Sense amplifier circuit and method of operation

• US 7,330,388 B1
• Filed: 09/23/2005
• Issued: 02/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Acacia Research Group LLC (Acacia Research Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (Infineon Technologies AG)
• Inventors: Parent, Richard, Chapman, David
• Primary Examiner(s): PHUNG, ANH K
• Application Number:
  US11/234,411
• Time in Patent Office: 872 Days
• Field of Search: 365/207, 365/205, 365/203, 365/189.11
• US Class Current: 365/207
• 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 11/4091 Sense or sense/refresh amplifiers, or associated sense circuitry, e.g. for coupled bit-line precharging, equalising or isolating
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/4094 Bit-line management or control circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 7/04 with means for avoiding disturbances due to temperature effects
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 7/065 Differential amplifiers of latching type
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 7/08 Control thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 7/12 Bit line control circuits, e.g. drivers, boosters, pull-up circuits, pull-down circuits, precharging circuits, equalising circuits, for bit lines

Abstract

In one arrangement, a semiconductor memory device can include a sense amplifier circuit (300) having drive high transistors (P30/P31), drive low transistors (N31/N32) and equalization transistors (N33-N35). Such transistors can have a body bias (VbiasN, VbiasP) that varies according to the operation conditions of the semiconductor memory device. Such variations can include any of: manufacturing process variations, operating temperature, or operating voltage.

Claims

1. A semiconductor memory device, comprising:

a drive high circuit that drives at least one bit line coupled to a plurality of memory cells toward a high sense voltage in a sense operation according to a sensed data value, the drive high circuit comprising at least one pull-up insulated gate field effect transistor (FET) of a first conductivity type having a body biased to a boosted high voltage;

a logic section comprising a plurality of transistors of the first conductivity type having bodies biased to a high supply voltage; and

a condition sense circuit that increases the boosted high voltage to a level above the high supply voltage when an operating condition is determined to be outside a predetermined limit, the operating condition being selected from the group consisting of an operating temperature, operating voltage, and manufacturing process variations.

2. The semiconductor memory device of claim 1, wherein:

the drive high circuit comprises cross-coupled pull-up p-channel FETs, each pull-up PFET being formed within an n-well coupled to the boosted high voltage and having source-drain paths coupled between one bit line and the high sense voltage.

3. The semiconductor memory device of claim 1, further including:

a drive low circuit that drives the at least one bit line toward a low sense voltage in a sense operation according to the sensed data value, the drive low circuit comprising at least one pull-down FET of a second conductivity type having a body biased to a first boosted low voltage;

the logic section comprising a plurality of transistors of the second conductivity type having bodies biased to a low supply voltage; and

the condition sense circuit decreases the boosted low voltage to a level below the low supply voltage when the operating condition is determined to be outside the predetermined limit.

4. The semiconductor memory device of claim 3, wherein:

the drive low circuit comprises cross-coupled pull-down n-channel FETs, each pull-down NFET being formed within a p-well coupled to the boosted low voltage and having source-drain paths coupled between one bit line and the low sense voltage.

5. The semiconductor memory device of claim 1, further including:

an equalization circuit that couples adjacent bit lines to an equalization voltage at a level between the high supply voltage and a low supply voltage, the equalization circuit includes at least one equalization FET of a second conductivity type having a body biased to a second boosted low voltage;

the logic section further includes a plurality of transistors of the second conductivity type having bodies biased to a low supply voltage; and

the condition sense circuit decreases the boosted low voltage to a level below the low supply voltage when the operating condition is determined to be outside the predetermined limit.

6. The semiconductor memory device of claim 5, wherein:

the at least one equalization FET is formed within a p-well coupled to the boosted high voltage and has a source-drain path coupled between two bit lines.

7. A semiconductor memory device, comprising:

a sense amplifier circuit comprising

first and second transistors of a first conductivity type cross coupled between sense amplifier nodes and formed in a first substrate section of a second conductivity type,

first and second transistors of a second conductivity type cross coupled between the sense amplifiers nodes and formed in a second substrate section of a first conductivity type; and

a bias voltage control circuit coupled to at least the first substrate section that varies a bias voltage to the first substrate section based on at least one operating condition of the semiconductor memory device.

8. The semiconductor memory device of claim 7, wherein:

the semiconductor memory device receives a low power supply voltage at an external connection;

the first and second transistors are n-channel insulated gate field effect transistors and the first substrate section is of a p-type conductivity; and

the bias voltage control circuit is configured to vary the bias voltage to the first substrate section to a potential below the low power supply voltage.

9. The semiconductor memory device of claim 8, wherein:

the sense amplifier circuit further includes at least one equalization n-channel transistor formed in the first substrate section having a source-drain path coupled between the sense amplifier nodes.

10. The semiconductor memory device of claim 7, wherein:

the semiconductor memory device receives a high power supply voltage at an external connection;

the first and second transistors are p-channel insulated gate field effect transistors and the first substrate section is of an n-type conductivity; and

the bias voltage control circuit is configured to vary the bias voltage to the first substrate section to a potential above the high power supply voltage.

11. The semiconductor memory device of claim 7, wherein:

the bias voltage control circuit varies the bias voltage to a level outside the range of received power supply voltages when a temperature is determined to be lower than a predetermined limit, the predetermined limit being less than or equal to 0°

C.

12. The semiconductor memory device of claim 7, wherein:

the at least one operating condition is selected from the group consisting of;

manufacturing process variations of the semiconductor memory device, operating voltage of the semiconductor memory device, and operating temperature of the semiconductor memory device.

13. The semiconductor memory device of claim 7, further including:

a bit line coupled to at least one of the sense amplifier nodes; and

a plurality of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cells coupled to the bit line, each DRAM cell including a storage capacitor and a pass transistor.

14. A method of activating a sense amplifier circuit of a semiconductor memory device, comprising the steps of:

sensing a condition of the semiconductor memory device; and

modulating the threshold voltage of at least a first pair of sense transistors by biasing a substrate containing the first pair of sense transistors to a potential outside a power supply voltage range, the power supply voltage range being the range between a high power supply voltage and low power supply voltage received by the semiconductor memory device at external connections, the first pair of sense transistors being cross coupled between sense nodes of a sense amplifier.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein:

the step of sensing a condition of the semiconductor memory device includes determining that a temperature of the semiconductor memory device is below a predetermined limit.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein:

modulating the threshold voltage includes biasing the substrate containing the first pair of sense transistors to a potential below the low power supply voltage.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein:

modulating the threshold voltage includes biasing the substrate containing the first pair of sense transistors to a potential above the high power supply voltage.

18. The method of claim 14, further including:

modulating the threshold voltage of a second pair of sense transistors of a different conductivity type than the first pair of sense transistors by biasing a substrate containing the second pair of sense transistors to another potential outside the power supply voltage range.

19. The method of claim 14, further including:

modulating the threshold voltage of at least one equalization transistor by biasing a substrate containing the at least one equalization transistor to a potential outside a power supply voltage range, the at least one equalization transistor having a source-drain path coupled between the nodes of the sense amplifier.

20. The method of claim 14, further including:

biasing a substrate of the semiconductor memory device containing a plurality of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cells independently of the substrate containing the first pair of sense transistors.