Abstract: A semiconductor integrated circuit device including standard cells including fin transistors includes, at a cell row end, a cell-row-terminating cell that does not contribute to a logical function of a circuit block. The cell-row-terminating cell includes a plurality of fins extending in an X direction. Ends of the plurality of fins on the inner side of the circuit block are near a gate structure placed at a cell end and do not overlap with the gate structure in a plan view, and ends of the plurality of fins on an outer side of the circuit block overlap with any one of a gate structure in a plan view.

Abstract: A current-mode circuit, comprising: at least one switch unit, each switch unit comprising a field-effect transistor connected at its source terminal in series with an impedance and configured to carry a given current, wherein for each switch unit or for at least one of the switch units the impedance is a variable impedance; and an adjustment circuit configured, for each switch unit or for said at least one of the switch units, to adjust an impedance of the variable impedance to calibrate a predetermined property of the switch unit which is dependent on the field-effect transistor.

Abstract: Differential circuitry including first and second current paths each including a succession of first and further load nodes, each successive further load node connected to its preceding load node via a divider impedance; and first switching circuitry connected to the further load node or nodes of the first current path, and second switching circuitry connected to the further load node or nodes of the second current path, the first and second switching circuitry controlling a magnitude of controllable current signals passing through the load nodes of the first current path and the second current path, respectively, wherein: the first load nodes of the first and second current paths include a first pair of load nodes, and the or each successive further load node of the first current path and its corresponding successive further load node of the second current path include a successive further pair of load nodes.

Abstract: A divider control circuit outputs a divider control signal that is meant to increase the division ratio from a first division ratio through a second division ratio greater than the first division ratio to a third division ratio greater than the second division ratio and then return the division ratio through a fourth division ratio smaller than the third division ratio to a fifth division ratio smaller than the fourth division ratio and greater than the first division ratio. Moreover, control is exerted so that the absolute value of the time rate of change of the division ratio in the increase from the second division ratio to the third division ratio is smaller than the absolute value of the time rate of change of the division ratio in the increase from the first division ratio to the second division ratio.

Abstract: In an output circuit of a semiconductor integrated circuit device, an output transistor is placed apart from an ESD protection diode connected to an external output terminal, and a protection resistance is placed between them. The protection resistance is formed as a plurality of separate resistance regions, and taps supplying a power supply voltage to a substrate or a well are formed between the resistance regions. Noise applied to the external output terminal is attenuated by the protection resistance before reaching the output transistor and absorbed through the taps.

Abstract: A semiconductor integrated circuit includes a buffer which outputs a memory control signal to a terminal coupled to a memory device, a power supply control circuit which controls a supply of a power supply voltage from a power supply line to the buffer based on a power control signal, a pull-up control circuit configured to control a pull-up of the terminal based on a pull-up control signal, and a control signal generating circuit. The control signal generating circuit generates, during an output period, the power control signal to supply the power supply voltage to the buffer, and the pull-up control signal to stop the pull-up of the terminal, and generates, during an idle period, the power control signal to stop the supply of the power supply voltage to the buffer, and the pull-up control signal to perform the pull-up of the terminal.

Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a substrate; a first transistor formed over the substrate; a second transistor formed over the first transistor; a third transistor formed over the substrate; and a fourth transistor formed over the third transistor. The first, second, third, and fourth transistor include first, second, third, and fourth gate electrodes, respectively, and include first, second, third, and fourth source regions and first, second, third, and fourth drain region of first, second, third, and fourth conductivity types, respectively. The first conductivity type is different from the second conductivity type. The third conductivity type is the same as the fourth conductivity type. The first and second gate electrodes are integrated, and the third and fourth gate electrode are integrated.

Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a first area including a logic circuit, a second area including a functional circuit, a first power line, a second power line that supplies a power to the logic circuit and the functional circuit, and a first power switch circuit connected to the first power line and the second power line, wherein the first power switch circuit includes a first transistor larger than a transistor provided in the logic circuit and being connected to the first power line and the second power line, an end cap provided in an area next to the functional circuit, and a second transistor provided between the end cap and an area including the first transistor, the second transistor being of a same size as the transistor provided in the logic circuit and being connected to the first power line and the second power line.

Abstract: An output circuit includes: a first input transistor that is provided between a first power supply line and a first intermediate node; a second input transistor that is provided between a second intermediate node and a second power supply line; a first cascode transistor that is provided between the first intermediate node and an output node, and receives a first clip voltage from a first voltage generation circuit; a second cascode transistor that is provided between the output node and the second intermediate node, and receives a second clip voltage from a second voltage generation circuit; a first switch transistor that is provided between the first intermediate node and a gate of the first cascode transistor, and turns on during power down; and a second switch transistor that is provided between the second intermediate node and a gate of the second cascode transistor, and turns on during power down.

Abstract: A display apparatus includes a display, and an acoustic unit connected to a sound source to transmit sound, wherein the acoustic unit includes a first cavity extending from the sound source in a first direction in which the sound is emitted, and a second cavity extending in a second direction that is different from the first direction, the second cavity being connected with the first cavity.

Abstract: The present disclosure attempts to provide a capacitor cell having a large capacitance value per unit area in a semiconductor integrated circuit device using a three-dimensional transistor device. A logic cell includes a three-dimensional transistor device. A capacitor cell includes a three-dimensional transistor device. A length of a portion, of a local interconnect, which protrudes from a three-dimensional diffusion layer in a direction away from a power supply interconnect in the capacitor cell is greater than a length of a portion, of a local interconnect, which protrudes from a three-dimensional diffusion layer in a direction away from a power supply interconnect in the logic cell.

Abstract: A phase synchronization circuit which includes a first delay circuit for adjusting a first delay amount, delaying a first reference clock signal by the first delay amount, and outputting a first delayed reference clock signal. The phase synchronization circuit further includes a first clock control circuit that compares phases of the first delayed reference clock signal and a first output clock signal and generates a first clock control signal based on a result of the comparison; a first clock signal generation circuit that generates the first output clock signal based on the first clock control signal; and a first monitoring circuit that monitors jitter in the first output clock signal and adjusts the first delay amount based on a result of monitoring the jitter in the first output clock signal.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a semiconductor integrated circuit device including a standard cell with a fin extending in a first direction. The fin and a gate line extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and provided on the fin constitute an active transistor. The fin and a dummy gate line provided in parallel with the gate line constitute a dummy transistor. The active transistor shares a node as its source or drain with the dummy transistor.

Abstract: Phase Locked Loop, PLL, circuitry comprising a phase detector configured to generate a first pulse signal comprising at least one first pulse, a property of each first pulse being indicative of a phase difference between a reference signal and a feedback signal; a pulse repeater circuit configured, based on the first pulse signal, to generate a second pulse signal comprising, for each first pulse, a second pulse generated by repeating the corresponding first pulse; and an oscillator configured to generate the feedback signal and control a frequency of the feedback signal based on the second pulse signal.

Abstract: Provided is a semiconductor integrated circuit device including a nanowire field effect transistor (FET) and having a layout configuration effective for making manufacturing the device easy. A standard cell having no logical function is disposed adjacent to a standard cell having a logical function. The standard cell includes nanowire FETs having nanowires and pads. The standard cell further includes dummy pads, which have no contribution to a logical function of a circuit.

Abstract: An audio processing apparatus includes a preprocessor which extracts a voice-band signal from a first electric signal, and outputs a first output signal containing the voice-band signal; a first controller which generates a first amplification coefficient for multiplying with the first output signal to compress a dynamic range of an intensity of the first output signal, and generates a first modified amplification coefficient by smoothing the first amplification coefficient with a first time constant; and a first multiplier which multiplies the first modified amplification coefficient and the first output signal. The first time constant is a first rise time constant when the intensity increases, and is a first decay time constant when the intensity decreases. The first rise time constant is not less than a temporal resolution of hearing of a hearing-impaired person, and is less than a duration time of sound which induces recruitment in the hearing-impaired person.

Abstract: A phase synchronization circuit includes: an oscillation circuit that includes a variable current generation unit that generates a variable current of a current amount corresponding to a control voltage and a fixed current generation unit that generates a fixed current of a current amount corresponding to a correction code and generates an output clock signal having a frequency corresponding to the total current amount of the variable current and the fixed current; a feedback circuit that generates a feedback clock signal based on the output clock signal; a control voltage generation circuit that generates the control voltage to make a frequency of the output clock signal become a desired frequency in a normal operation mode; and a correction code generation circuit that generates the correction code in a calibration mode, in which in the calibration mode, the control voltage generation circuit outputs a fixed one of the control voltage.

Abstract: Provided is a semiconductor chip including a nanowire field effect transistor (FET) and having a layout configuration effective for making manufacturing the chip easy. A semiconductor chip includes a first block including a standard cell having a nanowire FET and a second block including a nanowire FET. In the first and second blocks, nanowires extending in an X direction have an arrangement pitch in a Y direction of an integer multiple of a pitch P1. Pads have an arrangement pitch in the X direction of an integer multiple of a pitch P2.

Abstract: Quadrature oscillator circuitry, comprising: a first differential oscillator circuit having differential output nodes and configured to generate a first pair of differential oscillator signals at those output nodes, respectively; a second differential oscillator circuit having differential output nodes and configured to generate a second pair of differential oscillator signals at those output nodes, respectively; and a cross-coupling circuit connected to cross-couple the first and second differential oscillator circuits. The cross-coupling circuit may comprise a pair of cross-coupled transistors.

Abstract: A quantization parameter optimization method includes: determining a cost function in which a regularization term is added to an error function, the regularization term being a function of a quantization error that is an error between a weight parameter of a neural network and a quantization parameter that is a quantized weight parameter; updating the quantization parameter by use of the cost function; and determining, as an optimized quantization parameter of a quantization neural network, the quantization parameter with which a function value derived from the cost function satisfies a predetermined condition, the optimized quantization parameter being obtained as a result of repeating the updating, the quantization neural network being the neural network, the weight parameter of which has been quantized, wherein the function value derived from the regularization term and an inference accuracy of the quantization neural network are negatively correlated.