Hierarchical memory architecture including on-chip multi-bank non-volatile memory with low leakage and low latency

Abstract

A disclosed non-volatile memory (NVM) structure is implemented in a fully depleted semiconductor-on-insulator technology processing platform and includes multiple NVM banks with NVM cells including transistors. NVM banks have well regions in a substrate. Transistors of NVM cells of each NVM bank are on an insulator layer above a corresponding well region for that bank. A bias control circuit causes well regions for NVM banks in a standby state to be biased with a reverse back biasing voltage and causes a well region for an NVM bank in an operational state to be biased with a forward back biasing voltage. The bias control circuit can initiate forward back biasing during a cache data retrieval process (before NVM bank access) to ensure that the corresponding well region of an NVM bank at issue is fully biased when, following the cache data retrieval process, access to the NVM bank is still required.