Semiconductor device for generating a control temperature code

• US 10,630,265 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2018
• Issued: 04/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/10/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SK Hynix Inc.
• Original Assignee: SK Hynix Inc.
• Inventors: Kim, Chang Hyun
• Primary Examiner(s): Jager, Ryan
• Application Number:
  US16/171,555
• Publication Number:
  US 20190312572A1
• Time in Patent Office: 543 Days
• Field of Search: 327199
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/40615 Internal triggering or timing of refresh, e.g. hidden refresh, self refresh, pseudo-SRAMs
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/40626 Temperature related aspects of refresh operations
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 7/04 with means for avoiding disturbances due to temperature effects
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 3/011 Modifications of generator to compensate for variations in physical values, e.g. voltage, temperature to maintain energy constant H03K3/015
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 3/037 Bistable circuits

Abstract

A semiconductor device includes a control temperature code generation circuit configured to generate latch codes by latching a temperature code until a number of the latch codes generated include a same combination, and configured to update a control temperature code when the number of the latch codes generated include the same.

Claims

1. A semiconductor device comprising:

a latch code generation circuit configured to generate latch codes by latching a temperature code in synchronization with a latch signal when an internal operation is performed; and

a period end signal generation circuit configured to generate a period end signal for updating a control temperature code when the latch codes are the same, wherein bits included in the latch signal are sequentially generated in synchronization with a counting signal which is sequentially counted for a preset period.

2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the internal operation is a refresh operation.

3. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the temperature code includes bits which have a logic level combination corresponding to an internal temperature.

4. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the latch codes include a first latch code and a second latch code, and the latch code generation circuit generates the first latch code and the second latch code by latching the temperature code in synchronization with the latch signal.

5. The semiconductor device according to claim 4, wherein the latch code generation circuit comprises:

a first flip-flop configured to latch the temperature code in synchronization with a first bit of the latch signal, and output the first latch code; and

a second flip-flop configured to latch the temperature code in synchronization with a second bit of the latch signal, and output the second latch code.

6. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a period signal generation circuit configured to generate a period signal based on an internal command and the period end signal;

an oscillating signal generation circuit configured to generate an oscillating signal and a counter reset signal based on the period signal;

a counting signal generation circuit configured to generate the counting signal based on the oscillating signal and the counter reset signal; and

a decoding circuit configured to generate the latch signal and a judgment signal based on the oscillating signal and the counting signal.

7. The semiconductor device according to claim 6, wherein the period signal is enabled based on the internal command being generated, and is disabled based on the period end signal being enabled.

8. The semiconductor device according to claim 6, wherein the oscillating signal generation circuit generates the oscillating signal which is generated with a preset cycle for a period in which the period signal is enabled, and generates the counter reset signal by inverting and buffering the period signal.

9. The semiconductor device according to claim 6, wherein the counting signal is sequentially counted in synchronization with the oscillating signal, and is initialized in synchronization with the counter reset signal.

10. The semiconductor device according to claim 6, wherein the decoding circuit sequentially generates bits included in the latch signal and the judgment signal by decoding the counting signal each time the oscillating signal is generated.

11. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the latch codes include a first latch code and a second latch code, and the period end signal generation circuit generates the period end signal which is enabled, based on a judgment signal being generated in a state in which the first latch code and the second latch code are the same.

12. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a control temperature code output circuit configured to generate the control temperature code from the latch codes based on the period end signal.

13. A semiconductor device comprising:

a control temperature code generation circuit configured to generate latch codes by latching a temperature code when an internal operation is performed, and generate a control temperature code which is updated, based on the latch codes being the same; and

a code output circuit configured to output the control temperature code as a temperature output code when a temperature read command is generated.

14. The semiconductor device according to claim 13, wherein the code output circuit applies the temperature output code to a memory controller.

15. The semiconductor device according to claim 13, wherein the internal command is generated to perform a refresh operation.

16. The semiconductor device according to claim 13,

wherein the latch codes include a first latch code and a second latch code, and

wherein the control temperature code generation circuit comprises:

a latch code generation circuit configured to generate the first latch code and the second latch code by latching the temperature code based on a latch signal including bits which are sequentially generated when a period signal is enabled based on the internal command.

17. The semiconductor device according to claim 16, wherein the control temperature code generation circuit further comprises:

a period end signal generation circuit configured to generate a period end signal for updating the control temperature code, based on the first latch code and the second latch code being the same.

18. The semiconductor device according to claim 17, wherein the period signal is disabled based on the period end signal.

19. The semiconductor device according to claim 17, wherein the period end signal generation circuit generates the period end signal which is enabled, based on a judgment signal being generated in a state in which the first latch code and the second latch code are the same.

20. A semiconductor device comprising:

a control temperature code generation circuit configured to generate latch codes by latching, respectively, bits of a temperature code until a number of the latch codes generated include a same combination of bits, and configured to update a control temperature code when the number of the latch codes generated include the same combination of bits, wherein the bits of the temperature code are latched in synchronization with latch signals, the latch signals sequentially generated based on an oscillating signal and sequentially counting bits of a counting signal, for a period of the oscillating signal.

21. The semiconductor device according to claim 20, wherein the bits of the temperature code are sequentially latched.

22. The semiconductor device according to claim 20, wherein the latch codes are sequentially generated.

23. The semiconductor device according to claim 20, wherein the latch codes are generated based on an internal operation being performed.

24. The semiconductor device according to claim 23, wherein the internal operation is a refresh operation.

25. The semiconductor device according to claim 20, wherein the control temperature code is used to adjust a refresh cycle of the semiconductor device.

26. The semiconductor device according to claim 20, wherein the bits of the temperature code have a logic level combination corresponding to an internal temperature.