Capacitors Patents (Class 365/149)
  • Patent number: 11837279
    Abstract: A method for execution by a Dynamic Random Access (DRAM) cell processing circuit, includes charging a bit-line operably coupled to a plurality of DRAM cells of a DRAM memory device, including a current DRAM cell, at a first voltage to pre-charge the parasitic capacitance between ground and the bit-line to a second voltage, where the second voltage is between a logic 1 voltage and a logic 0 voltage. The method continues by sensing a voltage change on the bit-line based on a difference between a voltage stored on a DRAM cell capacitor of the current DRAM cell and the second voltage and outputting a read output voltage that is generated based on the sensed voltage change. The method then continues by supplying, while outputting the read output voltage, the read output voltage to the bit-line to refresh the voltage stored in the DRAM cell capacitor of the current DRAM cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: SigmaSense, LLC.
    Inventors: Daniel Keith Van Ostrand, Gerald Dale Morrison, Richard Stuart Seger, Jr., Timothy W. Markison
  • Patent number: 11790966
    Abstract: A nonvolatile logic circuit includes: a memory unit having a pair of resistive memory elements; a computation unit connected to the memory unit and configured to perform an operation based on an input signal and a logic value corresponding to a resistance state of the pair of resistive memory elements; a determination circuit configured to determine whether the resistance state of the pair of resistive memory elements is a complementary state or a non-complementary state; and an output circuit connected to the computation unit and the determination circuit, and configured to output a signal corresponding to an operation result by the computation unit or a signal corresponding to a determination result by the determination circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: TOHOKU UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Masanori Natsui, Takahiro Hanyu, Tetsuo Endoh
  • Patent number: 11749341
    Abstract: A memory device may include at least one multinary memory cell. Each multinary memory cell includes a parallel connection of N sub-bit units. N is an integer greater than 1. Each of the N sub-bit units includes a series connection of a respective transistor and a respective capacitor. A first sub-bit unit includes a first capacitor having a capacitance of C, and each i-th sub-unit includes an i-th capacitor having a capacitance of about 2i-1×C. A multinary bit having 2N values may be stored. A device network including multiple multinary logic units is also provided. Each of multiple multinary logic unit includes a parallel connection of N sub-bit units. Each sub-bit unit includes a series connection of a respective transistor and a respective capacitor having capacitance ratios of powers of 2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 5, 2023
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
    Inventors: Katherine H. Chiang, Chung-Te Lin
  • Patent number: 11714570
    Abstract: A charge sharing scheme is used to mitigate the variations in cell currents in order to achieve higher accuracy for CIM computing. In some embodiments, a capacitor is associated with each SRAM cell, and the capacitors associated with all SRAM cells in a column are included in averaging the RBL current. In some embodiments, a memory unit associated to an RBL in a CIM device includes a storage element adapted to store a weight, a first switch device connected to the storage element and adapted to be controlled by an input signal and generate a product signal having a magnitude indicative of the product of the input signal and the stored weight. The memory unit further includes a capacitor adapted to receive the product signal and store an amount of charge corresponding to the magnitude of the product signal. The memory unit further include a second switch device adapted to transfer the charge on the capacitor to the RBL.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2023
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Jonathan Tsung-Yung Chang, Hidehiro Fujiwara, Hung-Jen Liao, Yen-Huei Chen, Yih Wang, Haruki Mori
  • Patent number: 11705184
    Abstract: A memory device having long data retention time and high reliability is provided. The memory device includes a driver circuit and a plurality of memory cells, the memory cell includes a transistor and a capacitor, and the transistor includes a metal oxide in a channel formation region. The transistor includes a first gate and a second gate, and in a period during which the memory cell retains data, negative potentials are applied to the first gate and the second gate of the transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2023
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shunpei Yamazaki, Kiyoshi Kato, Takahiko Ishizu, Tatsuya Onuki
  • Patent number: 11688452
    Abstract: A memory device with internal row hammer mitigation couples to a memory controller. The memory controller or host can assist with row hammer mitigation by sending additional refresh cycles or refresh commands. In response to an extra refresh command the memory device can perform refresh for row hammer mitigation instead of refresh for standard data integrity. The memory controller can keep track of the number of activate commands sent to the memory device, and in response to a threshold number of activate commands, the memory controller sends the additional refresh command. With the extra refresh command the memory device can refresh the potential victim rows of a potential aggressor row, instead of simply refreshing a row that has not been accessed for a period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Bill Nale, Christopher E. Cox
  • Patent number: 11670354
    Abstract: A memory device includes a memory cell array connected to a plurality of wordlines and a plurality of bitlines; a row decoder configured to select a wordline, among the plurality of wordlines, in response to a row address; a column decoder configured to corresponding bitlines, among the plurality of bitlines, in response to a column address; a sense amplification circuit having a plurality of amplifiers connected to the selected corresponding bitlines; a row hammer detector configured to generate a refresh row address when the number of accesses to a row corresponding to the row address is a multiple of a predetermined value; and a refresh controller configured to perform a refresh operation on a row corresponding to the refresh row address. The row corresponding to the refresh row address is disposed adjacent to the row corresponding to the row address.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2023
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Sunghye Cho, Kijun Lee, Eunae Lee
  • Patent number: 11626155
    Abstract: A memory includes: a random seed generation circuit suitable for generating a random seed including process variation information; a random signal generator suitable for generating a random signal that is randomly activated based on the random seed; and an address sampling circuit suitable for sampling an active address while the random signal is activated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2023
    Assignee: SK hynix Inc.
    Inventor: Woongrae Kim
  • Patent number: 11621033
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for techniques for low power operation are described. A device may be configurable to operate in a first mode and a second mode, where the first mode may include transmitting using a first modulation scheme having two logic levels and the second mode may include transmitting using a second modulation scheme having three or more (e.g., four) logic levels. The device may identify a data symbol for transmission and select, from the first mode and the second mode, the first modulation scheme for the transmission. In some example, the device may determine which of the two modes to select based on a value stored at a mode register. Here, the value stored by the mode register may indicate to utilize the first modulation scheme associated with the first mode. Thus, the device may transmit the data symbol by a signal modulated by the first modulation scheme.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Martin Brox, Thomas Hein, Stefan Dietrich, Natalija Jovanovic, Ronny Schneider, Michael Dieter Richter
  • Patent number: 11614877
    Abstract: The present disclosure includes apparatuses and methods for data movement. An example apparatus comprises a memory device. The memory device includes an array of memory cells and sensing circuitry coupled to the array via a plurality of sense lines. The sensing circuitry includes a sense amplifier and a compute component coupled to a sense line and configured to implement operations. A controller in the memory device is configured to couple to the array and sensing circuitry. A shared I/O line in the memory device is configured to couple a source location to a destination location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Glen E. Hush, David L. Pinney
  • Patent number: 11610623
    Abstract: A refresh tracking circuit and associated methods are disclosed herein. The tracking circuit may be configured to track a primary count value and a secondary count value based on addresses associated with received commands. The primary and secondary count values may be configured to control corresponding refresh operations respectively associated with a primary address and a secondary address.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Sadayuki Okuma
  • Patent number: 11605630
    Abstract: A 3D integrated circuit, the circuit including: a first level including a first wafer, the first wafer including a first crystalline substrate, a plurality of first transistors, and first copper interconnecting layers, where the first copper interconnecting layers at least interconnect the plurality of first transistors; and a second level including a second wafer, the second wafer including a second crystalline substrate, a plurality of second transistors, and second copper interconnecting layers, where the second copper interconnecting layers at least interconnect the plurality of second transistors, where the second level is bonded to the first level, where the bonded includes metal to metal bonding, where the bonded includes oxide to oxide bonding, and where at least one of the second transistors include a replacement gate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignee: MONOLITHIC 3D INC.
    Inventors: Zvi Or-Bach, Brian Cronquist
  • Patent number: 11574668
    Abstract: Apparatuses and methods are disclosed that include ferroelectric memory and for operating ferroelectric memory. An example apparatus includes a capacitor having a first plate, a second plate, and a ferroelectric dielectric material. The apparatus further includes a first digit line and a first selection component configured to couple the first plate to the first digit line, and also includes a second digit line and a second selection component configured to couple the second plate to the second digit line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Scott J. Derner, Christopher J. Kawamura
  • Patent number: 11568917
    Abstract: A hammer refresh row address detector includes a control logic unit that receives a row address applied along with an active command, to increase a hit count stored in a corresponding entry when the row address is present in candidate aggressor row addresses stored in n entries. The control logic determines a candidate aggressor row address stored in an entry in which the hit count equals a threshold value to be a target aggressor row address. The control logic generates a victim row address adjacent to the target aggressor row address as a hammer refresh row address to accompany a hammer refresh command. The control logic increases the miss count value when the row address is not present in the candidate aggressor row addresses stored in the n entries and no hit count within the n entries is identical to the miss count value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignees: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Seoul National University R&DB Foundation
    Inventors: Hoon Shin, Yeonhong Park, Jaewook Lee, Eojin Lee, Woosuk Kwon, Jungho Ahn, Taejun Ham
  • Patent number: 11569243
    Abstract: A DRAM integrated circuit device is described in which at least some of the peripheral circuits associated with the memory arrays are provided on a first substrate. The memory arrays are provided on a second substrate stacked on the first substrate, thus forming a DRAM integrated circuit device on a stacked-substrate assembly. Vias that electrically connect the memory arrays on the second substrate to the peripheral circuits on the first substrate are fabricated using high aspect ratio via fabrication techniques.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Abhishek A. Sharma, Willy Rachmady, Ravi Pillarisetty, Gilbert Dewey, Jack T. Kavalieros
  • Patent number: 11545203
    Abstract: The operation speed of a semiconductor device is improved. The semiconductor device includes a first memory region and a second memory region; in the semiconductor device, a first memory cell in the first memory region is superior to a second memory cell in the second memory region in data retention characteristics such as a large storage capacitance or a large channel length-channel width ratio (L/W) of a transistor. When the semiconductor device is used as a cache memory or a main memory device of a processor, the first memory region mainly stores a start-up routine and is not used as a work region for arithmetic operation, and the second memory region is used as a work region for arithmetic operation. The first memory region becomes an accessible region when the processor is booted, and the first memory region becomes an inaccessible region when the processor is in normal operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Kurokawa, Shunpei Yamazaki
  • Patent number: 11527281
    Abstract: Apparatuses with a signal line in a semiconductor device are described. An example apparatus includes one or more power supply voltage lines in a first conductive layer, a plurality of transistors and a signal line in a second conductive layer. Each transistor of the plurality of transistors includes an active region disposed in a substrate and a gate electrode above the active region. The signal line in the second conductive layer is below the first conductive layer and above the active regions of the plurality of transistors. The signal line is coupled to the gate electrodes of the plurality of transistors. The signal line has electrical resistance higher than electrical resistance of the power supply voltage line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Kenichi Watanabe, Moeha Shibuya
  • Patent number: 11527280
    Abstract: A memory device comprises a memory array, a counter unit, and a service unit. The memory array comprises cells arranged in rows and columns, wherein a subset of the cells in each of the rows holds a row activation count for each row. The counter unit, in response to an activation of the row caused by a read operation on at least a portion of the row, increments the row activation count for at least one of the rows prior to a completion of the read operation, and writes-back the row activation count in an incremented state to the subset of the cells in the row that held the row activation count prior to the activation. The service unit is coupled to the counter unit and performs a service with respect to one or more other rows, offset from the row, in response to the row activation count associated with the row satisfying service criteria.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2022
    Assignee: MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING, LLC
    Inventors: John Grant Bennett, Stefan Saroiu
  • Patent number: 11510002
    Abstract: A semiconductor device with a novel structure which can identify the sound source is provided. The semiconductor device includes a microphone array, delay circuits, and a signal processing circuit. The delay circuit includes a first selection circuit, which selects a microphone, signal retention circuits, which retain voltages depending on the sound signal, and a second selection circuit, which selects a signal retention circuit. Each signal retention circuit includes a transistor which includes a semiconductor layer including an oxide semiconductor in its channel formation region. The first selection circuit writes the voltage of discreet sound signals to the signal retention circuit. The second selection circuit selects at different timings the voltages which are retained in the signal retention circuit and generates the output signal corresponding to the delayed sound signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takayuki Ikeda, Kiyotaka Kimura, Takeya Hirose
  • Patent number: 11495284
    Abstract: Disclosed are a memory device and an operating method thereof. The memory device includes a bitline sense amplifier connected to a bitline and a complementary bitline connected to a memory cell, and a sense amplifier driver circuit. The bitline sense amplifier senses and amplifies a voltage difference by developing a voltage of the bitline and a voltage of the complementary bitline. The sense amplifier driver circuit includes a pull-up circuit adjusting a level of a bitline low-level voltage developed by the bitline sense amplifier to be higher than a ground voltage in response to a first pull-up pulse, and a pull-down circuit adjusting the level of the bitline low level adjusted by the pull-up circuit to be equal to the ground voltage in response to a pull-down pulse. A pulse generator generates the first pull-up pulse and the pull-down pulse based on a command received from a host.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jong-Ho Moon, Sung-Hwan Jang
  • Patent number: 11495280
    Abstract: A semiconductor memory device includes an external resistor provided on a board and a plurality of memory dies mounted on the board, designated as a master die and slave dies. The memory dies are commonly connected to the external resistor. The master die performs a first impedance calibration operation during an initialization sequence of the semiconductor memory device and stores, in a first register set therein, first calibration data, a first voltage and a first temperature. Each of the slave dies, after the first impedance calibration operation is completed, performs a second impedance calibration operation during the initialization sequence and stores, in a second register set therein, second calibration data associated with the second impedance calibration operation and offset data corresponding to a difference between the first calibration data and the second calibration data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2022
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jeongseok Seo, Kwanghyun Kim, Chikook Kim, Seungwoo Ryu, Doohee Hwang
  • Patent number: 11475939
    Abstract: Apparatuses and methods for saving power at an input buffer are described. An example apparatus includes an input buffer comprising an amplifier coupled to a pair of serially coupled inverters, and a de-emphasis circuit coupled to the input buffer in parallel with one of the pair of serially-coupled inverters. The de-emphasis circuit comprising a plurality of transistors coupled in parallel to a resistance. The example apparatus further includes an input buffer control circuit configured to selectively enable one of the plurality of transistors to adjust a gain across the one of the pair of inverters based on a latency setting.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Akira Yamashita, Kenji Asaki
  • Patent number: 11476258
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a semiconductor substrate having a main surface, a gate electrode formed on the main surface of the semiconductor substrate, a side-wall oxide film formed on a side wall of the gate electrode, a first insulating layer formed on the gate electrode and containing silicon nitride, and a second insulating layer formed between the gate electrode and the first insulating layer and containing silicon oxide.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yukio Maki
  • Patent number: 11462258
    Abstract: A memory device and an operating method thereof are provided. The memory device includes a latch configured to sense a voltage or a current of a bit line coupled to a memory cell and store read data, a transmission circuit configured to output the read data stored in the latch through a page bus line in response to a transmission signal, a cache latch configured to receive the read data through the page bus line and temporarily store the read data, and a pump voltage output circuit coupled to the transmission circuit through a transmission line and configured to apply a second voltage greater than a first voltage after applying the first voltage to the transmission line for a set time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2022
    Assignee: SK hynix Inc.
    Inventor: Hyung Jin Choi
  • Patent number: 11417385
    Abstract: A semiconductor memory apparatus is provided. The semiconductor memory apparatus includes a temperature sensor, a plurality of memory blocks and a refresh controller. The temperature sensor detects a device temperature inside the semiconductor memory apparatus to generate a corresponding temperature signal. Each of the memory blocks includes a memory cell array having a plurality of volatile memory cells, and a plurality of word lines. The refresh controller monitors accesses to the word lines, detects accesses that occur a predetermined number of times within a predetermined period, and assigns a refresh operation corresponding to the refresh operation command to a first refresh operation or a second refresh operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2022
    Assignee: Winbond Electronics Corp.
    Inventor: Yutaka Ito
  • Patent number: 11386945
    Abstract: Apparatuses and techniques are described for reading MRAM memory cells. In a cross-point memory array, each conductive line, such as a bit line or word line, is connected to a transistor pair comprising a pMOSFET in parallel with an nMOSFET. When selecting a memory cell to be read, a voltage of a first conductive line may be pulled up using the pMOSFET while a voltage of a second conductive line is pulled down, e.g., to 0 V, using the nMOSFET. This minimizes a capacitance while the selector is turned on. Further, when reading the selected memory cell, the parallel nMOSFET of the first conductive line may turned on while the pMOSFET is turned off. The nMOSFET provides a higher resistance in place of the decreased resistance of the pMOSFET to amplify a signal at a sense circuit to allow accurate sensing of the voltage across the memory cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: SanDisk Technologies LLC
    Inventors: Ward Parkinson, James O'Toole, Nathan Franklin, Thomas Trent
  • Patent number: 11380396
    Abstract: The gate of the access transistor of a 1 transistor 1 resistor (1T1R) type RRAM cell is biased relative to the source of the access transistor using a current mirror. Under the influence of a voltage applied across the 1T1R cell (e.g., via the bit line), the RRAM memory element switches from a higher resistance to a lower resistance. As the RRAM memory element switches from the higher resistance to the lower resistance, the current through the RRAM cell switches from being substantially determined by the higher resistance of the RRAM device (while the access transistor is operating in the linear region) to being substantially determined by the saturation region operating point of the access transistor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: Hefei Reliance Memory Limited
    Inventor: Brent Steven Haukness
  • Patent number: 11381231
    Abstract: A digital measurement circuit includes a first input flip-flop which receives a first signal through a data input terminal, receives a first clock signal through a clock input terminal, and outputs a second signal; a second input flip-flop which receives the second signal through a data input terminal, receives a second clock signal, which is an inverted signal of the first clock signal, through a clock input terminal, and outputs a third signal; and a delay line which receives the second signal and outputs first through n-th output signals, wherein n is an integer greater than one, and the first through n-th output signals are sampled based on the third signal to output first through n-th sampling signals is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2022
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kwan Yeob Chae, Jong-Ryun Choi
  • Patent number: 11356625
    Abstract: An image sensor semiconductor device includes a first photodiode disposed in a semiconductor substrate and configured to generate charges in response to radiation, a first transistor disposed adjacent to the first photodiode, a floating diffusion region configured to store the generated charges, a reset transistor configured to reset the floating diffusion region, and a second transistor disposed over the substrate between the first photodiode and the reset transistor. The first transistor and the second transistor are configured to generate a first electric field and a second electric field, respectively, to move the charges generated by the first photodiode to the floating diffusion region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY LTD.
    Inventors: Seiji Takahashi, Jhy-Jyi Sze
  • Patent number: 11355504
    Abstract: Described herein are anti-ferroelectric (AFE) memory cells and corresponding methods and devices. For example, in some embodiments, an AFE memory cell disclosed herein includes a capacitor employing an AFE material between two capacitor electrodes. Applying a voltage to one electrode of such capacitor allows boosting the charge at the other electrode, where nonlinear behavior of the AFE material between the two electrodes may advantageously manifest itself in that, for a given voltage applied to the first electrode, a factor by which the charge is boosted at the second electrode of the capacitor may be substantially different for different values of charge at that electrode before the boost. Connecting the second capacitor electrode to a storage node of the memory cell may then allow boosting the charge on the storage node so that different logic states of the memory cell become more clearly resolvable, enabling increased retention times.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Daniel H. Morris, Uygar E. Avci, Ian A. Young
  • Patent number: 11335396
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for timing signal delay for a memory device are described. In some memory devices, operations for accessing memory cells may be performed with timing that is asynchronous relative to an input signal. To support asynchronous timing, a memory device may include delay components that support generating a timing signal having aspects that are delayed relative to an input signal. A memory device may include delay components having a configurable impedance based at least in part on one or more fabrication characteristics of the memory device, one or more operating conditions of the memory device, one or more bias voltages, or a combination thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Zhi Qi Huang, Wei Lu Chu, Dong Pan
  • Patent number: 11329640
    Abstract: An analog delay line includes a clock generator, an analog sampling circuit, a bank of analog memory cells, a memory controller, an analog readout circuit, and an analog multiplexer. The clock generator is configured to output plural reception clock signals of different frequencies and plural transmission clock signals of different frequencies, the transmission clock signals offset in accumulated phase relative to the reception clock signals. The analog sampling circuit is controlled by at least one of the reception clock signals, and is configured to output a sequence of sampled voltages of an analog input signal. The memory controller is configured to control a write operation at a write frequency of at least one of the reception clock signals and a read operation at a read frequency of at least one of the transmission clock signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2022
    Assignee: Keysight Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Charles Wu, Ken A. Nishimura, Kenneth D. Poulton
  • Patent number: 11309011
    Abstract: A memory system is disclosed. The memory system includes a memory array and a controller. The controller is configured to perform a refresh operation to the memory array with a first refresh cycle rate. The first refresh cycle rate is derived from a first refresh time in a lookup table. The lookup table is configured to store refresh times and refresh temperatures corresponding to the refresh times separately.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hiroki Noguchi, Yih Wang
  • Patent number: 11309320
    Abstract: A nonvolatile memory cell using vertical nanowire (VNW) FETs includes a program element of which a gate is connected to a word line, and a switch element that is provided between the program element and a bit line and of which a gate is connected to the word line. The program element and the switch element are each constituted by one or a plurality of VNW FETs, and these VNW FETs are arranged in a line in a first direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: SOCIONEXT INC.
    Inventor: Tomoyuki Yamada
  • Patent number: 11309306
    Abstract: An integrated circuit includes an active zone having a center portion adjoining a first side portion and a second side portion. A first transistor having a gate formed over one of the first channel regions in the center portion has a first threshold-voltage. A second transistor having a gate formed over one of the second channel regions in the center portion has a second threshold-voltage. A third transistor having a gate formed over one of the third channel regions in the first side portion has a third threshold-voltage. A fourth transistor having a gate formed over one of the fourth channel regions in the second side portion has a fourth threshold-voltage. A first average of the first threshold-voltage and the second threshold-voltage is larger than a second average of the third threshold-voltage and the fourth threshold-voltage by a predetermined threshold-voltage offset.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventors: Yu-Tao Yang, Wen-Shen Chou, Yung-Chow Peng
  • Patent number: 11302374
    Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure are drawn to apparatuses, systems, and methods for dynamic refresh allocation. Memories may be subject to row hammer attacks, where one or more wordlines are repeatedly accessed to cause data degradation in victim rows nearby to the hammered wordlines. A memory may perform background auto-refresh operations, and targeted refresh operations where victim wordlines are refreshed. The memory may monitor access patterns to the memory in order to dynamically allocate the number of targeted refresh operations and auto-refresh operations in a set of refresh operations based on if a hammer attack is occurring and the type of hammer attack which is occurring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew D. Jenkinson, Nathaniel J. Meier, Dennis G. Montierth
  • Patent number: 11282561
    Abstract: A memory device with internal row hammer mitigation couples to a memory controller. The memory controller or host can assist with row hammer mitigation by sending additional refresh cycles or refresh commands. In response to an extra refresh command the memory device can perform refresh for row hammer mitigation instead of refresh for standard data integrity. The memory controller can keep track of the number of activate commands sent to the memory device, and in response to a threshold number of activate commands, the memory controller sends the additional refresh command. With the extra refresh command the memory device can refresh the potential victim rows of a potential aggressor row, instead of simply refreshing a row that has not been accessed for a period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Bill Nale, Christopher E. Cox
  • Patent number: 11270997
    Abstract: A novel memory device is provided. A first cell array including a plurality of memory cells and a second cell array including a plurality of memory cells are stacked. One of two bit lines of a first bit line pair is electrically connected to A memory cells of the first cell array, and the other of the two bit lines of the first bit line pair is electrically connected to D memory cells of the second cell array. One of two bit lines of a second bit line pair is electrically connected to B memory cells of the first cell array and F memory cells of the second cell array, and the other of the two bit lines of the second bit line pair is electrically connected to C memory cells of the first cell array and E memory cells of the second cell array. The first bit line pairs and the second bit line pairs are alternately provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tatsuya Onuki, Yuki Okamoto, Hisao Ikeda, Shuhei Nagatsuka
  • Patent number: 11264079
    Abstract: Apparatuses, systems, and methods for row hammer based cache lockdown. A controller of a memory may include an aggressor detector circuit which determines if addresses are aggressor addresses or not. The controller may include a tracker circuit which may count a number of times an address is identified as an aggressor, and may determine if the aggressor address is a frequent aggressor address based on the count. If the address is a frequent aggressor address, a cache entry associated with the frequent aggressor address may be locked (e.g., for a set amount of time). In some embodiments, the controller may include a second tracker which may determine if the frequent aggressor address is a highly attacked address. An address mapping associated with the highly attacked address may be changed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: David A. Roberts
  • Patent number: 11264115
    Abstract: An integrated circuit includes a memory core and a built-in self-test (BIST) controller. The memory core has an array of memory cells located at intersections of a plurality of word lines and a plurality of bit line pairs. The BIST controller is coupled to the memory core and has a mission mode and a built-in self-test mode. When in the mission mode, the BIST controller performs read and write accesses using precharge on demand. When in the built-in self-test mode, the BIST controller performs a floating bit line test by draining a voltage on true and complement bit lines of a selected bit line pair and subsequently precharging the true and complement bit lines of the selected bit line pair, before reading or writing data using the true and complement bit lines of the selected bit line pair.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Russell Schreiber, Keith A. Kasprak, Vance Threatt, James A. Wingfield, William A. Halliday, Srinivas R. Sathu, Arijit Banerjee
  • Patent number: 11237828
    Abstract: This application discloses a mechanism to securely store and compute with a matrix of numbers or any two-dimensional array of binary values in a storage entity called a matrix space. A matrix space is designed to store matrices or arrays of values into arrays of volatile or non-volatile memory cells with accessibility in two or three dimensions. Any row or column or line of storage elements in the storage entity is directly accessible for writing, reading, or clearing via row bit lines and column bit lines, respectively. The elements in rows of the arrays are selected or controlled for access using row address lines and the elements in columns of the arrays are selected or controlled for access using column address lines. Access control methods and mechanisms with keys to secure, share, lock, and unlock regions in the matrix space for matrices and arrays under the control of an operating system or a virtual-machine hypervisor by permitted threads and processes are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Inventor: Sitaram Yadavalli
  • Patent number: 11238928
    Abstract: A read-write circuit mainly includes a read circuit and a write circuit. The write circuit comprises: a first voltage selector and a first voltage follower circuit that is electrically connected to the memristor storage array. The read-write circuit further includes a second voltage selector and a second voltage follower circuit that is electrically connected to the memristor storage array. Voltage stable following during bipolar writing is selected through the foregoing selector. Meanwhile, the reading circuit is provided with a variable resistor to select an access mode. The actual read-out voltage and the output voltage passing through the reference resistor under the same read voltage are input into a differential amplifier to obtain read-out data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2022
    Assignee: Huazhong University of Science and Technology
    Inventors: Xingsheng Wang, Enming Huang, Xiangshui Miao
  • Patent number: 11222682
    Abstract: Apparatuses and methods for generating refresh addresses for row hammer refresh operations are disclosed. In some examples, determination of a row address associated with a highest count value may be initiated at a precharge command preceding a row hammer refresh operation. The row address determined to be associated with the highest count value may be provided for generating the refresh addresses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Honoka Enomoto, Masaru Morohashi
  • Patent number: 11218019
    Abstract: Various embodiments described herein use a set of capacitor sets (e.g., capacitor banks) in a power backup architecture for a memory sub-system, where each capacitor set can be individually checked for a health condition (e.g., in parallel) to determine their respective health after the memory sub-system has completed a boot process. In response to determining that at least one capacitor set has failed the health condition (or a certain number of capacitor sets have failed the health condition), the memory sub-system can perform certain operations prior to primary power loss to the memory sub-system (e.g., preemptively performs a data backup process to ensure data integrity) and can adjust the operational mode of the memory sub-system (e.g., switch it from read-write mode to read-only mode).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Vehid Suljic, Matthew D. Rowley
  • Patent number: 11217668
    Abstract: A miniaturized transistor with reduced parasitic capacitance and highly stable electrical characteristics is provided. High performance and high reliability of a semiconductor device including the transistor is achieved. A first conductor is formed over a substrate, a first insulator is formed over the first conductor, a layer that retains fixed charges is formed over the first insulator, a second insulator is formed over the layer that retains fixed charges, and a transistor is formed over the second insulator. Threshold voltage Vth is controlled by appropriate adjustment of the thicknesses of the first insulator, the second insulator, and the layer that retains fixed charges.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tetsuhiro Tanaka, Kazuki Tanemura, Daisuke Matsubayashi
  • Patent number: 11217292
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for time-based access of memory cells in a memory array are described herein. During a sense portion of a read operation, a selected memory cell may be charged to a predetermined voltage level. A logic state stored on the selected memory cell may be identified based on a duration between the beginning of the charging and when selected memory cell reaches the predetermined voltage level. In some examples, time-varying signals may be used to indicate the logic state based on the duration of the charging. The duration of the charging may be based on a polarization state of the selected memory cell, a dielectric charge state of the selected state, or both a polarization state and a dielectric charge state of the selected memory cell.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Umberto Di Vincenzo
  • Patent number: 11211447
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a substrate, a bottom electrode on the substrate, a first support layer on the substrate next to a sidewall of the bottom electrode, a dielectric layer covering the sidewall and a top surface of the bottom electrode, and a top electrode on the dielectric layer. The bottom electrode includes a first part having a plurality of protrusions that protrude from a sidewall of the first part. The first part of the bottom electrode may be on the first support layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hyukwoo Kwon, Ha-Young Yi, Byoungdeog Choi, Seongmin Choo
  • Patent number: 11204799
    Abstract: A semiconductor device capable of suppressing performance degradation and systems using the same are provided. The semiconductor device includes a plurality of processors CPU1 and CPU2, a scheduling device 10 (ID1) connected to the processors CPU1 and CPU2 for controlling the processors CPU1 and CPU2 to execute a plurality of tasks in real time, memories 17 and 18 accessed by the processors CPU1 and CPU2 to store data by executing the tasks, and access monitor circuits 15 for monitoring accesses to the memories by the processors CPU1 and CPU2. When an access to the memory is detected by the access monitor circuit 15, the data stored in the memory 18 is transferred based on the destination information of the data stored in the memory 18.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Assignee: RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Yasuo Sasaki
  • Patent number: 11200927
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for timing signal delay compensation in a memory device are described. In some memory devices, operations for accessing memory cells may be performed with timing that is asynchronous relative to an input signal. To support asynchronous timing, a memory device may include delay components that support generating a timing signal having aspects that are delayed relative to an input signal. In accordance with examples as disclosed herein, a memory device may include delay components having a variable and configurable impedance, where the configurable impedance may be based at least in part on a configuration signal generated at the memory device. A configuration signal may be generated based on fabrication characteristics of the memory device, or based on operating conditions of the memory device, or various combinations thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Zhi Qi Huang, Wei Lu Chu, Dong Pan
  • Patent number: 11200940
    Abstract: According to one implementation of the present disclosure, a memory array to block read-access of uninitialized memory locations is disclosed. The memory array includes: a plurality of memory cells apportioned into a plurality of memory columns and a plurality of memory rows, where each of the memory cells is configured to store a single bit of memory data; and one or more initialization columns corresponding to at least one of the plurality of memory columns. The initialization state of a memory row of the memory cells may be configured to be stored in: the memory row; a latch of word-line driver circuitry coupled to the memory array; or a memory cell of the one or more initialization columns of a corresponding row of the plurality of memory rows of the memory array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: Arm Limited
    Inventors: Pranay Prabhat, James Edward Myers, Graham Peter Knight