Abstract: Provided is a sense amplifier circuit for detecting data having been read from a memory cell. The sense amplifier circuit includes: a potential control unit for controlling the potential of a bit line connected to a memory cell; a current amplifier unit for amplifying a readout current flowing from the memory cell to the bit line so as to produce an amplified current; and a detection unit for detecting data having been read from the memory cell on the basis of the amplified current. The potential control unit controls the potential of the bit line in a data readout duration, and the data readout duration includes a current amplification duration, and the current amplifier unit amplifies the readout current in the current amplification duration.

Abstract: A delay line for an adjustable, high speed clock generator is based on two-stage multiplexing, in which for all pairs of adjacent taps, a change from a current tap to an adjacent tap in the pair is executed by switching only one of the first stage and second stage multiplexers. Control signals are generated for the first and second stage multiplexers by logic based on bidirectional shift registers. The delay line is suitable for generation of an output clock having an adjustable phase, allowing for smooth, glitch-free adjustment over a large range of phases.

Abstract: A signal transmission system has a response time of a signal transmission line which is set approximately equal to or longer than the length of a transmitted symbol. More specifically, terminal resistance is set larger than the characteristic impedance of the signal transmission line, driver output resistance is set to a large value, or a damping resistor is provided in series with the signal transmission line. With this configuration, signal power can be reduced drastically.

Abstract: An output buffer with feedback to a predriver circuit such that the effective size of the predriver buffers are momentarily adjusted to favor a particular transition (i.e., low-to-high or high-to-low). The delayed output selectively alters the input threshold characteristic of the predriver circuit to favor the appropriate transition. Thus, the time during which the output drivers are subject to a crowbar current is reduced over previous devices.

Abstract: A semiconductor integrated circuit is constructed with composite pass-transistor logic circuits serving as elementary circuit units each including a plurality of pass-transistor logic trees and a multiple-input logic gate. A wide variety of logical operations, even complex opearations, can be efficiently expressed using the composite pass-transistor logic circuit, and the resultant logic circuit can operate at a high speed. Thus, the semiconductor integrated circuit of the present invention can realize various logic functions required for various users in an efficient fashion. The present invention is particularly useful when applied to a field-programmable gate array integrated circuit, since complex logical operations can be expressed in a simple and efficient fashion by the composite pass-transistor logic circuits. The gate array integrated circuit obtained in accordance with the present invention can operate at a high speed with low power consumption.

Abstract: A signal transmission system is constructed to transmit data over a signal transmission line without requiring precharging the signal transmission line for every bit, by eliminating the intersymbol interference component introduced by preceding data. The signal transmission line has a plurality of switchable signal transmission lines organized in a branching structure or a hierarchical structure, at least one target unit from which to read data is connected to each of the plurality of signal transmission lines, and a readout circuit including a circuit for eliminating the intersymbol interference component is connected to the signal transmission line, wherein the intersymbol interference component elimination circuit reduces noise introduced when the signal transmission line is switched between the plurality of signal transmission lines, and thereby provides a smooth intersymbol interference component elimination operation when the signal transmission line is switched.

Abstract: Disclosed is an integrated circuit comprising storage circuits, these circuits themselves comprising insulation transistors to which a determined positive bias voltage may be applied. This bias voltage is determined by means of a first bias circuit. The disclosed circuit comprises a second bias circuit whose time constant in response to a voltage step is smaller than the time constant of the first circuit in response to the same step, this second circuit making it possible to reduce the response time of the first bias circuit.

Abstract: A fast propagation technique for use in CMOS circuits, whereby faster signal transition at an information carrying edge of a propagating signal is achieved at a cost of slower signal transition at the opposite edge. The technique of the present invention skews a size ratio of P-channel pull-up to N-channel pull-down transistors in the CMOS circuit to obtain much faster transition at one (rising or falling) edge of the signal and slower transition at the opposite edge. The fast propagation technique of the present invention is well suited for synchronous digital CMOS circuits such as synchronous RAMs.