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:
Jan. 15, 2008
Filed:
Dec. 20, 2004
Chi-ming Wang, Fremont, CA (US);
Kuo-lung Chen, Saratoga, CA (US);
Shouchang Tsao, San Jose, CA (US);
Chi-Ming Wang, Fremont, CA (US);
Kuo-Lung Chen, Saratoga, CA (US);
Shouchang Tsao, San Jose, CA (US);
SanDisk Corporation, Milpitas, CA (US);
Abstract
A current-limited latch circuit is used within a nonvolatile memory integrated circuit for decoding, programming, erase, and other operations. In one implementation, there are a number of latches connected together in parallel between two power supply lines. A current mirroring scheme limits current supplied to the latch. This reduces a difference of the two supplies, positive voltage, ground, or negative voltages, during data changes. The circuit provides smaller device sizes and fast speeds when data changes in the latch, while also providing lower power consumption. The technique provides greater benefits as the voltage difference between the two power supplies is greater.