LOW POWER CONTENT ADDRESSABLE MEMORY HITLINE PRECHARGE AND SENSING CIRCUIT
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a driver circuit configured to precharge a hitline in response to a predetermined voltage level and a control signal and sense a result of a compare operation based upon a hitline signal on said hitline, wherein said driver circuit precharges said hitline to a voltage level lower than said predetermined voltage level and senses said result of said compare operation using the full predetermined voltage level; and
a memory circuit configured to perform said compare operation using said hitline.
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Abstract
An apparatus and a method of operating the apparatus. The apparatus includes a driver circuit and a memory circuit. The driver circuit may be configured to precharge a hitline in response to a predetermined voltage level and a control signal and sense a result of a compare operation based upon a hitline signal on the hitline. The driver circuit generally precharges the hitline to a voltage level lower than the predetermined voltage level and senses the result of the compare operation using the full predetermined voltage level. The memory circuit may be configured to perform the compare operation using the hitline.
376 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a driver circuit configured to precharge a hitline in response to a predetermined voltage level and a control signal and sense a result of a compare operation based upon a hitline signal on said hitline, wherein said driver circuit precharges said hitline to a voltage level lower than said predetermined voltage level and senses said result of said compare operation using the full predetermined voltage level; and a memory circuit configured to perform said compare operation using said hitline. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An apparatus comprising:
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means for precharging a hitline in response to a predetermined voltage level and a control signal and sensing a result of a compare operation based upon a hitline signal on said hitline, wherein said precharging and sensing means precharges said hitline to a voltage level lower than said predetermined voltage level and senses said result of said compare operation using the full predetermined voltage level; and a memory circuit configured to perform said compare operation using said hitline.
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16. A method for reducing power in a memory, comprising the steps of:
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precharging a hitline in response to a predetermined voltage level and a control signal, wherein said hitline is precharged to a voltage level lower than said predetermined voltage level; performing a compare operation using said hitline; and sensing a result of said compare operation based upon a hitline signal on said hitline, wherein said result of said compare operation is sensed using the full predetermined voltage level. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification