Patents by Inventor Shouchang Tsao

Shouchang Tsao 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: 7394690
    Abstract: A memory has defective locations in its user portion replaceable by redundant locations in a redundant portion. Data latches in the user and redundant portions allow data sensed from or to be written to a memory to be exchanged with a data bus. A defective location latching redundancy scheme assumes the column circuits including data latches for defective columns to be still useable. The data latches for the defective columns are used to buffer corresponding redundant data that are normally accessible from their data latches in the redundant portion. In this way both the user and redundant data are available from the user data latches, and streaming data into or out of the data bus is simplified and performance improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 1, 2008
    Assignee: Sandisk Corporation
    Inventors: Farookh Moogat, Raul-Adrian Cernea, Shouchang Tsao, Tai-Yuan Tseng
  • Patent number: 7339822
    Abstract: A current-limited latch circuit is used within a nonvolatile memory integrated circuit for decoding, programming, erase, and other operations. In one implementation, there are a number of latches connected together in parallel between two power supply lines. A current mirroring scheme limits current supplied to the latch. This reduces a difference of the two supplies, positive voltage, ground, or negative voltages, during data changes. The circuit provides smaller device sizes and fast speeds when data changes in the latch, while also providing lower power consumption. The technique provides greater benefits as the voltage difference between the two power supplies is greater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2002
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2008
    Assignee: SanDisk Corporation
    Inventors: Chi-Ming Wang, Kuo-Lung Chen, Shouchang Tsao
  • Patent number: 7319630
    Abstract: A current-limited latch circuit is used within a nonvolatile memory integrated circuit for decoding, programming, erase, and other operations. In one implementation, there are a number of latches connected together in parallel between two power supply lines. A current mirroring scheme limits current supplied to the latch. This reduces a difference of the two supplies, positive voltage, ground, or negative voltages, during data changes. The circuit provides smaller device sizes and fast speeds when data changes in the latch, while also providing lower power consumption. The technique provides greater benefits as the voltage difference between the two power supplies is greater.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2008
    Assignee: SanDisk Corporation
    Inventors: Chi-Ming Wang, Kuo-Lung Chen, Shouchang Tsao
  • Publication number: 20070223292
    Abstract: A memory has defective locations in its user portion replaceable by redundant locations in a redundant portion. Data latches in the user and redundant portions allow data sensed from or to be written to a memory to be exchanged with a data bus. A defective location latching redundancy scheme assumes the column circuits including data latches for defective columns to be still useable. The data latches for the defective columns are used to buffer corresponding redundant data that are normally accessible from their data latches in the redundant portion. In this way both the user and redundant data are available from the user data latches, and streaming data into or out of the data bus is simplified and performance improved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 24, 2006
    Publication date: September 27, 2007
    Inventors: Farookh Moogat, Raul-Adrian Cernea, Shouchang Tsao, Tai-Yuan Tseng
  • Patent number: 7224605
    Abstract: A memory has defective locations in its user portion replaceable by redundant locations in a redundant portion. Data latches in the user and redundant portions allow data sensed from or to be written to a memory to be exchanged with a data bus. A defective location latching redundancy scheme assumes the column circuits including data latches for defective columns to be still useable. The data latches for the defective columns are used to buffer corresponding redundant data that are normally accessible from their data latches in the redundant portion. In this way both the user and redundant data are available from the user data latches, and streaming data into or out of the data bus is simplified and performance improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2007
    Assignee: Sandisk Corporation
    Inventors: Farookh Moogat, Raul-Adrian Cernea, Shouchang Tsao, Tai-Yuan Tseng
  • Publication number: 20050101236
    Abstract: A current-limited latch circuit is used within a nonvolatile memory integrated circuit for decoding, programming, erase, and other operations. In one implementation, there are a number of latches connected together in parallel between two power supply lines. A current mirroring scheme limits current supplied to the latch. This reduces a difference of the two supplies, positive voltage, ground, or negative voltages, during data changes. The circuit provides smaller device sizes and fast speeds when data changes in the latch, while also providing lower power consumption. The technique provides greater benefits as the voltage difference between the two power supplies is greater.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2004
    Publication date: May 12, 2005
    Applicant: SanDisk Corporation
    Inventors: Chi-Ming Wang, Kuo-Lung Chen, Shouchang Tsao
  • Publication number: 20040109354
    Abstract: A current-limited latch circuit is used within a nonvolatile memory integrated circuit for decoding, programming, erase, and other operations. In one implementation, there are a number of latches connected together in parallel between two power supply lines. A current mirroring scheme limits current supplied to the latch. This reduces a difference of the two supplies, positive voltage, ground, or negative voltages, during data changes. The circuit provides smaller device sizes and fast speeds when data changes in the latch, while also providing lower power consumption. The technique provides greater benefits as the voltage difference between the two power supplies is greater.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2002
    Publication date: June 10, 2004
    Applicant: SanDisk Corporation
    Inventors: Chi-Ming Wang, Kuo-Lung Chen, Shouchang Tsao
  • Patent number: 5663907
    Abstract: For negative gate erase and programming of non-volatile floating gate EEPROM devices, large positive or negative voltages from one single negative charge pump and from one single positive charge pump are selectively switched onto a one or more memory sectors of twin-well CMOS negative-gate-erase memory cells. The control gate is negative during erasing and positive during programming. In order for FLASH memories to have minimum layout area, small sectors or arrays of EEPROM cells can be erased all at once using a charge pump which includes two pump capacitors to provide negative voltages to the gate terminals of one or more series PMOS transistors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 2, 1997
    Assignee: Bright Microelectronics, Inc.
    Inventors: Jack E. Frayer, John D. Lattanzi, Shouchang Tsao, Chan-Sui Pang, Yueh Y. Ma