Semiconductor device
First Claim
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1. A semiconductor device comprising:
- a transistor comprising an oxide semiconductor layer including a channel formation region;
a current amplifier circuit comprising a field-effect transistor and a bipolar transistor; and
a capacitor electrically connected to a gate of the field-effect transistor,wherein one of a source and a drain of the transistor is electrically connected to the gate of the field-effect transistor,wherein one of a source and a drain of the field-effect transistor is electrically connected to a base of the bipolar transistor,wherein the other of the source and the drain of the field-effect transistor is electrically connected to one of an emitter and a collector of the bipolar transistor, andwherein the current amplifier circuit is configured to control an amount of current in accordance with data held in the capacitor.
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Abstract
A semiconductor device that has a simple peripheral circuit configuration, is unlikely to deteriorate due to repetitive data writing operations, and is used as a nonvolatile switch. Even when supply of a power supply voltage is stopped, data on a conduction state is held in a data retention portion connected to a thin film transistor including an oxide semiconductor layer having a channel formation region. The data retention portion is connected to a gate of a field-effect transistor in a current amplifier circuit (in which the field-effect transistor and a bipolar transistor are connected as a Darlington pair), and thus the conduction state is controlled without leaking charge in the data retention portion.
115 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A semiconductor device comprising:
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a transistor comprising an oxide semiconductor layer including a channel formation region; a current amplifier circuit comprising a field-effect transistor and a bipolar transistor; and a capacitor electrically connected to a gate of the field-effect transistor, wherein one of a source and a drain of the transistor is electrically connected to the gate of the field-effect transistor, wherein one of a source and a drain of the field-effect transistor is electrically connected to a base of the bipolar transistor, wherein the other of the source and the drain of the field-effect transistor is electrically connected to one of an emitter and a collector of the bipolar transistor, and wherein the current amplifier circuit is configured to control an amount of current in accordance with data held in the capacitor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A semiconductor device comprising:
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a transistor comprising an oxide semiconductor layer including a channel formation region; a current amplifier circuit comprising a field-effect transistor and a bipolar transistor; and a capacitor electrically connected to a gate of the field-effect transistor, wherein one of a source and a drain of the transistor is electrically connected to the gate of the field-effect transistor, wherein one of a source and a drain of the field-effect transistor is electrically connected to a base of the bipolar transistor, wherein the field-effect transistor and the bipolar transistor are electrically connected as a Darlington pair, and wherein the current amplifier circuit is configured to control an amount of current in accordance with data held in the capacitor. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification
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Current AssigneeSemiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
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Original AssigneeSemiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.
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InventorsEndo, Masami
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Primary Examiner(s)Nguyen, Tuan T
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Application NumberUS13/455,475Publication NumberTime in Patent Office860 DaysField of Search365/149, 365/185.05US Class Current365/149CPC Class CodesH01L 27/1225 with semiconductor material...H03K 17/20 Modifications for resetting...
