Patents by Inventor Akinori Matsuo

Akinori Matsuo has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 5457335
    Abstract: A nonvolatile storage element of a single-layer gate type structure is arranged so that a floating gate is formed of a conductive layer which partly overlaps with a control gate, formed of a diffused layer, and is provided with a barrier layer covering a part of or the whole surface of the floating gate. Nonvolatile storage elements characterized as such are used for redundancy control of defects or change of functions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 1991
    Date of Patent: October 10, 1995
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi VLSI Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Kenichi Kuroda, Toshifumi Takeda, Hisahiro Moriuchi, Masaki Shirai, Jiroh Sakaguchi, Akinori Matsuo, Shoji Yoshida
  • Patent number: 5444663
    Abstract: Each internal circuit of a semiconductor integrated circuit operates at both a relatively high operating voltage having a predetermined allowable range and a relatively low operating voltage also having a predetermined allowable range. The operating voltage is externally supplied. Operating conditions of the semiconductor integrated circuit are individually set restrictive to the relatively high operating voltage having a predetermined allowable range and to the relatively low operating voltage having a predetermined allowable range. The semiconductor integrated circuit is operable selectively at these operating voltages. Since the internal circuits are operated at two operating voltages, an arrangement of internal circuits can be simplified while the semiconductor integrated circuit is concurrently usable in not only the conventional system but also a low-voltage one.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 22, 1995
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi VLSI Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Takeshi Furuno, Yasuhiro Nakamura, Akinori Matsuo
  • Patent number: 5434819
    Abstract: A semiconductor memory device having a plurality of nonvolatile memory devices or elements disposed in a matrix arrangement as one or more memory arrays is provided with a write operation and a verify mode which is automatically implemented when the write operation of the memory device ends. In connection with this, an auto-verify function is set in an internal circuit associated with the memory in accordance with a predetermined control signal and wherein a read mode subsequent to the write operation is implemented. During the auto-verify function, the read mode is implemented by effecting a data comparison circuit, such as an exclusive-OR logic circuit, which performs a coincidence/non-coincidence operation comparing the write data and the read data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 1994
    Date of Patent: July 18, 1995
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi VLSI Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Akinori Matsuo, Masashi Watanabe, Wada Masashi, Takeshi Wada, Yasuhiro Nakamura
  • Patent number: 5383162
    Abstract: A non-volatile memory element comprising a control gate formed by a diffusion layer, a floating gate comprising a conductive layer, the floating gate being partly overlapping with the control gate through a thin insulating layer, and a barrier layer formed to cover a part or the entire part of the floating gate is used as a defect remedy circuit for the memory circuit having read-only memory elements arranged in the form of a matrix for storing defective addresses corresponding to the word lines and bit lines and storing data corresponding thereto respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 26, 1992
    Date of Patent: January 17, 1995
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi VLSI Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Masaki Shirai, Hisahiro Moriuchi, Yasuhiro Yoshii, Kenichi Kuroda, Akinori Matsuo
  • Patent number: 5335204
    Abstract: Means for changing-over address signals is provided in an address input portion, and the order of the signals to be input to an address decoder is changed according to external control signals. Alternatively, a reading output circuit is provided which reads data in bit unit different from that of the writing input circuit. Thus, data can be read and written even when the number of bits of data differs between in case of accessing a built-in memory of an LSI inside the LSI and in case of accessing it from outside the LSI.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 1993
    Date of Patent: August 2, 1994
    Assignees: Hitachi., Ltd., Hitachi VLSI Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Akinori Matsuo, Masashi Watanabe, Michio Fujimoto, Masashi Wada, Yoshiharu Nagayama, Kazuo Naito
  • Patent number: 5270944
    Abstract: A method of fabrication comprising forming a semiconductor integrated circuit device LSI which has a microcomputer CPU furnished with an EPROM, determining a program for controlling the microcomputer CPU and to be set in the EPROM (performing an initial evaluation) while information is being written into and erased from the EPROM built in the semiconductor integrated circuit device LSI, and thereafter forming a semiconductor integrated circuit device LSI in which the EPROM of the first-mentioned semiconductor integrated circuit device LSI is replaced with a mask ROM. In replacing the EPROM with the mask ROM, peripheral circuits required for both the EPROM and the mask ROM have their circuit arrangements held basically the same, and specific peripheral circuits for use in only the EPROM have their circuit regions left as they are as logically inactive regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 1992
    Date of Patent: December 14, 1993
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi VLSI Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Kenichi Kuroda, Akinori Matsuo
  • Patent number: 5257234
    Abstract: Means for changing-over address signals is provided in an address input portion, and the order of the signals to be input to an address decoder is changed according to external control signals. Alternatively, a reading output circuit is provided which reads data in bit unit different from that of the writing input circuit. Thus, data can be read and written even when the number of bits of data differs between in case of accessing a built-in memory of an LSI inside the LSI and in case of accessing it from outside the LSI.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1993
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi VLSI Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Akinori Matsuo, Masashi Watanabe, Michio Fujimoto, Masashi Wada, Yoshiharu Nagayama, Kazuo Naito
  • Patent number: 5182719
    Abstract: A method of fabricating a second semiconductor integrated circuit device includes steps of forming a first semiconductor integrated circuit device which has a microcomputer and is furnished with an EPROM; determining a program for controlling the microcomputer and to be set in the EPROM (performing an initial evaluation) while information is being written into and erased from the EPROM built in the first semiconductor integrated circuit device; and thereafter forming a second semiconductor integrated circuit device in which the EPROM of the first semiconductor integrated circuit device is replaced with a mask ROM. In replacing the EPROM with the mask ROM, the peripheral circuits required for both the EPROM and the mask ROM have their circuit arrangements held basically the same, and specific peripheral circuits for use in only the EPROM have their circuit regions left as they are as logically inactive regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 18, 1990
    Date of Patent: January 26, 1993
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi VLSI Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Kenichi Kuroda, Akinori Matsuo
  • Patent number: 5134583
    Abstract: A semiconductor memory device has a plurality of memory blocks, each block including a matrix arrangement of a plurality of nonvolatile memory elements. The device is also provided with at least one redundant data line which is selectively employed in place of a defective data line associated with a defective address in a memory block. The data lines corresponding to the respective memory blocks are selectively coupled to corresponding ones of first common data lines by a Y selector circuit in accordance with outputs of a first Y decoder, while a redundant data line is controllably coupled to a redundant common data line by a redundant selector circuit in accordance with an output of a redundant decoder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 1989
    Date of Patent: July 28, 1992
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi VLSI Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Akinori Matsuo, Masashi Watanabe, Masashi Wada, Takeshi Wada, Yasuhiro Nakamura
  • Patent number: 5105389
    Abstract: Means for changing-over address signals is provided in an address input portion, and the order of the signals to be input to an address decoder is changed according to external control signals. Alternatively, a reading output circuit is provided which reads data in bit unit different from that of the writing input circuit. Thus, data can be read and written even when the number of bits of data differs between in case of accessing a built-in memory of an LSI inside the LSI and in case of accessing it from outside the LSI.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 1990
    Date of Patent: April 14, 1992
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi VLSI Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Akinori Matsuo, Masashi Watanabe, Michio Fujimoto, Masashi Wada, Yoshiharu Nagayama, Kazuo Naito
  • Patent number: 4989185
    Abstract: A memory area within a semiconductor integrated circuit device is accessible through an address changeover circuit. External control signals instruct the memory device as to the addressing mode desired. Address signals originating externally are provided directly to the IC's address decoder circuits, while addresses originating internal to the IC are first shifted one or two bits to modify the address by a power of 2, then provided to the address decoder circuits. In this way, data of bit length N may be written to a memory array of bit length M, where M>N.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 1988
    Date of Patent: January 29, 1991
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi VLSI Engineering Corp.
    Inventors: Akinori Matsuo, Masashi Watanabe, Michio Fujimoto, Masashi Wada, Yoshiharu Nagayama, Kazuo Naito