| ELITE SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY TECHNOLOGY INC. Patent applications |
| Patent application number | Title | Published |
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| 20120119820 | Fuse Circuit - A fuse circuit comprises a fuse set and an enable circuit. The enable circuit is configured to receive a test mode enable signal and a power up signal to generate an enable signal and a voltage level to the fuse set for indicating whether an external supply voltage reaches a predetermined value and whether a test mode is enabled. In particular, an output signal of the fuse set is constant in the test mode, regardless of whether a fuse in the fuse set is blown or not. | 05-17-2012 |
| 20120008421 | DATA OUTPUTING METHOD OF MEMORY CIRCUIT AND MEMORY CIRCUIT AND LAYOUT THEREOF - A data outputting method of a memory circuit is illustrated. The memory circuit having at least 16 data buffers DQ[0]˜DQ[15] for storing at least 16 batches of data is provided. If a quadruple data outputting mode is selected for the memory circuit, when the clock signal triggers the 16 data buffers DQ[0]˜DQ[15], the 4 batches of the data stored in the 4 data buffers DQ[0], DQ[1], DQ[8], DQ[9] via 4 input/output pins connected to the 4 data buffers DQ[0], DQ[1], DQ[8], DQ[9], the batch of data stored in the data buffer DQ[2n+2] is transferred to be stored in the data buffer DQ[2n], and the batch of the data stored in the data buffer DQ[2n+3] is transferred to be stored in the data buffer DQ[2n+1], for n is an integer from 0 through 2, and from 4 through 6. | 01-12-2012 |
| 20120001231 | Electrical Fuse - An electrical fuse comprises first, second, and third thick oxide NMOS transistors and a thin oxide NMOS transistor. The first thick oxide NMOS transistor has a gate connected to a first input signal, and the thin oxide NMOS transistor has a drain connected to the source of the first thick oxide NMOS transistor and a gate shorted to its source. The second thick oxide transistor has a gate connected to a power up signal, a drain connected to the source of the thin oxide NMOS transistor, and a source connected to a reference voltage. The third thick oxide transistor has a gate connected to the second input signal, a drain connected to a high voltage, and a source connected to the drain of the thin oxide NMOS transistor. The first input signal and the second input signal are complementary. | 01-05-2012 |
| 20110279158 | SLEW RATE CONTROL CIRCUIT AND METHOD THEREOF AND SLEW RATE CONTROL DEVICE - A slew rate control circuit is provided. The slew rate control circuit includes at least one switch and an inverter. A first end of the switch is coupled to a power terminal. A toggle end of the switch is coupled to a first control terminal. A second end of the switch is coupled to an output terminal. An output end of the inverter is coupled to the output terminal. An input end of the inverter is coupled to an input terminal. A voltage at the first control terminal conducts the switch to reduce the slew rate when a large voltage variation occurs at the output terminal. A method of controlling a slew rate and a slew rate control device are provided. | 11-17-2011 |
| 20110273211 | CIRCUIT AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A CORRECTED DUTY CYCLE - A duty cycle correction circuit comprises a duty cycle detector, a filter, an amplifier, a charge pump, a control circuit, and a duty cycle corrector. The duty cycle detector is configured to generate a first pair of control signals according to a pair of internal clock signals. The filter is configured to obtain average voltages of the first pair of control signals. The amplifier is configured to compare output voltages of the filter for generating an enable signal, and the control circuit is configured to generate a selection signal according to the enable signal. The charge pump is configured to generate a second pair of control signals according to the enable signal and the selection signal, and the duty cycle corrector is configured to receive a pair of external clock signals, the first pair of control signals, and the second pair of control signals for generating the pair of internal clock signals with a corrected duty cycle. | 11-10-2011 |
| 20110239046 | TEST CIRCUIT FOR INPUT/OUTPUT ARRAY AND METHOD AND STORAGE DEVICE THEREOF - The invention provides a test circuit for n input/output arrays. Each of the n input/output arrays has M pairs of input/output. The test circuit includes M write drivers and M comparing circuits. The i | 09-29-2011 |
| 20110235451 | DYNAMIC RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY AND METHOD OF DRIVING DYNAMIC RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY - A dynamic RAM which includes a first inverter, a second inverter, a sense amplifier, a first pair of switches, a pair of bit lines, and a dynamic RAM cell. The first inverter receives a first driving signal. A power end of the first inverter is coupled to a first voltage source. The second inverter receives a second driving signal output from the first inverter. A power end of the second inverter is coupled to a second voltage source. The sense amplifier senses and amplifies a voltage difference between a first sensing signal and a second sensing signal. A power end of the sense amplifier is coupled to a third voltage source, wherein a voltage value of the second voltage source is between a voltage value of the first voltage source and a voltage value of the third voltage source. | 09-29-2011 |
| 20110228627 | DOUBLE DATA RATE MEMORY DEVICE HAVING DATA SELECTION CIRCUIT AND DATA PATHS - A double data rate memory device comprises first and second sense amplifiers, a data selection circuit, and a data processing circuit. The first sense amplifier is configured to provide even data loaded on a first input and output data line, and the second sense amplifier is configured to provide odd data loaded on a second input and output data line. The data selection circuit is connected to the first and second sense amplifiers and is configured to provide output data loaded on a single data line, and the data processing circuit connected to the data selection circuit and configured to transfer the even data and the odd data in first and second data paths. The even data and the odd data are combined into the output data of the data selection circuit, and the data selection circuit selects the output data in response to a least significant bit of a column address and transfers the selected data on the single data line in response to a clock signal. | 09-22-2011 |
| 20110228623 | POWER-UP CIRCUIT - A power-up circuit comprises an external supply voltage potential detector, a first internal supply voltage potential detector, a second internal supply voltage potential detector, and a logic circuit. The external supply voltage potential detector is configured to detect a supply voltage that is external to the memory device and to generate a first detection signal indicating whether a voltage potential of the external supply voltage reaches a first predetermined value. The first internal supply voltage potential detector is configured to detect a first internal supply voltage that is internal to the memory device and to generate a second detection signal indicating whether a voltage potential of the first internal supply voltage reaches a second predetermined value. The second internal supply voltage potential detector is configured to detect a second internal supply voltage that is internal to the memory device and to receive the first detection signal and an output voltage of the first internal supply voltage potential detector for generating a third detection signal indicating whether the voltage potentials of the external supply voltage and the first and second internal supply voltages reach the first, second, and third predetermined values respectively. The logic circuit is configured to receive the third detection signal and to generate a power-up signal. | 09-22-2011 |
| 20110228620 | TESTING METHOD FOR SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE - A method comprises simultaneously writing a test bit to a plurality of memory cells in the selected sections of a memory array corresponding to column address signals; individually and successively reading output bits from the memory cells in one of the selected sections of a designated row of the memory array corresponding to column address signals and row address signals; and error-checking the output bits with the test bit, wherein the memory array comprises the plurality of memory cells arranged in rows and columns and the memory cells of each row are divided into a plurality of sections. | 09-22-2011 |
| 20110227624 | DUTY CYCLE CORRECTION CIRCUIT - A duty cycle correction circuit comprises first and second pulse generators, a clock dividing unit, a detecting unit, and a pulse width control unit. The first pulse generator is configured to generate a first edge of a first pulse signal in synchronization with a first edge of a first clock signal, and the second pulse generator is configured to generate a first edge of a second pulse signal in synchronization with a second edge of the first pulse signal. The clock dividing unit is configured to generate a second clock signal by dividing the frequency of the first clock signal. The detecting unit is configured to generate a detecting signal according to the second clock signal and a time interval between the first edge of the first pulse signal and a second edge of the second pulse signal. In particular, pulse widths of the first and second pulse signals are the same and are adjustable according to a control signal from the pulse width control unit. | 09-22-2011 |
| 20110215850 | METHOD FOR TRACKING DELAY LOCKED LOOP CLOCK - A method for tracking a delay locked loop (DLL) clock is described. An external clock signal is allowed to pass through delay cells of a DLL during a first period of the external clock signal when a transition edge of a track signal applied on the DLL occurs. Then, when a transition edge of a sensing signal applied on the DLL occurs at a start of a second period of the external clock signal, the external clock signal is inhibited to pass through the delay cells and the number of the delay cells through which the external signal pass during the first period of the external clock signal is counted. When a reset signal is asserted, a delay time of each delay cell is reset such that a ratio of the delay time to the period of the external clock signal is kept from 10% to 15%. | 09-08-2011 |
| 20110211417 | MEMORY DEVICE WITH PSEUDO DOUBLE CLOCK SIGNALS AND THE METHOD USING THE SAME - A method for operating a memory device with pseudo double clock signals comprises the steps of: generating an even clock signal and an odd clock signal, wherein the clock rates of both the even clock signal and the odd clock signal are half that of the input clock signal, and the even clock signal is the inverse signal of the odd clock signal; if the logic level of the even clock signal is | 09-01-2011 |
| 20110211407 | SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE AND ASSOCIATED LOCAL SENSE AMPLIFIER - A semiconductor memory device comprises a plurality of memory cells, a bit line sense amplifier, a local sense amplifier, and a sense amplifier. The memory cells are connected between a word line and a bit line pair, and the bit line sense amplifier is configured to amplify voltages of data from the bit line pair and then transmits the data to a local data line pair. The local sense amplifier is configured to amplify voltages of the data from the local data line pair and transmit the data to a global data line pair in response to first and second control signals, and the sense amplifier is configured to amplify the voltages of the data from the global data line pair and transmit the data to an input/output line pair during a read operation. The local sense amplifier comprises a first read circuit, a second read circuit, and a write circuit, and when the memory device performs the read operation, the data is transmitted from the first read circuit to the write circuit via the second read circuit. | 09-01-2011 |
| 20110211398 | MEMORY DEVICE AND ASSOCIATED MAIN WORD LINE AND WORD LINE DRIVING CIRCUIT - A main word line driving circuit for driving word lines in a memory device comprises first and second level shifting units and an inverting unit. The first level shifting unit is configured to convert a decode signal into a first operative signal, and the second level shifting unit is configured to convert the decode signal into a second operative signal. The inverting unit is configured to receive the first and second operative signals. A supply voltage of the first level shifting unit is selectively switched to a first bias voltage when the plurality of word lines are selected or partially selected and switched the output voltage to a second bias voltage when the plurality of word lines are deselected. | 09-01-2011 |
| 20110188322 | MEMORY DEVICE WITH DATA PATHS FOR OUTPUTTING COMPRESSED DATA - A memory device is provided. The memory device includes a plurality of memory array banks, a bus, a data buffer, and four data paths. The data buffer provides data from the memory array banks to an external node. The first data path includes a first compression module for compressing the data from the memory array banks to the bus. The second data path transmits the data from the memory array banks to the bus. The third data path includes a second compression module for compressing data from the bus to the data buffer. The fourth data path transmits the data from the bus to the data buffer. | 08-04-2011 |
| 20110188308 | OVER ERASE CORRECTION METHOD OF FLASH MEMORY APPARATUS - An over erase correction method of a flash memory apparatus is provided. The flash memory apparatus includes at least a microprocessor, a memory array, a bit line exchange unit and a column decoder. By controlling the column decoder of the flash memory during a period of the over-erase correction, the column decoder outputs control signals to the bit line exchange unit for selecting at least one of the bit lines according to a magnitude of the bit line leakage current. The drop in the charge pump voltage due to the bit line leakage current is reduced, and thus, the over-erase correction is executed effectively during the period of the over-erase correction. | 08-04-2011 |
| 20110176369 | ERASE VERIFICATION METHOD OF FLASH MEMORY APPARATUS - A suitable erase verification (ERSV) method of a flash memory apparatus is provided, which is different from the conventional ERSV method. That is, by managing the ERSV operation on the flash memory after at least once of erase operation, a flash memory controller in the flash memory apparatus selectively assigns at least one of de-selected sectors instead of all of the de-selected sectors to perform the ERSV. Therefore, by managing the ERSV operation on the flash memory, the time for the ERSV operation thereon is reduced. | 07-21-2011 |
| 20110175684 | TEMPERATURE-COMPENSATED RING OSCILLATOR - A temperature-compensated ring oscillator includes a control signal generator and a voltage controlled oscillator. The control signal generator is configured to generate at least one control signal, and includes at least one first resistor and second resistor. A first temperature coefficient of the first resistor is negative, and a second temperature coefficient of the second resistor is positive. The voltage controlled oscillator receives the control signal, outputs an oscillation signal, and has (2 | 07-21-2011 |
| 20100315143 | CIRCUIT AND METHOD FOR REDUCING POPPING SOUND - A circuit for reducing popping sound comprises a waveform generator, a voltage accumulator, and a comparator. The waveform generator is configured for generating a periodic waveform, and the voltage accumulator is configured for generating an increased voltage. The comparator is configured for comparing the periodic waveform with the increased voltage for generating a successive pulse signal. A percentage of a duty cycle in the successive pulse signal is increased gradually. | 12-16-2010 |
| 20100172188 | METHOD FOR CONDUCTING OVER-ERASE CORRECTION - A method for conducting an over-erase correction comprises the steps of: conducting a first erase and verification operation; using an FN soft program to correct over-erased cells if bit line leakage is found after the first erase and verification operation; conducting a second erase and verification operation; and using a hot carrier HC soft program to correct over-erased cells if bit line leakage is found after the second erase and verification operation. | 07-08-2010 |
| 20100149901 | WORD LINE DECODER CIRCUIT - A word line decoder circuit is provided in the present invention. The word line decoder circuit comprises at least one local pre-decoder, at least one 3-transistors row driver, a controllable power supply, and a controllable pull-down circuit. The controllable power supply is controlled by an inversed sector select signal to provide a first voltage to the row driver and local pre-decoder. The local pre-decoder uses 5-transistors architecture, in which there are 2 PMOS transistors and 3 NOS transistors. The controllable pull-down circuit pulls down the local pre-decoder and is controlled by a sector select signal and pre-decoding signal. The local pre-decoder receives a local pre-decoding signal to select the row driver. When the row driver is selected, the row driver determines a word line according to a row driver pull-down signal and a row driver pull-up signal. | 06-17-2010 |
| 20100080059 | PAGE BUFFER USED IN A NAND FLASH MEMORY AND PROGRAMMING METHOD THEREOF - A page buffer used in a NAND flash memory comprises a first latch circuit, a second latch circuit, a bit line voltage supply circuit and a verification circuit comprising a first verification path, a second verification path and a third verification path. The first latch circuit and the second latch circuit latch the data programmed into and read from the NAND flash memory. The bit line voltage supply circuit supplies bit line voltages to the corresponding bit line of the NAND flash memory. The verification circuit verifies the programming operations of the NAND flash memory. The first verification path is for the verification of a first LSB programming operation. The second verification path is for the verification of a second LSB programming operation before the first LSB programming operation is verified. The third verification path is for the verification of the second LSB programming operation after the first LSB programming operation is verified. | 04-01-2010 |
| 20100020629 | WORD LINE DRIVER CIRCUIT - A sector of a word line driver circuit is provided, comprising a local reset signal generator module and m word line clusters. The m word line clusters are coupled to the local reset signal generator module. The local reset signal generator module is used to generate j reset signals. The x-th reset signal is determined according to an x-th pre-decoding signal, a bank selectable signal and a sector selectable signal, wherein j is a nature number, and x is an integer from 1 to j. Each of the m word line clusters comprises j row drivers. The x-th row driver of the y-th word line cluster determines a [x+j*(y−1)]-th word line signal according to the x-th reset signal, the x-th pre-decoding signal, the sector selectable signal, and a y-th cluster select signal, wherein m is a nature number, and y is an integer from 1 to m. | 01-28-2010 |
| 20100007387 | TRIANGULAR WAVE GENERATING CIRCUIT HAVING SYNCHRONIZATION WITH EXTERNAL CLOCK - A triangular wave generating circuit includes: an integrating unit including a capacitor, the integrating unit having an output for providing a triangular wave signal; first and second constant current sources for charging and discharging the capacitor; a switch unit for coupling the first and second current sources to the integrating unit to charge and discharge the capacitor in response to an internal clock signal; a high/low level limiter including first and second comparing units for comparing the output of the integrating unit with upper and lower triangular wave peak limit reference voltages, respectively, and providing output signals indicating when the output of the integrating unit coincides with the peak limit reference voltages; a clock generator for providing the internal clock signal in response to the comparing unit output signals; and means for varying a peak-to-peak swing of the triangular wave signal over time to synchronize the internal clock signal with an externally supplied clock pulse. | 01-14-2010 |
| 20090296509 | VOLTAGE REGULATOR CIRCUIT FOR A MEMORY CIRCUIT - A voltage regulator circuit for a memory circuit comprises a voltage divider, a capacitor, an active-mode voltage regulator and a standby-mode voltage regulator. The active-mode voltage regulator is always on while in active mode, and turned on whenever a refresh is requested. The standby-mode voltage regulator is periodically turned on while in standby mode, and turned on whenever a refresh is requested. In addition, the active voltage regulator uses stronger transistors than those used by the standby-mode voltage regulator, and both the active-mode voltage regulator and the standby-mode voltage regulator are coupled to the voltage divider and the capacitor. | 12-03-2009 |
| 20090296492 | METHOD FOR ERASING FLASH MEMORY - A method for erasing flash memory comprises the steps of: setting a critical ending condition; simultaneously erasing selected multiple sectors of the flash memory; stopping simultaneous erasing if one of the selected multiple sectors meets the critical ending condition; and erasing the remainder of each of the selected multiple sectors sequentially. | 12-03-2009 |
| 20090244940 | VOLTAGE GENERATING CIRCUIT - A voltage generating circuit is provided, including a voltage output terminal, a ground terminal, a capacitor, a selector, a first switch, and a second switch. The capacitor is connected between a pump signal and the output of the selector. The selector is controlled by a first control signal and used to select the voltage source or the voltage output terminal to connect the capacitor. The first switch is controlled by a second control signal, and the second switch is controlled by a third control signal. When the first switch is turn-on, the voltage output terminal is connected to the ground terminal. When the second switch is turn-on, the voltage output terminal is connected to the voltage source. | 10-01-2009 |
| 20090237126 | GATE DRIVER FOR SWITCHING POWER MOSFET - A gate driver for switching power MOSFET including a MOS pair, a first conduction path, and a second conduction path is disclosed. The MOS pair electrically coupling gate of the power MOSFET, for controlling turning on or turning off the power MOSFET. The first conduction path electrically couples to gate of the power MOSFET and the MOS pair, and has a constant resistance. The second conduction path electrically coupling to gate of the power MOSFET and the MOS pair, having variable resistance corresponding to gate voltage of the power MOSFET. | 09-24-2009 |
| 20090231016 | GATE OXIDE PROTECTED I/O CIRCUIT - An integrated circuit comprises a first input node and a second input node, an output node; a first output transistor of a first type and a second output transistor of a second type, and a first clamping transistor of the second type and a second clamping transistor of a second type. The first clamping transistor, the first output transistor, the second clamping transistor, and the second output transistor are coupled in series across a first power supply terminal and a second power supply terminal. The first input node is coupled to a gate of the first output transistor. The second input node is coupled to a gate of the second output transistor. The output node is coupled to a common node of the first output transistor and the second clamping transistor. A gate of the first clamping transistor is coupled to a first reference voltage. A gate of the second clamping transistor is coupled to a second reference voltage. | 09-17-2009 |
| 20090160503 | TRIANGLE WAVE GENERATOR AND SPREAD SPECTRUM CONTROL CIRCUIT THEREOF - A triangle wave generator with function of spreading frequency spectrum is provided. The triangle wave generator includes a switch control circuit, a current generator, an integrator, and a spread spectrum control circuit. The switch control circuit provides an internal clock and a switch control signal. The current generator is coupled to the switch control circuit and provides charge current according to the switch control signal. The integrator is coupled to the current generator and provides a triangle wave signal. The spread spectrum control circuit is coupled to the switch control circuit and the current generator for providing a current control signal according to the internal clock. | 06-25-2009 |
| 20090147594 | VOLTAGE REGULATOR FOR SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY - A voltage regulator in a semiconductor memory has: a comparing unit including first and second bias current sources, for comparing an output voltage with first and second reference voltages under control of a first signal, the second bias current source being ON under control of a second signal; and a driver active element, coupled to the comparing unit, for outputting the output voltage. Before sensing operations, the output voltage is reset to the second reference voltage. During the sensing operations, the output voltage is maintained at the first reference voltage and the second signal is asserted for turning ON the second bias current source for raising speed of the comparing unit. After the sensing operations, the output voltage is reset to the second reference voltage. | 06-11-2009 |
| 20090146726 | DELAY CIRCUIT WITH CONSTANT TIME DELAY INDEPENDENT OF TEMPERATURE VARIATIONS - A delay circuit has: an inverting receiver with a resistive element, the inverting receiver having an input node for receiving an input signal and an output node coupled to the resistive element; a capacitive element, coupled to the output node of the inverting receiver and the resistive element; a first transistor, having lower turned ON voltage at higher temperature; a second transistor, used for generating a rail to rail signals on a terminal of the first transistor; and an output inverter, having an input node coupled to the first transistor and an output node for outputting an output signal of the delay circuit. Further, a third transistor is used for enhancing pulling low of the output signal of the delay circuit. | 06-11-2009 |
| 20090146702 | CHARGE PUMP AND METHOD FOR OPERATING THE SAME - A charge pump comprises a ring oscillator and a pumping circuit. The ring oscillator provides a plurality of oscillating clocks. The pumping circuit includes a plurality of pumping blocks coupled to each other for outputting a boosted voltage, and each pumping block is connected to a corresponding oscillating clock. | 06-11-2009 |
| 20090134936 | CHARGE PUMP CIRCUIT AND CELL THEREOF - A charge pump cell with an input and output nodes includes a first, second, and third equalization units, and a first, second, and third capacitors. The input node is coupled to the inputs of the first, second and third equalization units, and the output node is coupled to the second equalization unit. One end of the second capacitor is coupled to the control end of the first equalization unit for enabling or disabling the first equalization unit, and also coupled to the output of the third equalization unit. One end of the third capacitor is coupled to the output of the second equalization unit. One end of the first capacitor is coupled to the control ends of the second and third equalization units, and also coupled to the output of the first equalization unit. | 05-28-2009 |
| 20090115492 | FUSE-FETCHING CIRCUIT AND METHOD FOR USING THE SAME - A fuse-fetching circuit comprises a plurality of fuses, a plurality of first switches and a shift register. Each of the first switches includes a first data end, a second data end and a control end. The first data end is connected to the fuse, and the control end is controlled by a fuse-fetching signal. The shift register includes a plurality of registers, each of which includes a first latch, a first transmission gate, a second latch and a second transmission gate. The first latch is connected to the second data end of the first switch. | 05-07-2009 |
| 20090109782 | TEMPERATURE DETECTOR IN AN INTEGRATED CIRCUIT - A temperature detector in an integrated circuit comprises a temperature-dependent voltage generator, a ring oscillator, a timer and a clock-driven recorder. The temperature-dependent voltage generator is configured to generate at least one temperature-dependent voltage. The ring oscillator is configured to generate a clock signal, which is affected by one of the at least one temperature-dependent voltage. The timer is configured to generate a time-out signal, which is affected by one of the temperature-dependent voltage. The clock-driven recorder has a clock input terminal in response to the clock signal and time-out signal. | 04-30-2009 |
| 20080316844 | SELECTION METHOD OF BIT LINE REDUNDANCY REPAIR AND APPARATUS PERFORMING THE SAME - A selection method of bit line redundancy repair includes the steps of providing a plurality of logical addresses of memory blocks in the normal cell array, generating a plurality of extra fuse signals, generating a code based on states of the extra fuse signals, the code matching a defective type of the memory blocks, and selecting a plurality of redundancy blocks in the redundancy cell array to replace the memory blocks according to the code. The apparatus includes a redundancy repair enable circuit for generating a redundancy enable signal based on logical addresses of the memory blocks, a controlling fuse circuit for sending a code matching a defective type of the memory blocks, and a redundancy decoder circuit for receiving the redundancy enable signal and the code to replace a plurality of memory blocks in the normal cell array with redundancy blocks. | 12-25-2008 |
