SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND INFORMATION PROCESSING SYSTEM

• US 20100013528A1
• Filed: 07/16/2009
• Published: 01/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Longitude Licensing Limited (Vector Capital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Elpida Memory Incorporated (Micron Technology, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hirose, Yukitoshi, Saito, Tatsuya, Nishio, Yoji, Uematsu, Yutaka
• Granted Patent: US 7,965,572 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 327/142
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/406 Management or control of the refreshing or charge-regeneration cycles
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/40618 Refresh operations over multiple banks or interleaving
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/4074 Power supply or voltage generation circuits, e.g. bias voltage generators, substrate voltage generators, back-up power, power control circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2211/4067 Refresh in standby or low power modes

Abstract

A semiconductor device or an information processing system comprises a plurality of circuit units, and a control unit for controlling a start timing of large-current operations executed by the respective circuit units within a predetermined period, where the large-current operation involves a relatively large current which flows in a power supply system, as compared with other operations. The control unit controls the start timing of the large-current operation from one circuit unit to another such that the waveform of a current flowing from the power supply system is shaped into the waveform of a half cycle of a sinusoidal wave when the circuit units execute large-current operations within the predetermined period.

Claims

1. A semiconductor device comprising:

a plurality of circuit blocks; and

a control circuit controlling a start timing of a large-current operation performed by each of said plurality of circuit blocks within a predetermined period, said large-current operation involving a relatively large current flowing from a power supply system as compared with other operations,

wherein said control circuit controls a start timing for the large-current operation of each circuit block such that the waveform of the current flowing from said power supply system is shaped into a waveform of a half cycle of a sinusoidal wave, when said plurality of circuit blocks execute the large-current operations within the predetermined period.

2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein a time interval T(I) between the large-current operations executed at an I-th time and an (I+1)th time satisfies:

T(I)=T(N−

I); and

T(I)<

T(I−

1) when I is equal to or less than N/2,

where N represents the number of circuit blocks which execute the large-current operation.

3. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein said large-current operations performed by said plurality of circuit blocks are the same operations.

4. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of circuit blocks and said control circuit are mounted on the same semiconductor chip.

5. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of circuit blocks and said control circuit are formed on a plurality of semiconductor chips, and said plurality of semiconductor chips are mounted on the same semiconductor chip.

6. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein:

said plurality of circuit blocks comprise a DRAM including a plurality of memory banks formed on the same semiconductor chip, and

said large-current operation executed by said plurality of memory banks is a refresh operation.

7. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein:

said plurality of circuit blocks are DRAM chips mounted on the same wiring board,

said large-current operation executed by said plurality of DRAM chips is a refresh operation, and

said control circuit is implemented in a buffer ID mounted on said wiring board.

8. An information processing system comprising:

a plurality of semiconductor devices; and

a control device controlling a start timing of a large-current operation performed by each of said plurality of semiconductor devices within a predetermined period, said large-current operation involving a relatively large current flowing from a power supply system as compared with other operations,

wherein said control device controls a start timing for the large-current operation of each semiconductor device such that the waveform of the current flowing from said power supply system is shaped into a waveform of a half cycle of a sinusoidal wave, when said plurality of semiconductor devices execute the large-current operations within the predetermined period.

9. The information processing system according to claim 8, wherein a time interval T(I) between the large-current operations executed at an I-th time and an (I+1)th time satisfies:

T(I)=T(N−

I); and

T(I)<

T(I−

1) when I is equal to or less than N/2,

where N represents the number of semiconductor devices which execute the large-current operations.

10. The information processing device according to claim 8, wherein said plurality of semiconductor devices and said control device are mounted on the same wiring board.

11. The information processing system according to claim 8, wherein:

said plurality of semiconductor devices are DRAM chips mounted on the same wiring board, and

said large-current operation executed by said plurality of DRAM chips is a refresh operation.

12. The information processing system according to claim 8, wherein:

said plurality of semiconductor devices are DRAM modules mounted on the same wiring board, and

said large-current operation executed by said plurality of DRAM modules is a refresh operation.

13. A semiconductor device comprising:

a plurality of memory banks each comprising a plurality of word lines, a plurality of bit lines, and a plurality of DRAM memory cells disposed at intersections of said plurality of word lines with said plurality of bit lines; and

a refresh control circuit controlling refresh operations of said plurality of memory banks,

wherein said plurality of memory banks, responsive to a refresh signal input thereto, activate/deactivate predetermined word lines, and

said refresh control circuit, responsive to a common refresh signal for causing said plurality of memory banks to execute refresh operations, generates the refresh signal to said plurality of memory banks at different timings, and outputs the generated refresh signal to said plurality of memory banks such that the waveform of a current flowing from a power supply system is shaped into a waveform of a half cycle of a sinusoidal wave.

14. The semiconductor device according to claim 13, wherein:

a time interval T(I) between the refresh operations executed at an I-th time and an (I+1)th time satisfies;

T(I)=T(N−

I); and

T(I)<

T(I−

1) when I is equal to or less than N/2,

where N represents the number of memory banks which execute the refresh operations.

15. The semiconductor device according to claim 14, wherein:

said refresh control circuit comprises a plurality of delay circuits connected in series for sequentially delaying an input signal, and

said time interval T(I) is set as represented by a delay time of said plurality of delay circuits.

16. The semiconductor device according to claim 15, wherein:

said delay circuit comprises a plurality of flip-flop circuits connected in series for sequentially shifting and outputting an input signal in synchronization with a clock signal, and

said time interval T(l) is set as represented by the number of said flip-flop circuits connected in series, and/or a propagation delay time of said flip-flop circuits.

17. The semiconductor device according to claim 13, wherein said refresh control circuit comprises a plurality of variable delay circuits, each capable of varying a delay time, connected in series for sequentially delaying an input signal.