Title :
A high-performance very low-voltage current sense amplifier for nonvolatile memories
Author :
Conte, Antonino ; Giudice, G.L. ; Palumbo, Gaetano ; Signorello, Alfredo
Author_Institution :
MPG Group, ST-Microelectron., Catania, Italy
Abstract :
A high-performance sense amplifier for nonvolatile memories capable of working under a very low-voltage power supply is presented. The topology of the sense amplifier uses a pure current-mode comparison allowing power supplies lower than 1 V to be used and includes two subcircuits which improve slew rate performance. The sense amplifier was implemented in an EEPROM realized with a 0.18-μm EEPROM technology. Experimental results showed a read access time of about 30 ns with a power supply of 1.65 V.
Keywords :
EPROM; amplifiers; current-mode circuits; low-power electronics; random-access storage; smart cards; 0.18 micron; 1.65 V; 30 ns; EEPROM; current mode; current-mode comparison; high-performance sense amplifier; low-voltage power supply; nonvolatile memories; smart card; subcircuits; very low-voltage current sense amplifier; Digital cameras; EPROM; High power amplifiers; Low voltage; Nonvolatile memory; Power supplies; Smart cameras; Smart cards; Threshold voltage; Topology;
Journal_Title :
Solid-State Circuits, IEEE Journal of
DOI :
10.1109/JSSC.2004.840985
