JP2011233233A - Semiconductor device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sense circuit for a DRAM memory cell responding to that sense time significantly becomes slow, the sense time at low voltage becomes high temperature and high speed, and furthermore, the sense time sharply changes to process variation according to voltage reduction of power supply voltage or the like.SOLUTION: A representative solution to the present invention is as follows. A switch means is provided between a bit line BL to which a memory cell is connected and a local bit line LBL to allow separation coupling, the BL is considered as VDL/2 precharge, and the LBL is considered as VDL precharge. The VDL is the maximum amplitude voltage of the bit line BL. An SA includes: a first circuit including a differential MOS pair of gate receiving coupled to the BL: and a second circuit coupled to the LBL for full amplitude amplification and data holding. When capacitive coupling of the BL and the LBL is performed via a capacitor, it is preferable to use a latch-shaped SA connected to the LBL.

Description

  The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly to a semiconductor integrated circuit device having excellent low-voltage operating characteristics.

  In FIG. 26.1 of Non-Patent Document 1, a circuit diagram of a sense system of a standard DRAM (dynamic random access memory) is described. FIG. 18 shows a so-called shared sense system (a configuration in which one sense amplifier row is shared by the left and right memory mats). FIG. 18 is a circuit diagram in which this point is omitted. A memory cell is constituted by C100 and M100, C100 is a capacitor for storing information in the memory cell, M100 is a transfer NMOS transistor of the charge, and VPL is a plate voltage. BL [n] and / BL [n] are bit lines, WL [m] is a word line, and memory cells are arranged at appropriate intersections to constitute the memory array 100. M101, M102, and M103 are NMOS transistors, VBM is a power supply that is half the data line voltage VDL, and the bit line is precharged to the VBM potential by turning M101 to M103 on, so-called half VDD precharge system precharge. A charge circuit 101 is configured. M200 and M201 are PMOS transistors, and M202 and M203 are NMOS transistors, which constitute a CMOS latch type sense amplifier 201. M109 and M110 are NMOS transistors and constitute a Y switch 103a. By turning on M109 and M110, the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] are changed to the global bit lines GBL [p] and / GBL. Select and connect to [p].

  FIG. 19 shows a waveform diagram of the read operation of this memory. Here, in order to simplify the explanation, the array voltage VDL is set to the same voltage as the power supply voltage VDD and assumed to be 1.0V. In addition, VBM is assumed to be 0.5V of the half voltage, and the boosted voltage of the word line is assumed to be 2.5V. The precharge signal EQ is negated at time T0, and the word line WL [m] is asserted at time T1. As a result, the transfer MOS transistor M100 in the memory cell selected by the word line is turned on, and the charge accumulated in the capacitor C100 in the memory cell is added to the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n]. The charge share with the parasitic capacitance is generated, and the potential difference Vs reflecting the information in the memory cell is generated on the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n]. The bit line potentials BL [n] and / BL [n] are amplified to 1.0V and 0V by driving the sense amplifier activation signals CSP and CSN to 1.0V and 0V, respectively, at time T2. In this figure, since YS [k] is asserted, the Y switch is turned on and the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] are amplified and simultaneously the global bit lines GBL [p] and / GBL [P] is also amplified.

  In the above-described symbols, a symbol having a slash mark “/” attached in front of BL [n], such as / BL [n], is a commonly used notation method. It means that each is a complementary signal. Bracket '[]' is a commonly used notation method. For example, BL [n] includes one or more brackets such as BL [0], BL [1], and BL [2]. This means that a bus structure signal composed of signal lines is representatively described. Hereinafter, this notation is used in the present application.

JP-A-2-24898 (corresponding US Patent Publication No. 497864) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-3971 (corresponding US Pat. No. 5,854,562)

Ito Kiyoo, "VLSI LSI", Bafukan, p.162 “1996 Symposium on VLSI Circuits Digests of Technical Papers”, pp. 104-105

  FIG. 20A shows a simulation result made by the inventors of the present invention of the sense speed (tSENSE) of the sense system circuit of the DRAM of FIG. The sense speed (tSENSE) was defined as the time from the activation of the sense amplifier until the potential difference between the bit lines BL and / BL was amplified to 60% of the power supply voltage VDD as shown in FIG. Two types of temperatures, ie, a junction temperature Tj of −40 degrees and 125 degrees, were assumed. From this analysis, the present inventors have revealed the following. (A1) As the power supply voltage is lowered, the sense time (tSENSE) is significantly delayed. (A2) When the power supply voltage is about 1.2 V or less, the sense time is faster at a high temperature than at a low temperature. This is because the drive current of the sense amplifier is not the drift current but the diffusion current among the drain current of the MOS transistor. In general, the diffusion current changes very sensitively to the temperature and the threshold value of the MOS transistor. Therefore, when the sense amplifier is used in a region where the diffusion current is dominant instead of the drift current in this way, the sensing time greatly changes with respect to LSI manufacturing process variations and LSI operating environment variations. This develops to the problem of lowering the circuit yield of the LSI, resulting in an increase in the cost of the LSI using the DRAM of the circuit having such a configuration. FIG. 20C shows the dependency of the delay time of the CMOS inverter on the power supply voltage as an example of the delay time characteristic (tDRAY) of a general CMOS logic circuit. As in FIG. 20A, two types of temperatures of −40 degrees and 125 degrees are assumed as the junction temperature Tj.

  From this analysis, the present inventors have revealed the following. (B1) The operation speed deterioration when the power supply voltage is lowered is significantly smaller than that in the case of the conventional DRAM sense system shown in FIG. (B2) The temperature characteristics at low voltage are different between the CMOS inverter and the characteristics of the sense system of the conventional DRAM shown in FIG.

  From the above, it can be seen that the DRAM circuit having the conventional sense system shown in FIG. 18 and the logic circuit having the delay characteristic of FIG. 20C cannot be matched with each other due to their low voltage characteristics. . Here, the matching of a plurality of circuits means a state in which the dependence of delay characteristics on power supply voltage and temperature is similar. For example, if the power supply voltage is lowered, the operation speeds of all the circuits are reduced to the same extent, and if the temperature is lowered, the operation speeds of all the circuits are increased to the same extent.

  When a DRAM having a conventional sense system as shown in FIG. 18 and a logic circuit, which are not matched, and a logic circuit are mixedly mounted on one LSI, the operation speed of the DRAM-embedded logic LSI at the time of low voltage operation is the same as that of the DRAM. It is governed by the characteristics of being slow at low temperatures. For example, the operation speed of the entire LSI is regulated by racing. Further, when the DRAM-embedded logic LSI is used in a plurality of operation modes having different operation frequencies from the power supply voltage, the operation frequency in the low-voltage operation mode is remarkably slowed by incorporating the DRAM. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sense amplifier that operates stably even at a low voltage.

  A typical configuration of the present invention is as follows. That is, a word line (WL), a first bit line pair (BL, / BL), a memory cell (MC) provided at an intersection of the word line and the first bit line pair, and a second bit line pair (LBL, / LBL), a switch circuit (ISO_SW_T, ISO_SW_B) for coupling the first bit line pair and the second bit line pair, and a first circuit (PSA) connected to the first bit line pair ) And a second amplifier (MSA) connected to the second bit line pair, and a first precharge circuit (PC1) for precharging the first bit line pair to a first precharge potential. And a second precharge circuit (PC2) for precharging the second bit line pair to a second precharge potential, wherein the second circuit receives the first and second signals from the memory signal of the memory cell. Second bi The first precharge potential is a potential (VBM) between the first potential and the second potential. The first precharge potential is a circuit that amplifies one of the second line pairs to the first potential (VSS) and the other to the second potential (VDL). The semiconductor device is configured such that the second precharge potential is the second potential.

  According to another aspect of the invention, the word line (WL), the first bit line pair (BL, / BL), and the memory cell (MC) provided at the intersection of the word line and the first bit line pair. ), A second bit line pair (LBL, / LBL), a first electrode connected to one of the first bit line pair, and a second electrode connected to one of the second bit line pair. A first capacitor (C250); and a second capacitor (C251) having a third electrode connected to the other of the first bit line pair and a fourth electrode connected to the other of the second bit line pair. Including a capacitor pair, a first switch (M206) for connecting one of the first bit line pair and one of the second bit line pair, and the other of the first bit line pair and the second bit line pair. A switch including a second switch (M207) for connecting the other A sense amplifier (SA) connected to the second bit line pair; a first precharge circuit (PC1) for precharging the first bit line pair to a first precharge potential; The semiconductor device is configured to include a second precharge circuit (PC2) for precharging the 2-bit line pair to the second precharge potential.

The main effects obtained by the present invention are as follows.
(1) By using the sense system circuit of the present invention, the power supply voltage dependency of the sense time, the rewrite time, and the write time is made substantially the same as the sense time characteristic of the VDD precharge system shown in FIG. be able to. That is, the sense time is faster in the case of a low voltage even at a low voltage than in the case of a high temperature, and the degradation of the sense speed at a low voltage is about the same as the delay time degradation of the CMOS inverter shown in FIG. Pressed. Due to this feature, the low voltage characteristics of the logic circuit and the DRAM macro using the sense system circuit of the present invention have matched characteristics. As a result, either one of the logic macros and the low-voltage characteristics are not restricted, and the logic LSI can be mixedly mounted without significantly degrading the final LSI characteristics.

  (2) The temperature characteristic is the same as that of the logic circuit because the drive current of the sense amplifier of the present invention is dominated by the drift current, not the diffusion current, of the drain current of the MOS transistor. In general, the diffusion current changes very sensitively to the temperature and the threshold value of the MOS transistor. Therefore, if the sense amplifier is used in a region where the diffusion current is dominant rather than the drift current as in the conventional sense system circuit, the sense time greatly changes with respect to LSI manufacturing process variations and LSI operating environment variations. Become. This develops to the problem of lowering the circuit yield of the LSI, resulting in an increase in the cost of the LSI using the DRAM of the circuit having such a configuration. Therefore, the sense system of the present invention has a feature that it is more resistant to variations in LSI manufacturing processes and LSI operating environments than conventional sense systems. Further, it can be said that the circuit structure has a high yield.

  (3) A special cell such as a dummy cell, which is necessary in the case of the conventional VDD precharge method, is not required while having the above-described features of the VDD precharge method. As a result, the manufacturing process and the circuit can be greatly simplified, the yield can be improved, and the cost of the LSI can be reduced.

  (4) Sense completion detection since it can be determined that the amplification of the sense amplifier is completed if one local bit line pair is driven to 0V to detect the completion of amplification of the local bit line of the sense amplifier. The circuit can be easily realized with a two-input NAND gate, and complete timingless read operation can be realized.

  (5) For the bit line potential difference Vs read from the memory cell to the bit line after the word line is asserted, the minimum value necessary for the correct operation of the sense amplifier is set to a smaller value than in the case of the conventional sense system circuit. it can.

It is a figure which shows the Example of the sense type | system | group circuit of this invention. It is a figure which shows the Example of the read-out operation | movement of FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a logic embedded DRAM macro using a sense system circuit of the present invention; FIG. It is a figure which shows the Example of the system LSI using the logic embedded DRAM macro of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other Example of the sense type | system | group circuit of this invention. It is a figure which shows the Example of the read-out operation | movement of FIG. It is a figure which shows the further another Example of the sense type | system | group circuit of this invention using a capacitor. It is a figure which shows the Example of the read-out operation | movement of FIG. It is a figure which shows other Example of the sense amplifier of this invention. It is a figure which shows the further another Example of the sense type | system | group circuit of this invention. It is a figure which shows the Example of the read-out operation | movement of FIG. It is a figure which shows the Example of the DRAM macro using a shared sense amplifier system. It is a figure which shows the Example at the time of changing the sense system circuit of FIG. 1 into a shared sense amplifier system. It is a figure which shows the Example at the time of changing the sense system circuit of FIG. 5 to a shared sense amplifier system. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an embodiment when the sense system circuit of FIG. 7 is changed to a shared sense amplifier system. It is a figure which shows the Example at the time of changing the sense system circuit of FIG. 10 to a shared sense amplifier system. It is a figure which shows the control system of DRAM of this invention carrying the circuit which detects the operation | movement completion | finish of a sense amplifier. It is a figure which shows the conventional sense system circuit. It is a figure which shows the example of examination of the read-out operation | movement of FIG. 18 which this inventor examined. It is a figure which shows the simulation result by this inventor etc. of the low voltage characteristic of the sense system circuit shown in FIG. 18, and the low voltage characteristic of a CMOS inverter. It is a figure which shows the simulation result by this inventor of this application, etc. of the low voltage characteristic when the sense system circuit shown in FIG. 18 is operated by VDD precharge system. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an embodiment when a memory array is configured using the sense system circuit of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1, 5, 7, 10, 13, 14, 15, and 16. It is a figure which shows the Example regarding the rewriting technique of this invention. FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a circuit diagram for realizing a rewriting method of the present invention different from FIG. FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a rewrite operation of the present invention using the embodiment of FIG. 24. FIG. 26 is a diagram showing a rewrite operation of the present invention using the embodiment of FIG. 24 different from FIG. 25. FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a read operation of the present invention using the embodiment of FIG. FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a write operation of the present invention using the embodiment of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Circuit elements constituting each functional block of the embodiment are not particularly limited, but are formed on a single semiconductor substrate such as single crystal silicon by a known integrated circuit technology such as CMOS (complementary MOS transistor). . The P-type MOS transistor (MOSFET) is distinguished from the N-type MOS transistor (MOSFET) by adding a circle symbol to the gate.

<Example 1>
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a typical sense system circuit of the present invention. C100 and M100 constitute a memory cell (MC), where C100 is a capacitor for storing information in the memory cell, M100 is a charge transfer NMOS transistor, and VPL is a plate voltage. BL [n] and / BL [n] are bit lines, WL [m] is a word line, and memory cells are arranged at appropriate intersections to constitute the memory array 100. Here, an embodiment based on the folded bit line structure is shown, but an open bit line structure may be used. In this figure, M107 and M108 are NMOS transistors and constitute a Y switch Y-SW. By turning on M107 and M108, the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] are changed to the global bit line GBL [p. ] And / GBL [p].

  The sense amplifier SA1 employed in the present invention is characterized by the following points. That is, SA1 includes a pre-sense amplifier PSA connected to the bit line pair BL [n], / BL [n] (hereinafter also referred to as “BL”) and the local bit line LBL [n], / LBL [n] (hereinafter abbreviated as “LBL”). Further, a switch circuit (ISO_SW_T.ISO_SW_B) for controlling connection and separation between BL and LBL is provided. The PSA includes an N-type MOSFET pair (M204 and M205) in which the gate is connected to the BL and the source is commonly connected, and operates as a gate-receiver differential MOSFET pair. The main sense amplifier MSA is a circuit having a CMOS latch type sense amplifier as a basic configuration. In the MSA, the gates and drains of the P-type MOSFET pairs M200 and M201 are cross-coupled and the sources are commonly connected. The gates and drains of the N-type MOSFET pairs M202 and M203 are cross-coupled and the sources are connected to the drains of the PSA N-type MOSFET pair.

  FIG. 9 of Patent Document 1 shows a sense amplifier including the above-described PSA and MSA when attention is paid only to the circuit format. Further, FIG. 16 of Patent Document 1 shows the circuit operation. However, the sense amplifier described in Patent Document 1 is a technology related to SRAM, and there is no suggestion of application to a DRAM as in the present invention. Therefore, the following switch circuit (ISO_SW_T.ISO_SW_B) is not considered.

  A second feature of the present invention is that a switch circuit (ISO_SW_T.ISO_SW_B) for controlling connection and separation between BL and LBL is provided. This corresponds to the difference in the precharge potential between BL and LBL. M206 and M207 are NMOS transistors. With this switch circuit, BL and LBL are electrically connected, and the data amplified by MSA is transmitted from LBL to BL, thereby rewriting to the memory cell.

  The third feature of the present invention is that BL is VDL / 2 precharge and LBL is VDL precharge. M101, M102, and M103 are NMOS transistors, and VBM is a power supply that is half the data line voltage VDL. By turning on M101 to M103, bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] (first bit line pair) Is precharged to the VBM potential (first precharge voltage), so-called half VDD precharge type precharge circuit 101 is configured. On the other hand, M104, M105, and M106 are PMOS transistors. By turning on these MOS transistors, the so-called VDD precharge method is used to precharge LBL (second bit line pair) to the VDL potential (second precharge voltage). The precharge circuit 102 is configured.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of a read operation waveform diagram of the memory of FIG. Here, in order to simplify the explanation, the array voltage VDL is set to the same voltage as the power supply voltage VDD of the chip and assumed to be 1.0V. In addition, VBM is assumed to be 0.5V of the half voltage, and the boosted voltage of the word line is assumed to be 2.5V. The precharge signals EQ_BL and EQ_LBL are negated at time T0, and the word line WL [m] is asserted at time T1. As a result, the transfer MOS transistor M100 in the memory cell selected by the word line is turned on, and the charge accumulated in the capacitor C100 in the memory cell is added to the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n]. The charge share with the parasitic capacitance is generated, and the potential difference Vs reflecting the information in the memory cell is generated on the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n].

  At time T2, the sense amplifier activation signal CSN is driven to 0V to activate the sense amplifier, and the potential difference between the bit line potentials BL [n] and / BL [n] is amplified to 1.0V and 0V, and the local bit line The data is output to LBL [n] and / LBL [n]. In this figure, since YS [k] is asserted, the Y switch is turned on and the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] are amplified and simultaneously the global bit lines GBL [p] and / GBL [P] is also amplified. Further, at time T2 ′, the write back signal RBK is asserted, and the signals amplified to the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] are transferred to the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n]. The memory cell is being rewritten. At time T3, the write-back signal RBK and the word line WL [m] are negated, and at time T4, the precharge signals EQ_BL and EQ_LBL are asserted, and the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] are set to 0.5V. The bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] are precharged to 1.0V.

  FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a DRAM macro using the sense system circuit shown in FIG. 500 is a DRAM macro. Reference numeral 501 denotes an indirect peripheral circuit including a command decoder 502, a read / write amplifier 503, and a power supply circuit 504. BA0 to BA7 indicate memory banks. Each bank includes a timing control circuit TG, a column selection circuit Y-DEC, a row decoder X-DEC, and a plurality of sense amplifiers 506a and 506b. The sense circuit shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to 506a or 506b in FIG. 3, and is arranged so as to face each other in each bank. Control signals for the word line WL [m] and the like in FIG. 1 are controlled by a row decoder, a timing control circuit, a column selection circuit, and the like. GBL0 and / GBL0 are a pair of global bit lines, which are wired in parallel with the bit lines BL0 and / BL0, and each sense bank has eight sense amplifiers indicated by 506a and 506b. Are connected to a pair of global bit lines GBL (degeneration degree is 8). The GBL is provided across the memory banks, and is connected to a block 503 including a read / write amplifier RW-AMP provided corresponding to each GBL. The RW-AMP is further connected to an external input / output data signal line DQ via a selector or as it is as required. The DRAM macro control signal CNT and the address signal ADD are input to the command decoder C-DEC, and the C-DEC sends a control signal to the TG or the like so that predetermined read and write operations are executed.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 3, a sense system circuit is configured independently for each bank, and each bank is further provided with a timing control circuit 507. Therefore, each bank is independent by control from the command decoder 502. The feature is that it can be operated. By operating each bank independently, the throughput of the DRAM macro can be increased by a so-called interleave method.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the entire DRAM embedded logic LSI (400) on which the DRAM macro 500 shown in FIG. 3 is mounted. VDD and VSS are a core power supply and its ground, and VDDQ and VSSQ indicate an I / O power supply and its ground. For example, the core power supply voltage is 1.0V, and the I / O power supply voltage is 3.3V. OUT0 to OUTx are output signals, IN0 to INy are input signals, and I / O0 to I / Oz are input / output signals. Reference numeral 401 denotes an I / O circuit for interfacing signals inside the chip with the outside of the chip, 402 denotes a logic circuit composed of an inverter, a NAND gate, and the like, and 403 denotes the DRAM macro shown in FIG. ing. Examples of 402 include, but are not limited to, a microprocessor (CPU), a DSP, or an SRAM.

  FIG. 21 shows the results of a simulation performed to evaluate the characteristics of the sense circuit of the present invention shown in FIG. This simulation is a calculation result when the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] are precharged to VDD in the DRAM sense system circuit shown in FIG. The circuit configuration is the same as that of FIG. 20A except that the precharge system is different. The simulation conditions are also the same as the simulation conditions of FIG. 19 except that the sense amplifier activation signal is driven by fixing CSP at the VDD potential and driving CSN from the VDD potential to the VSS potential. From this analysis, the inventors have clarified the following. (C1) Although the sense time (tSENSE) is delayed as the power supply voltage is lowered, the degree is very gentle compared to FIG. 20A, and the characteristics of the CMOS inverter (FIG. 20C) ). (C2) At least in the range where the power supply voltage is 0.8 V or more, the sense time is faster at the low temperature than at the high temperature. This is because the drive current of the sense amplifier is dominated by the drift current, not the diffusion current, of the drain current of the MOS transistor, and is consistent with the characteristics of the CMOS inverter (FIG. 20C). In this way, the low voltage operation characteristic of the DRAM sense system circuit is much better in the case of the VDD precharge system than in the case of the half VDD precharge system. It can be seen that matching with the inverter can be achieved. Here, for the sake of simplicity, the result of the simple VDD precharge method is shown. However, even in the sense system circuit of the present invention shown in FIG. Since these are essentially the same, the characteristics shown in FIG. 21 can be obtained, and the above-described features can be obtained.

  Further, in general, in the case of the VDD precharge method, there is a problem that a special cell such as a dummy cell is required for generating the reference voltage. However, in the present invention, the bit line BL [n connected to the memory cell is used. ], / BL [n] and local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] connected to the sense amplifier are separated in a DC manner, and the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] are half VDD By using the precharge method and the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] using the VDD precharge method, dummy cells for the reference voltage are not required.

  As described above, the sense circuit of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 has the following characteristics. (D1) Even at a low voltage, the sense time is faster at a low temperature than at a high temperature. (D2) The sense speed deterioration at a low voltage is suppressed to the same extent as the delay time deterioration of the CMOS inverter shown in FIG.

  The characteristic (D1) is because the drive current of the sense amplifier of the present invention is dominated by the drift current, not the diffusion current, of the drain current of the MOS transistor. In general, the diffusion current changes very sensitively to the temperature and the threshold value of the MOS transistor. Therefore, if the sense amplifier is used in a region where the diffusion current is dominant instead of the drift current as in the sense system circuit shown in FIG. 18, the sense time is reduced with respect to the variation in the LSI manufacturing process and the variation in the operating environment of the LSI. It will change greatly. This develops to the problem of lowering the circuit yield of the LSI, resulting in an increase in the cost of the LSI using the DRAM of the circuit having such a configuration. Therefore, the sense system of the present invention has a feature that it is resistant to variations in LSI manufacturing processes and LSI operating environments. Further, it can be said that the circuit structure has a high yield.

  Further, due to the characteristics (D1) and (D2), the low voltage characteristics of the logic circuit 402 in FIG. 4 and the DRAM macro 403 have matching characteristics. As a result, one of them does not have a large low voltage characteristic, and the DRAM macro 402 can be mixedly mounted on a logic LSI without greatly degrading the final LSI characteristics.

  Further, the sense circuit of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 has the characteristics of the VDD precharge method shown in the above (D1) and (D2), but is necessary in the case of the conventional VDD precharge method. There is a feature that a special cell such as a dummy cell is not required. As a result, the manufacturing process and the circuit can be greatly simplified, the yield can be improved, and the cost of the LSI can be reduced.

  In FIG. 1, the MOS symbol in which the gate electrode is indicated by a white box such as M206 indicates a high voltage MOS transistor constituted by a thick gate oxide film, and the gate is indicated by M202. The electrode indicated by a line indicates a MOS transistor constituted by a thin gate oxide film. The method of using the two types of gate oxide film thicknesses is not particularly limited, but there is an advantage that an appropriate voltage can be applied to the gate electrode as in this embodiment. It should be noted that the oxide breakdown voltage of the thin oxide film MOS described above is basically sufficient up to the power supply voltage VDD, and a high-speed MOS transistor can be used. The thick oxide film MOS described later can be the same as the output stage MOS of the LSI I / O circuit, and the oxide film withstand voltage may basically be up to the I / O voltage VDDQ. In the following drawings, an example in which MOS transistors are selectively used as in FIG. 1 will be shown. Further, the threshold voltage of the MOS transistor is not particularly limited. The configuration of the DRAM macro using the sense system circuit of the present invention and the DRAM embedded logic LSI using the same is not particularly limited to the configuration shown in FIGS.

  In the above embodiment, the potential of the bit line is described as having an amplitude in VSS (0 V) and VDL (1 V). However, when VDL is 1.8 V or less, and further, 1.8 V to 0.5 V. In particular, the advantage is utilized. This also applies to the following embodiments.

<Example 2>
FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the DRAM sense system circuit of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the MOS transistors M204 and M205 in the sense amplifier to which the bit lines BL [n] and LBL [n] are connected are connected in series to M202 and M203, respectively. On the other hand, in the sense amplifier SA2 of FIG. 5, M208 and M209 corresponding to M204 and M205 are connected in parallel to M202 and M203, and a pre-sense amplifier PSA is configured by M208 and M209. Further, the main sense amplifier MSA portion includes M200 to M203, and the sources of M202 and M203 are commonly coupled, and a latch type circuit in which a CMOS inverter is cross-coupled is formed. MSA and PSA are separated into drive lines CSN and PRECSN, respectively, so that they can be controlled independently.

  In FIG. 1 of Patent Document 2, a similar sense amplifier is described when only the circuit format is viewed. However, in the circuit of Patent Document 2, switch circuits (M206, M207) for making the precharge levels of the bit line BL and the local bit line LBL different as in the present application and for separating and coupling BL and LBL are used. Is not considered.

  FIG. 6 shows an example of a read operation waveform diagram of the sense system of the embodiment of FIG. Here, only parts different from the read operation shown in FIG. 2 will be described in order to avoid duplication. At the same time as the word line WL [m] is asserted at time T1, the drive signal PRECSN (source potentials of M208 and M209) of the pre-sense amplifier 202b in FIG. 5 is driven to −0.5V. Accordingly, since the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] are connected to the gate electrodes of M208 and M209, the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [ n] is discharged as shown in the figure according to the potentials of the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n]. At time T2, the main sense amplifier 202a is activated by driving CSN to 0V, and the potential difference between the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] generated after being discharged is amplified.

  In the system of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, M204 and M205 are part of the driving MOS transistors of the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n]. Since only a voltage in the vicinity of .5V is applied, the driving power of the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] is limited by the weak driving power of M204 and M205. For this reason, low threshold MOS transistors are used for M204 and M205 in order to operate at a lower voltage so that a large driving force can be obtained even if only about half the power supply voltage is applied to the gate electrode. There is a need to. On the other hand, in the embodiment of FIG. 5, the drive MOS transistors of the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] at the time of activation of the sense amplifier are only M202 and M203, and M208 and M209 are pre-sense periods (time T1 in FIG. 6). To time T2). This enables high-speed operation of the main amplifier 202a without using low threshold MOS transistors for M208 and M209.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the drive signal PRECSN of the pre-sense amplifier 202b is driven to −0.5V to drive the pre-sense amplifier composed of M208 and M209. However, the drive voltage of PRECSN is not particularly limited. However, since only about 0.5 V is applied to the gate electrodes of M208 and M209 at time T1, driving the PRECSN to a negative voltage causes the M208 and M209 to drive the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] at a higher speed. Can be driven. In addition, when the PRECSN is driven to a negative voltage, the source-gate potential difference between M208 and M209 increases, so that the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] can be driven with the drain current caused by the drift current. The pre-sense time characteristics from T1 to time T2 can be matched with the delay characteristics of the logic circuit.

  When PRECSN is driven to a negative voltage, the driving power of M208 and M209 becomes too large, and a potential difference of about 100 mV sufficient to drive the main sense amplifier 202a to the local bit lines LBL [n], / LBL [n]. When this occurs, the potentials of the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] may both be driven to around 0.5V. In this state, the effect of VDD precharging the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] connected to the main sense amplifier is lost. In order to prevent this while driving PRECSN to a negative voltage, the gate length Lg of M208 and M209 is increased or the gate width W is decreased, so that M208 and M206 are local bit lines LBL [n], / LBL [n]. What is necessary is just to adjust the electric current which drives.

<Example 3>
FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the sense amplifier of the present invention. In this embodiment, unlike FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, a MOS transistor is formed between each of the bit lines BL [n], / BL [n] and the local bit lines LBL [n], / LBL [n]. Capacitors C250 and C251 are connected. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 5, the potential difference between the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] to which the memory cells are connected is represented by the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] in the sense amplifier. It is connected to the gate electrode of the MOS transistor of the pre-sense amplifier PSA, and the drain current difference flowing corresponding to the gate voltage is detected. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the potential difference between the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] to which the memory cells are connected is changed by the capacitive coupling (so-called AC coupling) of the capacitors of C250 and C251 to the local bit line LBL [ n] and / LBL [n].

  FIG. 8 shows an example of a read operation waveform diagram of the sense system of the embodiment of FIG. Here, only parts different from the read operation shown in FIGS. 2 and 6 will be described in order to avoid duplication. When the word line WL [m] is asserted at time T1, a potential difference Vs1 corresponding to information in the memory cell is generated on the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] connected to the memory cell. This potential difference is transmitted to the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] by capacitive coupling by the capacitors C250 and C251 in FIG. 7, and a potential difference Vs2 is generated in the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n]. . Thereafter, at time T2, the sense amplifier activation signal CSN is asserted to activate the sense amplifier, and Vs2 is amplified.

  Here, the structures of the capacitors C250 and C251 are not particularly limited. However, it is preferable that the capacitors C250 and C251 be composed of MOS capacitors using NMOS transistors. A capacitor using the gate capacitance of a MOS transistor has the property that the capacitance varies depending on the potential difference between the gate and the source / drain. That is, when the potential difference between the gate and the source / drain is large, a channel is formed in the MOS transistor and looks like a large capacitance, and when the potential difference between the gate, source and drain is small, the channel disappears and the capacitance becomes small. Hereinafter, this is referred to as a capacitance modulation effect.

  In FIG. 8, the sense amplifier is activated at time T2 to amplify the potential difference Vs2 between the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n]. From the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] to C250 And large capacitance of the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] can be seen through capacitive coupling by C251. Therefore, the following points should be considered in order to drive the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] with the sense amplifier at high speed. (E1) Of the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n], the one driven to the low side (/ LBL [n] in FIG. 8) is driven by the bit line / BL [n]. n] needs to be driven to the low side at a high speed with a small parasitic capacitance. Therefore, the capacitance of the capacitor C251 connected between the local bit line / LBL [n] and the corresponding bit line / BL [n] should be small. (E2) Of the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n], the one driven to the high side (LBL [n] in FIG. 8) is driven by the bit line BL [n]. It is preferable that the local bit line / LBL [n] stays on the high side without being driven to the low side by the parasitic capacitance when the sense amplifier is driven with a large parasitic capacitance added to. Therefore, the capacity of the capacitor C250 connected between the local bit line LBL [n] and the corresponding bit line BL [n] should be large.

  By using capacitors using NMOS transistors for the capacitors C250 and C251, the above (E1) and (E2) can be automatically realized simultaneously by the above-described capacitance modulation effect. The connection method when using MOS transistors for the capacitors C250 and C251 (the gate electrode is connected to the local bit line in FIG. 7) and the substrate potential are not particularly limited. However, the relationship between Vs1 and Vs2 in FIG. 8 is determined by charge sharing between the capacitance Ca of the capacitors C250 and C251 and the parasitic capacitance Cp added to the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n]. . That is, Vs2 = Vs1 * Ca / (Cp + Ca). Therefore, if Ca is constant, it is better to make Cp as small as possible. By connecting the gate electrode to the local bit line as in C250 and C251 of FIG. 7, Cp can be reduced by the junction capacitance of the diffusion layer of the MOS transistor constituting C250 and C251.

<Example 4>
1, 5 and 7 show embodiments of the sense system circuit of the present invention. In short, bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] to which memory cells are connected are connected to sense amplifiers. The local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] are electrically isolated, and the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] are precharged to half VDD, and the local bit lines LBL [n], / LBL [n] is precharged to VDD, and the local bit line LBL [n] corresponds to the potential difference between the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] generated when the word line WL [m] is asserted at the time of reading. n] and / LBL [n] may be generated. For this purpose, the structure of the sense amplifier connected between the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] and the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] is that shown in FIGS. It is not limited to. For example, it may be as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 9 includes MOS transistors M290 to M293 in the embodiment of FIG. A CMOS latch type sub-sense amplifier SSA is added. The main sense amplifier MSA includes M200 to M203 and is the same as the MSA in FIG. 5, but the pre-sense amplifier PSA (M208, 209) is the same as the input / output node of the sub-sense amplifier SSA in FIG. To connect to. As shown in the waveform diagram of FIG. 9, the sub-sense amplifier activation signals CSP2 and CSN2 are precharged to the VBM potential before activation, and are each 1.0 V at time T2 at the same timing as the sense amplifier activation signal CSN. And drive to 0V.

  When the sub-sense amplifier 290 is activated, the half-VDD precharged bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] are amplified, and at the same time, the current flowing through the M208 and M209 of the main sense amplifier 202a composed of M200 to M203 is increased. Accelerates the amplification operation. As a result, the VDD precharged local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] are amplified to 1.0 V and 0 V at high speed. Furthermore, since the sub sense amplifier simultaneously amplifies the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n], the bit lines BL [n] and / BL when the write back signal RBK is activated at time T2 ′. The charging time of BL [n] can be shortened. If the rewriting speed is not so concerned, M206 and M207 can be deleted and the rewriting can be performed only by the sub sense amplifier 290.

  If the sub-sense amplifier 290 composed of M290 to M293 in FIG. 9 is added to the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] of the sense system circuit of the present invention such as in FIGS. Needless to say, the effect of shortening the rewriting time can be obtained in the same manner, and the NMOS transistors M206 and M207 for rewriting can be deleted. As described above, if the number of transistors and the area are not particularly limited, various sense amplifier structures can be considered, but the structure is not particularly limited.

<Example 5>
As another embodiment, bit lines BL [n], / BL [n] to which memory cells precharged by half VDD are connected, and local bit lines LBL [n] to which sense amplifiers are connected, / LBL [n] is electrically isolated immediately before the sense amplifier is activated, and at the same time, the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] are driven by capacitive coupling, and when the sense amplifier is activated, the local bit lines LBL [n], / LBL [n] may be in a state close to being VDD precharged. FIG. 10 shows an embodiment for realizing this.

  Compared with the sense circuit shown in FIG. 18, the sense system circuit of the present invention of FIG. 10 inserts PMOS transistors M260 and M261 into the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] of FIG. It is controlled by the signal / SH.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of a read operation waveform diagram of the sense system of the embodiment of FIG. Here, only parts different from the read operation shown in FIG. 19 will be described in order to avoid duplication. After asserting the word line WL [m] at time T1, the bit line isolation signal / SH is driven from −0.8V to 2.5V at time T1 ′. As a result, the bit lines BL [n], / BL [n] and the local bit lines LBL [n], / LBL [n] are electrically separated, and further, between the gate and drain of M260 and M261 or between the gate and source. The local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] are simultaneously driven to the high side by capacitive coupling of the capacitors. Thereafter, at time T2, the sense amplifier 201 is driven to amplify the memory cell information to the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n]. At time T2 ′, the bit line isolation signal / SH is driven from 2.5V to −0.8V, and the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] and the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] are driven. Are electrically connected, and the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] are driven to 1.0 V and 0 V, and rewriting to the memory cell is performed.

  When the sense amplifier is driven at time T2, the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] to which the sense amplifier is connected are driven from around 0.5 V to around the power supply voltage. The same low voltage characteristics as when the sense system circuit is VDD precharged can be obtained.

  Although PMOS transistors are used for M260 and M261 in FIG. 10, NMOS transistors may be used. In this case, / SH is driven from the positive voltage to the negative voltage at time T1 ′, and the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] are simultaneously driven to the low side by capacitive coupling. As a result, characteristics similar to those obtained by VSS precharging the sense circuit shown in FIG. 18 can be obtained. In general, when a bit line is driven by a sense amplifier, the VDD precharge method has better low voltage characteristics and the like than the VSS precharge method because NMOS transistors are mainly used for driving the bit line. However, the VSS precharge method can provide much better low voltage characteristics than the half VDD precharge method.

  As a technique similar to the embodiment of the present invention of FIG. 10, a sense system circuit described in Non-Patent Document 2 can be cited. In this non-patent document 2, the bit line to which the memory cell is connected is electrically separated from the sense amplifier before the sense amplifier is activated (sense operation 1), and then the sense amplifier connected side after a certain time. Driven to the high side by capacitive coupling by the capacitor to which the bit line is added (sense operation 2), and then the sense amplifier is activated (sense operation 3).

  Typical differences between the embodiment of the present invention and the technique described in Non-Patent Document 2 are the following two points. (F1) In the method of Non-Patent Document 2, it is necessary to add a capacitor in order to drive the bit line to which the sense amplifier is connected by capacitive coupling. In the method of the present invention, since / SH is made sufficiently large and the local bit line is driven by the parasitic capacitances of M260 and M261, it is not particularly necessary to add this capacitance. (F2) In the method of Non-Patent Document 2, the timing from the sense operation 1 to the sense operation 3 is required as described above until the sense amplifier is activated. In the present invention, the sense operation 1 and the sense operation 2 can be performed simultaneously.

  In order to strengthen capacitive coupling between / SH and local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] when / SH is activated, and between the gate electrode of M260 and the local bit line LBL [n], A capacitance may be added between the gate electrode of M261 and the local bit line / LBL [n]. In that case, the capacitor can be composed of an NMOS transistor. In this case, it is necessary to add a capacitor in the same manner as in Non-Patent Document 2. However, the method of the present invention has an advantage that a small-capacitance capacitor is sufficient because an auxiliary method is necessary. The advantage that the sense operation 1 and the sense operation 2 required in the step 2 can be performed simultaneously is not impaired.

<Example 6>
The sense system circuit shown in the above embodiment is shown as a circuit diagram of a type not taking the so-called shared sense amplifier system, but is not limited to this. FIG. 12 shows an embodiment in which the shared sense amplifier system is used. Here, the hierarchized word line driving method which is not particularly limited in the embodiment shown up to FIG. 11 is used. SWD 611 is a sub-word decoder, Y-DEC 605 is a Y decoder, and X-DEC & MWD 608 is an X decoder and a main word driver. BL0 and / BL0 and BL1 and / BL1 each represent a pair of bit lines, and are connected to one sense system circuit 606a. Global bit lines GBL0 and / GBL0 are wired in a direction orthogonal to the bit lines (a direction parallel to the word lines). Control signals and data lines of the DRAM circuit 600 are omitted.

  By using the shared sense amplifier system, many parts of the sense circuit can be shared by two pairs of bit lines, so that the memory cell occupation ratio can be increased. When the sense circuit of the present invention is not used in a DRAM macro embedded in a logic LSI, but is used in a highly integrated DRAM used as a main memory of a microprocessor called a general-purpose DRAM, the memory cell occupation ratio is increased. is important. For such applications, the sense system circuit of the present invention may be used in a shared sense amplifier system. Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the sense system circuit of FIGS. 1, 5, 7, and 10 is of a shared sense amplifier system will be described.

  FIG. 13 shows an embodiment in which the sense system circuit of FIG. 1 is changed to the shared sense amplifier system, and the memory array MA is omitted. In the shared sense method, the left and right memory mats (up and down in FIG. 13) are used, but the main sense amplifier MSA including M200 to M203 is shared by the left and right mats. In contrast, the pre-sense amplifier is provided with a first pre-sense amplifier PSA_UP including M204 and M205 for the first mat, and a second pre-sense amplifier PSA_DN including M232 and M233 for the second mat. A precharge circuit (PC1a, PC1b) for VBM (VDL / 2) is provided in each of the left and right mats. In the circuit of FIG. 13, NMOS transistors M230 to M233 and a half VDD precharge circuit 101b composed of M101b to M103b are added to FIG. 1, and memory cells are connected to bit lines BL_UP [n], / BL_UP [n] and BL_DN. [N], connected to / BL_DN [n]. The read operation of the embodiment of FIG. 13 can be easily inferred from the embodiments of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 and therefore will not be described here. However, the memory connected to the bit lines BL_UP [n], / BL_UP [n] Both the cell and the memory cell connected to the bit line BL_DN [n], / BL_DN [n] cannot be read or written simultaneously, but can be accessed by a shared sense amplifier.

  FIG. 14 shows an embodiment in which the sense system circuit of FIG. 5 is changed to a shared sense amplifier system. In the embodiment of FIG. 14, the shared sense amplifier system is used and the bit lines are hierarchized. SUBA_UP-1 to SUBA_UP-j are sub memory arrays each including a pre-sense amplifier PSA2 (203b) including a sub bit line BL [n] -1, / BL [n] -1, M222 and M223, and a half VDD precharge circuit 101. is there. SUBA_DN-1 to SUBA_DN-j are also similar sub-memory arrays, and the physical layout is that the sense amplifier 203a, VDD precharge circuit 102, and Y switch 103 are on the opposite side from SUBA_UP-1 to SUBA_UP-j. Has been placed. The main sense amplifier MSA2 (203a) and the VDL precharge circuit PC2 are provided in common for the plurality of sub memory arrays. The read operation of the embodiment of FIG. 14 can be easily inferred from the operations of FIG. 5 and FIG.

  During a low voltage operation, the DRAM sense system circuit needs to increase the capacitance of the capacitor C100 in the memory cell so that the bit line potential difference Vs read from the memory cell to the bit line after the word line is asserted has a certain voltage difference. was there. As a result, there is a problem that the process difficulty level is increased. In the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 14, since the bit lines are hierarchized, the lengths of the bit lines BL [n] -1, / BL [n] -1 can be shortened, and the memory connected to them. The number of cells can be reduced. As a result, the capacitance of the capacitor C100 in the memory cell can be reduced, and the above-described problems during low voltage operation can be solved.

  FIG. 15 shows an embodiment in which the sense system circuit of FIG. 7 is changed to a shared sense amplifier system. Memory cells are omitted. Compared with the embodiment of FIG. 7, M300a and M301a are installed to electrically isolate the local bit lines, and capacitors C250b and C251b and NMOS transistors M206b, M207b, M300b and M301b and M101b, M102b and M103b A half VDD precharge circuit 101b is added.

  The read operation of the embodiment of FIG. 15 is omitted because it can be easily inferred from the embodiments of FIGS. 7 and 8, but the memory cells connected to the bit lines BL_UP [n], / BL_UP [n] Alternatively, both of the memory cells connected to the bit lines BL_DN [n] and / BL_DN [n] cannot be read or written at the same time, but either one of the memory cells, either SH_UP or SH_DN, is about 2.5V. It can be accessed by driving.

  FIG. 16 shows an embodiment in which the sense system circuit of FIG. 10 is changed to a shared sense amplifier system. Memory cells are omitted. Compared with the embodiment of FIG. 10, M262 and M203 are newly installed and controlled by the bit line isolation signal / SH_DN. The read operation of the embodiment of FIG. 16 can be easily inferred from the embodiments of FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 and will be omitted. However, the memory cell connected to the bit lines BL_UP [n], / BL_UP [n] Both of the memory cells connected to the bit lines BL_DN [n] and / BL_DN [n] cannot be read or written at the same time, but either one of the memory cells is set to / SH_UP or / SH_DN at 2.5V. It can be accessed by driving to the extent.

  In the following embodiments, for simplification, the sense system circuit is shown as a circuit diagram in a form not taking the so-called shared sense amplifier system. However, it is obvious that the shared sense amplifier system can be realized as described above.

<Example 7>
One of the features of the sense circuit of the present invention described above is that the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] connected to the sense amplifier are VDD precharged. The VDD precharge is capable of matching the low voltage characteristic of the sense time of the sense amplifier with the logic circuit, but there are many other advantages. One of the features is that it is easy to detect the completion of amplification by the sense amplifier. FIG. 17 shows an embodiment of a sense system circuit and a peripheral circuit using the feature.

  In FIG. 17, m1a to m255d denote the sense system circuits shown in FIG. Four sense-related circuits are connected to a pair of global bit lines GBL [], / GBL []. For example, m1a to m1d are connected to GBL [0] and / GBL [1]. (Degeneration degree is 4.) 1001 is a word decoder, 1002 is a control circuit for a signal line such as RBK, and 1003 is a word line potential detection circuit.

  1001 drives one of the word lines WL [0] to WL [255]. At the same time, the dummy word line WL_D is driven, and the detection circuit 1003a detects that the dummy word line is asserted. The configuration of the detection circuit 1003a is not particularly limited, but may be a circuit in which a logic threshold value of a general inverter is adjusted. It detects that the word line is asserted and asserts CSN. As a result, the sense amplifier is activated, and one of the local bit lines LBL [0] and / LBL [0] precharged to VDD is driven to 0V. A change in potential of the pair of local bit lines is detected by a sense completion detection circuit 1002a in the control circuit. Thereafter, RBK is asserted and rewriting to the memory cell is executed.

  For example, if the global bit lines GBL [] and / GBL [] potentials are amplified by a circuit not shown in FIG. 17 at the same time as the rewrite RBK is asserted, the word line is asserted according to the embodiment shown in FIG. The memory read operation can be executed completely without timing. In order to detect the amplification of the local bit line of the sense amplifier, in the case of the conventional half VDD precharge method, it is necessary to detect the potential difference between the bit line pair, which is detected by a logic gate such as a simple NAND gate. This complicates the circuit. On the other hand, in the present invention, if one of the local bit line pairs is driven from 1V to 0V, it can be determined that the amplification of the sense amplifier is completed. Therefore, the sense completion detection circuit 1002a can be easily realized by a two-input NAND gate. it can.

  As another effect of the present invention, the minimum value Vsmin necessary for the correct operation of the sense amplifier is set for the bit line potential difference Vs read from the memory cell to the bit line after the word line is asserted. It is possible to reduce the value compared to the circuit. This facilitates lowering the voltage, simplifies the structure of the capacitor in the memory cell, and simplifies the manufacturing process.

  Usually, a certain amount of Vs is secured to activate the sense amplifier and accurately read out the memory cell information due to variations in the characteristics of MOS transistors in the sense amplifier and capacitance imbalance between the complementary bit line pairs. is required. For example, it is about 150 mV. By precharging the sense amplifier to VDD, the drive current caused by the drift current can be changed from the current that the activation current of the sense amplifier immediately after the activation of the sense amplifier is the diffusion current of the MOS transistor. In general, the diffusion current greatly depends on the threshold voltage, and varies greatly due to variations in the manufacturing process. In contrast, the drift current variation is small. As a result, in the VDD precharge method, an amplification operation insensitive to characteristic variations of the MOS transistors in the sense amplifier can be performed.

  Furthermore, in the sense circuit of the present invention, the length of the local bit line connected to the sense amplifier is short, and the parasitic capacitance added to the local bit line is small. Therefore, the unbalance of the capacitance added to the local bit line pair is small, and the operation of the sense amplifier is hardly affected. From the above, the sense circuit of the present invention can perform a sufficiently accurate read operation with Vs smaller than the minimum Vs (Vsmin) required in the conventional sense circuit.

<Example 8>
Next, an embodiment of the present invention relating to the rewriting method will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 22 is a generalized illustration of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 5, FIG. 7, FIG. 10, FIG. 13, FIG. 14, FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between an amplifier circuit and a memory array. Note that the precharge circuit is omitted here for the sake of simplicity. W1 [1] to WL [m] are word lines, and memory cells MC are connected to the intersections with the bit lines in the connection form shown in the figure. A sense system circuit such as a sense amplifier circuit is connected to one end of a bit line in a staggered manner as shown in the figure. Needless to say, / SH in FIG. 10 and / SH_UP and / SH_DW in FIG. 16 correspond to RBK in FIG. Further, the CSP of FIG. 10 is not shown in FIG. 22, but is shown as a representative of CSN in FIG.

  FIG. 23 is a timing chart illustrating the rewriting method of FIG. This is the same as the rewriting method described up to FIG. However, in order to prevent duplication of explanation, only waveforms from a state after a while after asserting the activation signal of the sense amplifier after asserting the word line are shown. (Time T2 ′ in FIG. 23 corresponds to, for example, time T2 ′ in FIG. 2) Also, each operation of the embodiments in FIGS. 1, 5, 7, 10, 13, 14, 15, and 16 In the description, it is assumed that YS [k] is already asserted when the sense amplifier is activated, but here, rewriting by asserting RBK at time T2 ′ (BL [n], / BL [n in the sense amplifier] ], YS [k] is asserted at time T2a. By asserting YS [k] at time T2a, the local bit lines LBL [n], / LBL [n] selected by the Y switch are connected to the global bit lines GBL [p], / GBL [p], One of the global bit lines GBL [p] and / GBL [p] precharged to the VDD potential is driven to 0V.

  In the rewriting method of FIG. 23, M206a and M207a are simultaneously turned on simultaneously with the assertion of RBK. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 23, the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] are charged and discharged to the potentials indicated by V1 and V2, respectively, and then driven by the sense amplifier. These will be charged and discharged to 1.0 V and 0 V, respectively. For example, as can be seen from FIG. 1, in the sense amplifier circuit, the input voltage of the inverter circuit (M200 and M202 in the embodiment of FIG. 1) for driving the local bit line LBL [n] is / LBL [n ], The input voltage of the inverter circuit (consisting of M201 and M203 in the embodiment of FIG. 1) for driving the local bit line / LBL [n] is LBL [n]. Therefore, since the input voltage of the inverter driven as described above becomes the intermediate voltage (V1, V2), the drive current of the inverter driving the local bit lines LBL [n], / LBL [n] becomes small. Therefore, the time (tRBK) required to charge / discharge the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] by 1.0V and 0V, respectively, becomes long.

  FIG. 24 is a drawing showing an embodiment for solving the above problems. Here too, the precharge circuit is omitted for the sake of simplicity. Compared with FIG. 22, the gate terminals of a pair of rewrite MOS transistors connected between a pair of bit lines and a pair of local bit lines are controlled by separate write back signals RBK1 and RBK2. The global bit lines are read global bit lines GBLR [p], / GBLR [p] (third bit line pair) and write global bit lines GBLB [p], / GBBL [p] (fourth bit line). The read global bit lines GBLR [p], / GBLR [p] are PMOS transistors indicated by M150a, M151a, M150b, M150b and local bit lines LBL [n], / LBL [n]. ] Is connected. On the other hand, the write global bit lines GBLW [p] and / GBLW [p] are connected to the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] by NMOS transistors indicated by M107a, M108a, M107b, and M108b. Yes. Although not shown in the drawing, the read global bit lines GBLR [p] and / GBLR [p] are precharged to the VDD voltage (second precharge voltage) by the precharge circuit.

  Needless to say, the configuration of the global bit line can be used independently of the rewrite method of the present invention described below. Since the effect increases when used at the same time, only the embodiment when used together will be described below.

  FIG. 25 is a diagram showing operation waveforms of the rewriting method of the present invention according to the embodiment shown in FIG. Similarly to FIG. 23, the waveform is shown here after a while after asserting the activation signal of the sense amplifier after asserting the word line. (Time T2 ′ in FIG. 23 corresponds to, for example, time T2 ′ in FIG. 2) In FIG. 25, only one of the two write-back signals RBK1 and RBK2 is asserted during the rewrite operation at time T2 ′. . That is, of the two rewrite MOS transistors indicated by M206 and M207, only the rewrite MOS transistor connected to the asserted word line and the bit line connected via the memory cell is turned on. ing. (M206a and M206b in FIG. 24 in the example of FIG. 25) If the word line to be asserted is determined, the memory cell connected to the word line is the bit line pair BL [n], / BL [n]. Which is connected is uniquely determined. Accordingly, it goes without saying that the rewriting MOS transistor to be turned on can be determined. For example, in FIG. 24, when the word lines WL [2], WL [3], WL [M−1], and WL [m] are asserted, M206a and M206b are replaced with the word lines WL [0] and WL [1]. ], When WL [M-3] and WL [M-2] are asserted, M207a and M207b may be turned on (conductive state).

  Thus, at the time of rewriting, only the bit line to which the memory cell is connected (BL [n] in the example of FIG. 25) is connected to the corresponding local bit line (LBL [n] in the example of FIG. 25) and is complementary to it. The bit line (/ BL [n] in the example of FIG. 25) is not connected to the corresponding local bit line (/ LBL [n] in the example of FIG. 25). Therefore, the charge share at the time of rewriting described above occurs only in one bit line (BL [n] in the example of FIG. 25) and the local bit line (LBL [n] in the example of FIG. 25). Therefore, the input voltage of the inverter circuit in the sense amplifier that drives the bit line (BL [n] in the example of FIG. 25) and the local bit line (LBL [n] in the example of FIG. 25) at the time of rewriting is the inverter voltage. The power supply voltage potential supplied to the power source or the ground potential remains.

  Thus, the drive currents of the bit line (BL [n] in the example of FIG. 25) and the local bit line (LBL [n] in the example of FIG. 25) at the time of rewriting are the same as in the case of the method of FIGS. It becomes large compared. As a result, the time tRBK required for rewriting can be shortened. In addition, since the rewrite time has a delay characteristic equivalent to the delay time of the inverter, it has a feature that the consistency with the delay time of the logic circuit is good.

  Further, when YS [k] is asserted after rewriting as shown in FIG. 23, if the time tRBK required for rewriting is shortened, the time until YS [k] is asserted (from time T2a to time T2 ′). Time) can be shortened. Furthermore, the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] have a large load, and a large amount of power is consumed for charging and discharging them. Since rewriting can be realized by driving only one bit line by this method, power consumption related to charging / discharging of the bit line can be reduced.

  FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a rewrite technique different from that in FIG. Similarly to FIG. 25, here, waveforms are shown after a while after the word line is asserted and the activation signal of the sense amplifier is asserted. (Time T2 ′ in FIG. 23 corresponds to, for example, time T2 ′ in FIG. 2) Similarly to FIG. 25, only one of the two write-back signals RBK1 and RBK2 is asserted during the rewrite operation at time T2 ′. ing. After that, at time T2b, the remaining one of the two write back signals RBK1 and RBK2 is asserted. Rewriting is completed after tRBK at time T2 ′, and rewriting can be performed at high speed as in the case of FIG.

  In the method of the embodiment of FIG. 25, when the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] are precharged, the sum of the potential of the bit line BL [n] and the potential of the bit line / BL [n] is an array. Since the voltage is not half the voltage (VBM), there is a disadvantage that a load is generated in the power supply circuit that supplies the VBM potential. On the other hand, in the method of the embodiment of FIG. 26, when the bit lines BL [n] and / BL [n] are precharged, the sum of the potential of the bit line BL [n] and the potential of the bit line / BL [n]. Is half the array voltage (VBM). The rewriting method shown in FIG. 25 and the rewriting method shown in FIG. 26 may be selected according to the capacity of the VBM power supply and the use of the dynamic memory of the present invention.

  Note that the rewriting method of the present invention shown in FIGS. 25 and 26 is not limited to be applied only to the sense circuit shown in FIG. For example, the output terminal pair of the sense amplifier circuit (SAMPA n3 and n4 in FIG. 22) and the bit line pair (BL [n] and / BL [n] in FIG. 22) connected to the memory cell are a pair of MOS transistors. It is only necessary that they are connected by source / drain paths (M206a and M207a in FIG. 22). Further, for example, it is needless to say that the present invention can also be applied to a general DRAM sense circuit as described in Non-Patent Document 1.

<Example 9>
In the above embodiment, the address supply method is not particularly limited. However, in the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 24, the address is supplied without being multiplexed (row address, column address, bank address, etc.). An embodiment in the case of use in a dynamic memory in which is simultaneously supplied) is shown.

  First, FIG. 27 shows an example of a timing chart of a read operation. Here, in order to clarify the explanation, an operation example will be described on the assumption that the sense amplifier circuit indicated by SAMPA and SAMPb in FIG. 24 is shown in FIG. In addition, in order to avoid duplication, description is abbreviate | omitted about the same part as FIG.

  In FIG. 24, the global bit lines are separated into read global bit lines GBLR [p], / GBLR [p] and write global bit lines GBLW [p], / GBLW [p]. For this reason, YS [k] remains negated during reading. When the sense amplifier is activated at time T2 and the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] are driven to 1.0V and 0V, the local bit line driven to 0V (in the example of FIG. 27, / LBL [N]) turns on one of the PMOS transistors M150a and M151a (M151a in the example of FIG. 27). As a result, one of the read global bit lines GBLR [p] and / GBLR [p] precharged to VDD (/ GBLR [p] in the example of FIG. 27) is discharged. The rewriting method uses the method shown in FIG. 25, and only one of the two write back signals RBK1 and RBK2 is asserted at time T2 ′. That is, of the two rewrite MOS transistors indicated by M206 and M207, only the rewrite MOS transistor connected to the asserted word line and the bit line connected via the memory cell is turned on. ing. (In the example of FIG. 27, M206a and M206b of FIG. 24).

  With the above control method, (G1) when the amplification of the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] is amplified at high speed by the precharge method of the present invention, the read global bits are continuously read without timing. The lines GBLR [p] and / GBLR [p] are amplified, and the memory cell information can be read at high speed. (G2) Since rewriting is completed at high speed, the time from assertion to negation of the word line can be shortened. As a result, when a dynamic memory using the sense circuit is pipelined, the pipeline frequency can be increased. Note that the circuit configuration in which the local bit lines LBL [n], / LBL [n] and the read global bit lines GBLr [n], / GBLr [n] are connected particularly includes the PMOS transistors M150 and M151 in FIG. However, the present invention is not limited to the circuit configuration. For example, the PMOS transistor may be replaced with an NMOS transistor. In this case, however, the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] are not directly connected to the gate terminals of the NMOS transistors, but are connected to the inverter circuit from the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n]. It may be connected to the gate terminal via Compared to the embodiment of FIG. 24, more transistors are required for two inverters. However, since the Vth drop is eliminated, the read global bit lines GBLR [p], / GBLR [p] are faster. Can be driven.

<Example 10>
Next, FIG. 28 shows an example of a timing chart of a write operation (an example of inversion write). Here also, in order to clarify the explanation, an operation example will be described on the premise of the sense amplifier circuit indicated by SAMPA and SAMPb in FIG. In addition, in order to avoid duplication, description is abbreviate | omitted about the same part as FIG.

  Since the address is not multiplexed, the write data is supplied together with the address. Therefore, the write global bit lines GBLW [p], / GBLW [p] are driven using the write data at time T0. Thereafter, a bit line for performing a write operation is selected, and YS [k] is asserted at time T1 at the same timing as the assertion of the word line in accordance with the selection operation. YS [k] is negated simultaneously with the activation of the sense amplifier (time T2). Data corresponding to the write data appears on the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] corresponding to the bit line performing the write operation, and when the sense amplifier is driven (time T2), A potential difference Vs3 appears. The sense amplifier circuit amplifies the potential difference Vs3 and charges / discharges the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n].

  Other than the timing of YS [k], the timing is the same as that at the time of reading. Therefore, a rewrite operation is performed for a bit line that is not selected by asserting YS [k] at the time of writing in the same time as at the time of reading. In the conventional general DRAM writing method, writing to the memory cell is performed after the rewriting operation accompanying the reading operation. However, in the above-described method of the present invention, the write operation and the rewrite operation are performed in parallel. Thereby, the time from the assertion of the word line to the negation can be shortened. When a dynamic memory using this sense system circuit is pipelined, the pipeline frequency can be increased. In the above embodiment, the write data input to the write global bit lines GBLW [p], / GBLW [p] is amplified by the sense amplifier that is precharged with VDD, and the amplified data is converted into the present invention. The data is written into the memory cell by a rewriting method. Therefore, the writing time is also good in consistency with the delay time of the logic circuit.

  In the embodiment of FIG. 28, the assertion timing of YS [k] is performed simultaneously with the assertion of the word line, and the negation of YS [k] is performed simultaneously with the activation timing of the sense amplifier. It is not a thing. Regarding the assertion timing of YS [k], the potential difference Vs3 corresponding to the write data may appear on the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n] when the sense amplifier is activated. Further, the negation timing of YS [k] may be performed at a timing that does not hinder the precharge of the local bit lines LBL [n] and / LBL [n].

  Needless to say, the sense completion detection circuit shown in FIG. 17 can be used to generate the assert timing of the write-back signal in the rewrite technique shown in FIGS.

  Note that the read and write methods using the global bit lines of the present invention shown in FIGS. 27 and 28 are not limited to the application to the sense circuit shown in FIG. For example, even in a general DRAM sense circuit as described in Non-Patent Document 1, if a sense amplifier is used in a VDD precharge system, a global bit line is separated for reading and for writing, Needless to say, if a read amplifier circuit corresponding to the PMOS transistors M150a and M151a of FIG. 24 is added to the global bit line, the same applies and the same effect can be obtained.

  As described above, the connection of the substrate potential of the MOS transistor is not particularly specified in the drawings of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 28, but the connection method is not particularly limited. Further, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 28, a destructive read cell (a so-called 1T1C type DRAM cell having one capacitor per transistor) is assumed, but it is composed of, for example, three NMOS transistors. Needless to say, the technique of the present invention can also be applied to a sense circuit of a memory array having nondestructive read cells. In particular, the memory cell structure is not limited. In the above embodiments of the present invention, the description has been made on the assumption that the power supply potential is a certain value, such as the bit line amplitude is 1.0 V and the boosted voltage of the word line is 2.5 V. Of course, is not limited to this.

  The present invention can be used as a sense amplifier for signal detection and holding, and is particularly suitable for detecting information stored in a memory cell composed of one MOSFET and one capacitor. As a DRAM, in addition to a single SDRAM or DDR-SDRM, it can be applied to a mixed DRAM.

Claims (8)

A first word line and a second word line;
A first bit line pair comprising a first bit line and a second bit line;
A first memory cell provided at an intersection of the first word line and the first bit line;
A second memory cell provided at an intersection of the second word line and the second bit line;
A second bit line pair comprising a third bit line and a fourth bit line;
A first switch circuit for coupling the first bit line and the third bit line;
A second switch circuit for coupling the second bit line and the fourth bit line;
A main sense amplifier comprising a latch circuit comprising a cross coupling between two CMOS inverters connected to the second bit line pair;
A first MOSFET having a gate connected to the first bit line, a drain connected to a source of one N-type MOSFET of the N-type MOSFET pair constituting the latch-type circuit, and a gate connected to the second bit line; And a second MOSFET connected to a first drive line in common with a source of the first MOSFET, a drain connected to a source of the other N-type MOSFET of the N-type MOSFET pair. A pre-sense amplifier comprising a dynamic MOSFET pair;
The main sense amplifier is a circuit for amplifying information stored in the memory cell to a first potential on the third bit line and to a second potential on the fourth bit line, respectively.
The pre-sense amplifier pre-senses the information before the main sense amplifier starts amplifying the information stored in the memory cell, and drives the second bit line pair after the amplification starts. Circuit,
During the reading of the first and second memory cells, the first and second switch circuits are in an off state in a first period;
When stored information is read from the first memory cell in the first period, the first switch circuit is turned on in a second period after the first period, and the first bit line The third bit line is connected to each other and the second switch circuit is in an off state, and the main sense amplifier writes the first potential to the first bit line,
When stored information is read from the second memory cell in the first period, the second switch circuit is turned on in a second period after the first period, and the second bit line and The fourth bit line is connected to each other and the first switch circuit is in an off state, and the main sense amplifier writes the second potential to the second bit line,
The semiconductor device, wherein the first bit line pair and the second bit line pair are precharged at different potentials in a period before the first period. In claim 1,
When storage information is read from the first memory cell in the first period, the main sense amplifier writes the first potential to the first bit line in the second period, and then the second In a third period following the period, the second switch circuit connects the second bit line and the fourth bit line to each other, and the main sense amplifier writes the second potential to the second bit line,
When storage information is read from the second memory cell in the first period, the main sense amplifier writes the second potential to the second bit line in the second period, and then the second In a third period following the period, the first switch circuit connects the first bit line and the third bit line to each other, and the main sense amplifier writes the first potential to the first bit line. A semiconductor device characterized by the above. In claim 1 or claim 2,
The semiconductor device further includes a logic gate to which the second bit line pair is input,
The logic gate detects that the main sense amplifier has driven one of the second bit line pair to one of the first and second potentials in the first period;
The semiconductor device starts the second period based on detection by the logic gate. A first word line and a second word line;
A first bit line pair comprising a first bit line and a second bit line;
A first memory cell provided at an intersection of the first word line and the first bit line;
A second memory cell provided at an intersection of the second word line and the second bit line;
A second bit line pair comprising a third bit line and a fourth bit line;
A first switch circuit for coupling the first bit line and the third bit line;
A second switch circuit for coupling the second bit line and the fourth bit line;
A latch-type circuit comprising cross coupling between two CMOS inverters connected to the second bit line pair, and a common source of the N-type MOSFET pair constituting the latch-type circuit is connected to the first drive line; A main sense amplifier
A first MOSFET having a gate connected to the first bit line, a drain connected to a drain of one N-type MOSFET of the N-type MOSFET pair, and a gate connected to the second bit line; The drain is connected to the drain of the other N-type MOSFET of the MOSFET pair, and the source is connected to the second MOSFET different from the first drive line in common with the source of the first MOSFET. A pre-sense amplifier comprising a differential MOSFET pair comprising:
The main sense amplifier is a circuit for amplifying information stored in the memory cell to a first potential on the third bit line and to a second potential on the fourth bit line, respectively.
The pre-sense amplifier is a circuit for pre-sensing the information before the main sense amplifier starts amplifying the information stored in the memory cell,
During the reading of the first and second memory cells, the first and second switch circuits are in an off state in a first period;
When stored information is read from the first memory cell in the first period, the first switch circuit is turned on in a second period after the first period, and the first bit line The third bit line is connected to each other and the second switch circuit is in an off state, and the main sense amplifier writes the first potential to the first bit line,
When stored information is read from the second memory cell in the first period, the second switch circuit is turned on in a second period after the first period, and the second bit line and The fourth bit line is connected to each other and the first switch circuit is in an off state, and the main sense amplifier writes the second potential to the second bit line,
The semiconductor device, wherein the first bit line pair and the second bit line pair are precharged at different potentials in a period before the first period. In claim 4,
When storage information is read from the first memory cell in the first period, the main sense amplifier writes the first potential to the first bit line in the second period, and then the second In a third period following the period, the second switch circuit connects the second bit line and the fourth bit line to each other, and the main sense amplifier writes the second potential to the second bit line,
When storage information is read from the second memory cell in the first period, the main sense amplifier writes the second potential to the second bit line in the second period, and then the second In a third period following the period, the first switch circuit connects the first bit line and the third bit line to each other, and the main sense amplifier writes the first potential to the first bit line. A semiconductor device characterized by the above. In claim 4 or claim 5,
The semiconductor device further includes a logic gate to which the second bit line pair is input,
The logic gate detects that the main sense amplifier has driven one of the second bit line pair to one of the first and second potentials in the first period;
The semiconductor device starts the second period based on detection by the logic gate. In any one of Claims 4 thru | or 6,
The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the voltage of the drive signal supplied to the first drive line is 0 V, and the voltage of the drive signal supplied to the second drive line is a negative voltage.   One and the other of the bit line pairs are written back at different timings, and the first bit line pair and the second bit line pair constituting the bit line pair are precharged at different potentials, and the sense amplifier A semiconductor device including a pre-sense amplifier.

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