a first and a second sense node, a second transistor for charge transfer interposed between the first and second sense nodes, and a third transistor for continuous current supply operative to supply current in the bit line not via the first and second sense nodes.

Semiconductor memory device

The present invention provides a method for writing data to a non-volatile memory device having first wirings and second wirings intersecting one another and memory cells arranged at each intersection therebetween, each of the memory cells having a variable resistive element and a rectifying element connected in series. According to the method, the second wirings are charged to a certain voltage not less than a rectifying-element threshold value, prior to a rise in a selected first wiring. Then, a selected first wiring is charged to a voltage required for writing or erasing, after which a selected second wiring is discharged.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Toshiaki Edahiro