Abstract:
An integrated circuit having CMOS transistors processed with different gate-oxide thicknesses. The transistors having the thinner gate-oxide may be used to generate data values that may be stored by the transistors having the thicker gate-oxides. The thicker gate-oxides may reduce gate leakage currents during a system standby mode.
Abstract:
There are disclosed a circuit including a device, represented by a PLED device, having a storage node with little leak and to be incorporated in a flip-flop, a nonvolatile SRAM operating at high speed, and a flip-flop also operating at high speed. A representative mode of the invention is a storage circuit characterized by comprising a storage device which has a first path for first charged carriers, a first node for storing charge for generating an electric field for changing the conductivity of the first path, and a barrier structure movable in response to an applied voltage so that second charged carriers are stored in the first node and a second node from which information stored in the first node is steadily output. The SRAM and flip-flop include such a storage circuit as a basic circuit.
Abstract:
A non-volatile, low, and zero power, high speed self-sensing programmable device and architecture including a non-volatile self-sensing cell (10). The non-volatile self-sensing cell (10) is connected out of the speed path of the programmable device, permitting rapid, non-volatile programming and reading operations to be conducted. According to one version, two self-sensing cells are provided with a means for selecting one of the cells for programming or read operation. Each non-volatile self-sensing cell includes a latch having cross-coupled, pull-up transistors (12 and 14) and non-volatile pull-down cells (16 and 18). The cross-coupled pull-up transistors (12 and 14) are field effect transistors having gates which are connected to the opposite sources of the cross-coupled pull-up transistors.
Abstract:
The invention is concerned with the problem of reducing the chip area occupied by volatile/nonvolatile dynamic RAM (random access memory) cells. A volatile/non-volatile dynamic RAM cell (30, 80) includes a storage capacitor (32) for volatilely storing binary information during normal RAM operation; an alterable-threshold storage capacitor (33A or 83) for non-volatilely storing the information in non-volatile fashion during poweroff conditions; and an energy barrier (33F or 45) between the two capacitors. Information can be restored to the volatile capacitor either by CCD charge transfer or by charge-pumped operation. The energy barrier facilitates efficient charge pumped restore of information. In one embodiment, the energy barrier is a high concentration substrate surface region (45) having the same conductivity type as the substrate. Alternatively, the alterable-threshold non-volatile capacitor and the energy barrier are provided by a split-gate capacitor (33) which has an alterable threshold non-volatile section (33A) (the non-volatile capacitor) and a non-alterable threshold section (33F) (the energy barrier). The cells may be arranged in an array.
Abstract:
A data recording and read-out apparatus and method in which a ferroelectric ceramic substrate (5) is remanently polarized to store information. Upon being illuminated, the substrate produces a photovoltaic voltage, which is detected to effect read-out. A disk (1) of ferroelectric ceramic material (5) to which information is entered by spiral tracking, either in a single track or in multiple tracks. A self-scanning data record comprised of a plurality of ferroelectric ceramic cells (20) which are remanently polarized, and which are read out by a register (22).