The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 30, 2000
Filed:
Sep. 16, 1998
Kam-Fai Tang, Fremont, CA (US);
Turbo IC, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
A self-decoding charge pump for charging word lines or bit lines of a semiconductor memory array such as an EEPROM includes a passive, parallel-plate ONO capacitor for coupling voltage pulses generated by an oscillator to a charge transfer node. The voltage pulses received at the charge transfer node control the transfer of increments of charge from a high-voltage generator to a selected word line. Large-area capacitive coupling may be used without causing significant carrier injection into the substrate. In one configuration exploiting the floating-gate EEPROM semiconductor geometry, plural stacked capacitors are used, allowing a doubling of the capacitance per surface area relative to a single-capacitor configuration. Plural oscillators generating lower-amplitude signals can be used with one high-voltage generator.