Abstract: Disclosed is an image upscaling apparatus that includes: multiple convolution layers, each configured to receive an input image or a feature map outputted by a previous convolution layer and extract features to output a feature map; and a multilayer configured to receive a final feature map outputted from the last convolution layer and output an upscaled output image. The multilayer includes: a first partition layer including first filters having a minimum size along the x-axis and y-axis directions and the same size as the final feature map along the z-axis direction; and at least one second partition layer, each including second filters, having a size greater than that of the first filter in the x-axis and y-axis directions and having a number and size of the first filter in the z-axis direction, and configured to shuffle features in the x-axis and y-axis directions of the first shuffle map.

Abstract: An apparatus for harvesting energy includes an AC harvester having an AC harvesting capacitor and configured to extract power from an AC environment energy source, a DC harvester configured to extract power from a DC environment energy source, and a power transferrer configured to control a transfer path of power extracted from the DC harvester based on a magnitude of a voltage of the AC harvesting capacitor and a magnitude of a voltage applied from the DC harvester.

Abstract: Transistor noise tolerant, non-volatile (NV) resistance element-based static random access memory (SRAM) physically unclonable function (PUF) circuits and related systems and methods. In exemplary aspects, a transistor and its complementary transistor, such as a pull-up transistor and complement pull-down transistor or pull-down transistor and complement pull-up transistor, of the PUF circuit are replaced with passive NV resistance elements coupled to the respective output node and complement output node to enhance imbalance between cross-coupled transistors of the PUF circuit for improved PUF output reproducibility. The added passive NV resistance elements replacing pull-up or pull-down transistors in the PUF circuit reduces or eliminates transistor noise that would otherwise occur if the replaced transistors were present in the PUF circuit as a result of changes in temperature, voltage variations, and aging effect.

Abstract: Disclosed are an apparatus for measuring distance using two-step tracking and a method thereof. More particularly, the apparatus includes a bit generator configured to generate coarse bits for first tracking from sensing data to measure distance to a target and fine bits for second tracking, corresponding to the coarse bits, to measure precise distance to the target; a coarse bit processor configured to receive the coarse bits, address the received coarse bits in any one histogram bin, which corresponds to the received coarse bits, among a plurality of histogram bins, and output coarse bits, which correspond to any one histogram bin exceeding a preset threshold among the histogram bins, as reference coarse bits; and a fine bit processor configured to output fine bits corresponding to the reference coarse bits.

Abstract: Disclosed is a static random access memory including an assist circuit. More particularly, a static random access memory according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a bit cell part including at least one bit cell connected between a first ground voltage node and a second ground voltage node; and a controller including a first transistor configured to control connection between the first ground voltage node and the second ground voltage node, a second transistor configured to float a first ground voltage of the first ground voltage node, and a third transistor configured to float a second ground voltage of the second ground voltage node, wherein the controller controls the first and second ground voltages supplied to the bit cell part using the first, second, and third transistors.

Abstract: Offset-cancellation sensing circuit (OCSC)-based Non-volatile (NV) memory circuits are disclosed. An OCSC-based NV memory circuit includes a latch circuit configured to latch a memory state from an input signal. The OCSC-based NV memory circuit also includes a sensing circuit that includes NV memory devices configured to store the latched memory state in the latch circuit for restoring the memory state in the latch circuit when recovering from a reduced power level in an idle mode. To avoid the need to increase transistor size in the sensing circuit to mitigate restoration degradation, the sensing circuit is also configured to cancel an offset voltage of a differential amplifier in the sensing circuit. In other exemplary aspects, the NV memory devices are included in the sensing circuit and coupled to the differential transistors as NMOS transistors in the differential amplifier, eliminating contribution of offset voltage from other differential PMOS transistors not included.

Abstract: Disclosed is an SRAM cell capable of performing a differential operation. An SRAM cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a data node portion including four transistors constituting first and second data nodes; a data controller including first and second pass-gate transistors configured to control read and write of data in the first and second data nodes; and a control transistor connected to the data node portion through the second data node and configured to be controlled based on a driving voltage of a second word line having an opposite polarity to a first word line transmitting a driving voltage to the data controller.

Abstract: The semiconductor memory device includes: a memory cell; a sensing circuit connected to the memory cell via a first bit line and a second bit line different from the first bit line, the sensing circuit configured to sense data stored in the memory cell; and a bit line voltage control circuit connected to the memory cell via the first bit line and the second bit line, the bit line voltage control circuit configured to precharge the first bit line to a first voltage that is lower than a supply voltage and to precharge the second bit line to a second voltage that is lower than the supply voltage and is different from the first voltage.

Abstract: Aspects disclosed in the detailed description include offset-canceling (OC) write operation sensing circuits for sensing switching in a magneto-resistive random access memory (MRAM) bit cell in an MRAM for a write operation. The OC write operation sensing circuit is configured to sense when MTJ switching occurs in MRAM bit cell. In an example, the OC write operation sensing circuit includes a voltage sensing circuit and a sense amplifier. The voltage sensing circuit employs a capacitive-coupling effect so that the output voltage drops in response to MTJ switching for both logic ‘0’ and logic ‘1’ write operations. The sense amplifier has a single input and a single output node with an output voltage indicating when MTJ switching has occurred in the MRAM bit cell. A single input transistor and pull-up transistor are provided in the sense amplifier in one example to provide an offset-canceling effect.

Abstract: Adaptive pulse generation circuits for clocking pulse latches with minimum hold time are provided. In one aspect, an adaptive pulse generation circuit employs a dynamic XOR-based logic gate configured to provide a pulse generation signal based on an XOR-based function of data input and data output-based signals of a pulse latch. A pull-down keeper circuit is configured to pull the pulse generation signal to a ground voltage in response to the pulse generation signal being in an inactive state while the clock signal is in an active state. A logic circuit is configured to generate an adaptive pulse signal to clock a pulse latch in response to the pulse generation signal and the clock signal being in an active state. This configuration results in the pulse width of the adaptive pulse signal corresponding to the input-to-output delay of the pulse latch.

Abstract: In an embodiment, an error detection and correction apparatus includes a positive edge triggered flip-flop that receives syndrome input based on a syndrome output a syndrome generator indicating whether or not input data includes an error, whereby the positive edge triggered flip-flop further provides a syndrome output to an error location decoder.

Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus for counting single photons including an edge combiner configured to detect an edge of each of applied clocks using a plurality of Phase-Locked Loops (PLL) to generate a combined signal; a sampling unit configured to sample all events occurring in each SPAD of a single photon detection diode (SPAD) array using an OR tree and an XOR tree; and a calculation unit configured to count the sampled events based on the combined signal to count single photons.

Abstract: Sensing voltage based on a supplied to magneto-resistive random access memory (MRAM) bit cells in an MRAM for tracking write operations. Sensing voltage based on supply voltage applied to an MRAM bit cell in a write operation can be used to detect completion of magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) switching in an MRAM bit cell to terminate the write operation to reduce power and write times. In exemplary aspects provided herein, reference and write operation voltages sensed from the MRAM bit cell in response to the write operation are compared to each other to detect completion of MTJ switching of voltage based on the supply voltage applied to the MRAM bit cell regardless of whether the write operation is logic ‘0’ or logic ‘1’ write operation. This provides a higher sensing margin, because the change in MTJ resistance after MTJ switching completion is larger at the supply voltage rail.

Abstract: Disclosed are an apparatus for measuring distance using two-step tracking and a method thereof. More particularly, the apparatus includes a bit generator configured to generate coarse bits for first tracking from sensing data to measure distance to a target and fine bits for second tracking, corresponding to the coarse bits, to measure precise distance to the target; a coarse bit processor configured to receive the coarse bits, address the received coarse bits in any one histogram bin, which corresponds to the received coarse bits, among a plurality of histogram bins, and output coarse bits, which correspond to any one histogram bin exceeding a preset threshold among the histogram bins, as reference coarse bits; and a fine bit processor configured to output fine bits corresponding to the reference coarse bits.

Abstract: Disclosed are an apparatus for harvesting energy using a DC energy harvesting source and an AC energy harvesting source and a method thereof. More particularly, the apparatus for harvesting energy includes an AC harvester configured to extract power from an AC environment energy source; a DC harvester configured to extract power from a DC environment energy source; and a power transferrer configured to control a transfer path of power extracted from the DC harvester based on a magnitude of a voltage of an AC harvesting capacitor, which is an internal capacitor of the AC environment energy source, and a magnitude of a voltage applied from the DC harvester.

Abstract: Disclosed is a static random access memory including an assist circuit. More particularly, a static random access memory according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a bit cell part including at least one bit cell connected between a first ground voltage node and a second ground voltage node; and a controller including a first transistor configured to control connection between the first ground voltage node and the second ground voltage node, a second transistor configured to float a first ground voltage of the first ground voltage node, and a third transistor configured to float a second ground voltage of the second ground voltage node, wherein the controller controls the first and second ground voltages supplied to the bit cell part using the first, second, and third transistors.

Abstract: Disclosed is an SRAM cell capable of performing a differential operation. An SRAM cell according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a data node portion including four transistors constituting first and second data nodes; a data controller including first and second pass-gate transistors configured to control read and write of data in the first and second data nodes; and a control transistor connected to the data node portion through the second data node and configured to be controlled based on a driving voltage of a second word line having an opposite polarity to a first word line transmitting a driving voltage to the data controller.

Abstract: Systems and methods relate to a seven transistor static random-access memory (7T SRAM) bit cell which includes a first inverter having a first pull-up transistor, a first pull-down transistor, and a first storage node, and a second inverter having a second pull-up transistor, a second pull-down transistor, and a second storage node. The second storage node is coupled to gates of the first pull-up transistor and the first pull-down transistor. A transmission gate is configured to selectively couple the first storage node to gates of the second pull-up transistor and the second pull-down transistor during a write operation, a standby mode, and a hold mode, and selectively decouple the first storage node from gates of the first pull-up transistor and a first pull-down transistor during a read operation. The 7T SRAM bit cell can be read or written through an access transistor coupled to the first storage node.

Abstract: Provided is a local bit line-sharing memory device, including a plurality of memory cells that share a local bit line pair; a pre-charging unit that is connected to a write bit line pair and pre-charges the local bit line pair; and a data reading unit that reads data when bit line voltage pre-charged in a memory cell selected from the memory cells is discharged.

Abstract: A programming method of a non-volatile memory device including a plurality of memory cells arranged in a plurality of cell strings includes sequentially applying a first pass voltage to unselected word lines of word lines connected to the plurality of memory cells during a first interval and a second pass voltage higher than the first pass voltage to the unselected word lines during a second interval; and applying a discharge voltage lower than a program voltage to a selected word line of the word lines connected to the plurality of memory cells after applying the program voltage to the selected word line in the first interval, and applying the program voltage to the selected word line during the second interval.