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:
Dec. 03, 2002
Filed:
Jul. 11, 2001
Hung Q. Nguyen, Fremont, CA (US);
Nianglamching Hangzo, San Jose, CA (US);
Sang Thanh Nguyen, Union City, CA (US);
Silicon Storage Technology, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Abstract
A memory device includes a sense circuit comprising a sense amplifier, a reference sense circuit and a comparator. The sense amplifier detects a signal on a bit line associated with a column of memory cells in a memory array. The reference sense circuit detects a signal on a reference bit line associated with a column of reference cells in the memory array. The comparator compares the outputs of the sense amplifier and the reference sense circuit and provides a signal indicative of the contents of the read memory cell. In response to a transition of an address, the bit line and the reference bit line are precharged prior to reading of the memory cell. The reference sense circuit includes a selectable load that is disabled during the initial time after the address transition so that the bit line and the reference bit line rises substantially identically and then enabled to allow the reference bit line to settle to a steady state.