Semiconductor memory device having a memory test circuit

• US 5,185,722 A
• Filed: 11/21/1990
• Issued: 02/09/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Ochiai, Kazuaki, Ota, Yoshiji
• Primary Examiner(s): LaRoche, Eugene R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): DINH, SON T
• Application Number:
  US07/616,923
• Time in Patent Office: 811 Days
• Field of Search: 385/201, 385/189.04, 385/210, 371/21.1, 371/25.1, 371/10.1, 371/67.1, 371/68.1
• US Class Current: 365/201
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 29/24 Accessing extra cells, e.g. dummy cells or redundant cells
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 29/38 Response verification devices

Abstract

A semiconductor memory device has an array of examined memory cells, and reference memory cells in a column. The examined memory cells in each column and the reference memory cells are connected with respective pairs of complementary bit lines connected with sense amplifiers. Each reference memory cell and the examined memory cells in each row are connected with corresponding word lines. The device also has a line data memory circuit, a bit line select circuit and a plurality of output evaluation circuits connected with the bit line pairs for the examined memory cells. In a test mode, identical data is simultaneously written to the reference and examined memory cells connected with each word line. The line data memory circuit outputs data from the reference memory cell as expected data, in response to which, the bit line select circuit selects one of the bit lines for each of the examined memory cells when the expected data is LOW, and the other of the bit lines when the expected data is HIGH. Each output evaluation circuit simultaneously detects an output from a corresponding examined memory cell via the one bit line or the other bit line selected in accordance with the expected data, and outputs a signal indicating coincidence or non-coincidence between the output signal detected and the expected value. Thus the device tests its own operation through a parallel access to the memory cells.

Claims

1. A semiconductor memory device having a function of testing its own operation through a parallel access to memory cells, comprising:

a plurality of examined memory cells for storing data to be tested in a test mode of the device, said plurality of examined memory cells being arranged in rows and columns;

a plurality of reference memory cells in a column for storing expected data in the test mode;

a plurality of word lines which are connected with the examined memory cells in respective rows and respective ones of said plurality of reference memory cells;

a plurality of pairs of bit lines operating complementarily, connected with the examined memory cells in respective columns;

a pair of bit lines operating complementarily, connected with said plurality of reference memory cells in a single column;

a plurality of sense amplifiers connected with respective pairs of bit lines connected with the examined memory cells and the reference memory cells for amplifying data on the bit lines before the data are outputted;

a line data memory circuit for outputting the expected data written to a reference memory cell via the pair of bit lines connected to the reference memory cell;

a bit line select circuit for selecting, in response to the expected data, one of the bit lines for each of the examined memory cells when the expected data is of a low level, and selecting the other of the bit lines when the expected data is of a high level;

a plurality of output evaluation circuits connected with respective ones of the pairs of bit lines for the examined memory cells, each output evaluation circuit detecting via the one bit line selected by the bit line select circuit when the expected data is of a low level, an output signal from the corresponding examined memory cell which expresses data having been written to the examined memory cell in parallel to the reference memory cell and which ought to have a value identical with the expected data; and

detecting the output signal via the other bit line selected by the bit line select circuit when the expected data is of a high level; and

outputting a signal indicative of coincidence or non-coincidence between the output signal detected and the expected data.

2. A semiconductor memory device as claimed in claim 1, wherein each output evaluation circuit has a fuse for separating the pair of bit lines connected with the output evaluation circuit from the output terminal of the output evaluation circuit when the output evaluation circuit outputs a signal expressing the non-coincidence.

3. A semiconductor memory device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a fuse is provided between each sense amplifier and a drive signal line for transferring a drive signal for the sense amplifiers to allow the sense amplifier to be inoperative when the fuse is cut.

4. A semiconductor memory device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the output evaluation circuits each have a transistor controlled to be turned on or off by a corresponding one of a plurality of control circuits so as for the corresponding pair of bit lines to be electrically connected with or separated from an output terminal of the output evaluation circuit, said control circuits are operatively connected with the output evaluation circuits respectively such that the control circuits turn on the transistors when the output evaluation circuits output the signal indicative of coincidence and turn off the transistors when the output evaluation circuits output the signal indicative of non-coincidence, the transistor of each output evaluation circuit being controlled individually and independently of the transistors of the other output evaluation circuits.

5. The semiconductor memory device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the control circuit has a fuse which is cut when the output evaluation circuit outputs the signal indicative of non-coincidence.

6. The semiconductor memory device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sense amplifiers each have a transistor controlled to be turned on or off by a corresponding one of a plurality of control circuits so as for the sense amplifiers to be electrically connected with or separated from a drive signal line carrying a signal for driving the sense amplifiers, said control circuits are operatively connected with the output evaluation circuits respectively such that the control circuits turn on the transistors when the output evaluation circuits output the signal indicative of coincidence and turn off the transistors when the output evaluation circuits output the signal indicative of non-coincidence, the transistor of each sense amplifier being controlled individually and independently of the transistors of the other sense amplifiers.

7. The semiconductor memory device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the control circuit has a fuse which is cut when the output evaluation circuit outputs the signal indicative of non-coincidence.

8. The semiconductor memory device as claimed in claim 1, which outputs a pass signal only when all the output evaluation circuits output the signal indicative of coincidence, and outputs a fail signal when all the output evaluation circuits do not output the signal indicative of coincidence.

9. The semiconductor memory device as claimed in claim 8, further comprising:

a row address counter for receiving a count input signal in response to a line test signal for instructing to start a test of the device to count a row address to be tested and output the counted row address deciding a word line to a row decoder;

an input terminal for inputting a plurality of test patterns from an external source;

a latch circuit for latching the test patterns inputted from the input terminal in response to the line test signal; and

a pattern control circuit for selecting in response to an address data outputted by the row address counter one of the test patterns latched by the latch circuit and outputting the selected test pattern to the line data storage circuit as input data to be written to the reference memory cells and the examined memory cells.

10. A test circuit for a semiconductor memory device comprising:

a means for generating an expected value of either high or low level;

an output signal line for temporarily holding the expected value;

a fail signal line for constantly holding a level in reverse phase to the output signal line;

a first data line carrying a first data signal of a level which should be identical to that of the expected value;

a second data line carrying a second data signal which is a complementary signal of the first data signal;

a data signal select circuit for, in response to the expected value from the generating means, generating a data select signal designating either the first data signal or the second data signal based on the expected value;

a first switch for selecting and outputting one of the complementary first and second data signals in response to the data select signal generated by the data signal select circuit;

a second switch provided between the output signal line and the fail signal line so that in response to an output signal from the first switch the second switch electrically connects the output signal line with or separates the output signal line from the fail signal line in accordance with a level of the output signal;

wherein whenever the level of the first data signal is coincident with the level of the expected value, the output signal from the first switch allows the second switch to separate the output signal line from the fail signal line so that the output signal line outputs the expected value temporarily held by the output signal line, and whenever the level of the first data signal is not coincident with the level of the expected value, the output signal from the first switch causes the second switch to connect the output signal line with the fail signal line so that the output signal line outputs the level held by the fail signal line.

11. The test circuit as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first switch includes a first n-channel metal oxide semiconductor transistor provided on the first data line and a second n-channel metal oxide semiconductor transistor provided on the second data line, with respective gate electrodes of the first and second transistors being connected with complementarily operating output terminal of the data select circuit, the first transistor is turned on when the expected value is low so that the first switch outputs the first data signal on the first data line, the second transistor is turned on when the expected value is high so that the first switch outputs the second data signal on the second data line, thereby the level of the output signal from the first switch is low when the expected value and the first data signal are coincident, the second switch consists of a third n-channel metal oxide semiconductor transistor with a gate electrode of the third n-channel metal oxide semiconductor transistor being connected with the output from the first switch so that when the output signal of a low level is received from the first switch, the third transistor is turned off.