Abstract: There is provided a semiconductor device supplied with internal power generated by an internal power generation circuit to perform a stable operation and, also, suppress power consumption. A control circuit, a row/column decoder and a sense amplifier are driven by an internal buck voltage. On the other hand, a data path with high power consumption is driven by an external power supply voltage. A level conversion circuit receives an address signal or a command signal having a voltage level of the external power supply voltage, converts the voltage level to the internal buck voltage, and outputs a resultant signal to the control circuit. A level conversion circuit receives a control signal having a voltage level of the internal buck voltage from the control circuit, converts the voltage level to the external power supply voltage, and outputs a resultant signal to the data path.

Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a gate electrode having a straight portion, a dummy electrode located at a point on the extension of the straight portion, a stopper insulating film, a sidewall insulating film, an interlayer insulating film, and a linear contact portion extending, when viewed from above, parallel to the straight portion. The longer side of the rectangle defined by the linear contact portion is, when viewed from above, located beyond the sidewall insulating film and within the top region of the gate electrode and the dummy electrode. A gap G between the gate electrode and the dummy electrode appearing, when viewed from above, in the linear contact portion is filled with the sidewall insulating film such that the semiconductor substrate is not exposed.

Abstract: Level control signals are both set to H level, and potentials of power supply lines are both set to be lower than a power supply potential. In this manner, a gate leakage current during waiting and writing operation of a memory cell array can significantly be reduced. The level control signals are set to L level and H level respectively, and solely the potential of one of the power supply lines is set to be lower than the power supply potential. In this manner, power consumption during a reading operation of the memory cell array can be reduced.

Abstract: A path routing from a write current source supplying a write current through an internal data line, a bit line and a source line to a reference potential except a memory cell is configured to have a constant resistance independent of a memory cell position selected in a memory array, and each of the resistance value of the current path between the memory cell and the write current source and the resistance value of the current path between the selected memory cell and the reference potential node is set to 500? or lower. A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device having improved reliability of data read/write is achieved.

Abstract: A random number generator includes a ring oscillator having an EX-OR gate and four inverters together forming a loop. This loop enters stable state for a start signal having the low level and oscillates for the start signal having the high level. When the start signal has a pulse of a width shorter than the loop's delay time, output nodes responsively, sequentially enter metastable state hovering between the high and low levels. The metastable waveform becomes smaller with time and finally disappears. As metastable state cannot be controlled in longevity, it disappears at any random number node. A counter thus outputs a signal serving as true random number data depending on the longevity of the metastable state. A random number generator miniaturized and having reduced power consumption, and of high performance can thus be implemented.

Abstract: A method of determining defects in photomasks according to the present invention is designed to increase the yield of the manufacture of photomasks and to decrease the cost of inspecting the photomasks. In the method, circuit data 1 representing a circuit to be formed on a semiconductor substrate by photolithography is prepared, and layout data 2 is prepared from the circuit data 1. The layout data is converted to compensated layout data by performing RET. Further, mask-manufacturing data is developed from the compensated layout data. To form patterns on a semiconductor substrate by photolithography, attribute information is imparted to the mask-manufacturing data. The attribute information represents whether the patterns are adaptive to electrically active regions or electrically non-active region. In the mask-inspecting process 6, a criterion for determining whether the patterns formed on the photomasks have defects is changed in accordance with the attribute information.

Abstract: A semiconductor device has a first operation mode and a second operation mode in which power supply with a higher voltage value than that in the first operation mode is provided. The semiconductor device includes a memory portion having memory cells for storing data and a power supply circuit portion supplying a first voltage and a second voltage to the memory portion. The memory portion writes or reads data to or from the memory cells based on the first voltage and the second voltage, and the power supply circuit portion provides a smaller voltage difference between the first voltage and the second voltage in the second operation mode as compared with the voltage difference in the first operation mode.

Abstract: In the same row access, a voltage level of word lines WLA and WLB is set to a power supply voltage VDD-Vtp. On the other hand, in different rows access, a voltage level of word line WLA or WLB is set to power supply voltage VDD. Therefore, when both ports PA and PB simultaneously access the same row, the voltage level of word lines WLA, WLB is set to power supply voltage VDD-Vtp. Thus, a driving current amount of a memory cell is reduced, thereby preventing a reduction in a current ratio of a transistor. As a result, deterioration of SNM can be prevented.

Abstract: A method includes the steps of: introducing insulation film into a trench to provide a trench isolation; planarizing the trench isolation to expose a passivation film; and removing the passivation film and depositing a second silicon layer on a first silicon layer and the trench isolation; and in the step of depositing the first silicon layer the first silicon layer is an undoped silicon layer and in the step of depositing the second silicon layer the second silicon layer is a doped silicon layer or an undoped silicon layer subsequently having an impurity introduced thereinto or the like and thermally diffused through subsequent thermal hysteresis into the first silicon layer.

Abstract: The metal wirings of the uppermost layer are exposed so as to be contactable to the probe and arranged so as to be spatially separated from one another via spaces that are approximately parallel to the longitudinal direction of the dicing area, and the position and size of the space is designed considering a thickness of a cutting edge of a blade and relative positioning error, and the blade does not cross any metal wirings when the blade passes through the dicing area, thereby preventing the generation of an abruption or a burr due to the dicing to enhance a yield in IC production.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a routing analysis method for performing a routing analysis on an integrated circuit from a netlist which is information on a plurality of cells constituting the integrated circuit and routes connecting the cells, and the routing analysis method comprises a step (Step 1) of obtaining the sum of areas of a plurality of cells, the number of cells or the number of routes connecting the cells from the netlist, to be defined as a constant C, and calculating a layout area S which is an area of a square layout region, by dividing the constant C by a predetermined constant U, a step (Step 2) of calculating a total route length L by multiplying a half perimeter length H of the layout region having the layout area S obtained in Step 1 by a predetermined coefficient ?, and a step (Step 3) of calculating a routing difficulty index by dividing the total route length L by the layout area S.

Abstract: In a test mode, a comparator compares for each column a value of data read from each memory cell connected to an activated word line with an expected value to be read from each memory cell. An error register holds error data based on a comparison result by a comparator. Each bit of the error data indicates the comparison result by the comparator for a corresponding column. Each bit is set to “0” when the comparison result for the corresponding column always indicates equality whichever word line is activated, and is set to “1” when once the comparison result for the corresponding column indicates difference.

Abstract: In a semiconductor device having element isolation made of a trench-type isolating oxide film 13, large and small dummy patterns 11 of two types, being an active region of a dummy, are located in an isolating region 10, the large dummy patterns 11b are arranged at a position apart from actual patterns 9, and the small dummy patterns 11a are regularly arranged in a gap at around a periphery of the actual patterns 9, whereby uniformity of an abrading rate is improved at a time of abrading an isolating oxide film 13a is improved, and surface flatness of the semiconductor device becomes preferable.

Abstract: Receiving a request for canceling setting, a control circuit erases data stored in a corresponding block, changes a value of a protection flag, and cancels protection setting. When an overall protection is set for any block, the control circuit prohibits access to all blocks, except when it is an operation mode for activating a memory program contained in the microcomputer. Further, control circuit permits an access to a block M only when partial protection is set, CPU is in the mode for activating a memory program contained in the microcomputer and the access is for reading an instruction code in accordance with an instruction fetch.

Abstract: The present invention provides a switching power supply circuit capable of stabilizing an output voltage as well as increasing a response speed of the output voltage by improving a phase margin of an open loop as a whole of the switching power supply circuit. The switching power supply circuit according to the present invention includes a resistor and a capacitor in addition to a configuration of a conventional switching power supply circuit. The resistor is connected between a node and the capacitor. The capacitor is connected between the resistor and another node. The resistor and the capacitor configure a phase compensation circuit. The phase compensation circuit has a cut-off frequency in accordance with a resonance frequency of an inductor and a capacitor by adjusting a resistance value of the resistor and a capacitance of the capacitor.

Abstract: In this AG-AND type flash memory, a layered bit line configuration where a memory array is divided into a plurality of sub blocks, new main bit lines are allocated so as to correspond to each sub block, and a main bit line is selectively connected to a global bit line in an upper layer via a switch is adopted, so that charge sharing write-in is carried out between two main bit lines. Accordingly, write-in of data into the flash memory can be carried out with low power consumption, and the threshold voltage can be controlled with precision.

Abstract: A sub-decoder element provided corresponding to each word line is constructed by the same conductive type MOS transistors. The sub-decoder elements are arranged in a plurality of columns such that the layout of active regions for forming the sub-decoder elements is inverted in a Y direction and displaced by one sub-decoder element in an X direction. The arrangement of the sub-decoder elements is adjusted such that high voltage is not applied to both of gate electrodes adjacent in the Y direction. A well voltage of a well region for forming the sub-decoder element group is set to a voltage level such that a source to substrate of the transistor of the sub-decoder element is set into a deep reversed-bias state. In a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, the leakage by a parasitic MOS in a sub-decoder circuit or word line driving circuit to which a positive or negative high voltage is supplied, can be suppressed.

Abstract: A memory cell information producing unit obtains physical terminal coordinates, physical terminal names and logical terminal names of a memory cell and layout data, and operates based on them to specify parasitic elements parasitic on interconnections of the memory cell, and to produce memory cell information including the physical terminal names and representing physical properties and a connection relationship of inner elements of the memory cell and the parasitic elements. Memory cell array information producing unit obtains connection information determining the connection relationship of physical terminals of the memory cell, assigns node names to the physical terminals of the memory cell based on the connection information, and produces memory cell array information representing the node names of all the memory cells. A memory cell array net list producing unit produces a net list of the memory cell array formed of the memory cell information and the memory cell array information.

Abstract: A width and a thickness of a bit line are represented as W1 and T1, respectively, a thickness of a digit line is represented as T2, and a distance from a center of the digit line in a thickness direction to a center of a free layer of an MTJ element in the thickness direction is represented as L1. A width of the digit line is represented as W2, and a distance from a center of the bit line in the thickness direction to the center of the free layer of the MTJ element in the thickness direction is represented as L2. The distances L1 and L2 and the cross-sectional areas S1 and S2 are set in such a manner that when L1/L2?1, a relation of (?)·(L1/L2)?S2/S1?1 is satisfied and when L1/L2?1, a relation of 1?S2/S1?3(L1/L2) is satisfied.

Abstract: The composing circuit outputs a lower voltage out of voltages output from the constant voltage generation circuit and the dummy pump circuit as a voltage to the sensing circuit. The sensing circuit compares voltages to generate a pump activation signal for activating the pump circuit. Since when an external power supply voltage is a low voltage, the voltage applied to the sensing circuit will be an output voltage of the dummy pump circuit having the same output characteristics as those of the pump circuit in place of the reference voltage, no pump activation signal is generated. As a result, when the external power supply voltage is a low voltage, power consumption can be suppressed without uselessly outputting a pump activation signal.