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US4757478A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Decoder circuit for a static random access memory

Assignee: US Philips Corp
•
Filing: 1986-12-10
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Granted: 1988-07-12
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Expires: 2006-12-10
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Abstract

Abstract An elementary decoder circuit for a monolithically integrated static random access memory is constructed by means of gallium arsenide field effect transistors and formed by a NOR-gate whose n inputs receive the n coded addressing signals a 1 , a 2 , . . . , a n of the memory, or their complements, and whose output supplied a signal which is applied to the upper transistor of a push-pull stage as well as a complementary signal, obttained via an inverter transistor, which is applied to the lower transistor of the push-pull stage. The junction point of the two transistors of the push-pull stage supplies the word line signal of the memory, and the two transistors of the push-pull stage are of the enhancement type, like the transistors of the NOR-gate, the output signal of the NOR-gate being applied to the input of the inverter transistor via a level shifting diode so that the biasing of the transistors of the push-pull stage results in an extremenly fast data transfer from the output of the NOR-gate to the word line.

Inventors

  • 👤 Thierry Ducourant
  • 👤 Bertrand Gabillard

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-05 23:44
CPC Classifications
G; G11; G11C; G11C8/00; G11C8/10; G11C11/00; G11C11/21; G11C11/34; G11C11/40; G11C11/41; G11C11/413; G11C11/417; G11C11/418

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 5
Claim 1
Independent Claim 194 words
An elementary decoder circuit for a monolithically integrated static random access memory having gallium arsenide field effect transistors and comprising a push-pull stage having an upper and a lower transistor, an inverter transistor, a level-shifting diode, and a NOR-gate whose n inputs receive n coded addressing signals a 1 , a 2 , . . . , a n of the memory, or their complements, the NOR-gate output supplying a signal which is applied to the upper transistor of the push-pull stage, as well as a complementary signal which is obtained from said inverter transistor and which is applied to the lower transistor of the push-pull stage, the junction point of the two transistors of the push-pull stage supplying the word line signal of the memory, characterized in that the two transistors of the push-pull stage and the transistors of the NOR-gate are of the enhancement type, the output signals of the NOR-gate being applied to the input of the inverter transistor via said level-shifting diode so that the biasing of the transistors of the push-pull stage results in an extremely fast data transfer from the output of the NOR-gate to the word line.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 194 words
An elementary decoder circuit for a monolithically integrated static random access memory having gallium arsenide field effect transistors and comprising a push-pull stage having an upper and a lower transistor, an inverter transistor, a level-shifting diode, and a NOR-gate whose n inputs receive n coded addressing signals a 1 , a 2 , . . . , a n of the memory, or their complements, the NOR-gate output supplying a signal which is applied to the upper transistor of the push-pull stage, as well as a complementary signal which is obtained from said inverter transistor and which is applied to the lower transistor of the push-pull stage, the junction point of the two transistors of the push-pull stage supplying the word line signal of the memory, characterized in that the two transistors of the push-pull stage and the transistors of the NOR-gate are of the enhancement type, the output signals of the NOR-gate being applied to the input of the inverter transistor via said level-shifting diode so that the biasing of the transistors of the push-pull stage results in an extremely fast data transfer from the output of the NOR-gate to the word line.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 27 words
A circuit as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the load of the NOR-gate and the load of the inverter transistor are of the resistive type.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 28 words
A circuit as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the d.c. supply voltage of the circuit is substantially twice the shift voltage of the diode.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 46 words
A static random access memory, characterized in that it comprises 2 n identical elementary decoders as claimed in claim 1 or 2 for activating the 2 n memory rows, and also comprises a plurality of such identical elementary decoders for activating the columns of the memory.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US3995171A Cited
US3863230A Cited
US4446386A Cited
US4563598A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1991-07-12 1992-01-11 1992-07-12 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1995-07-12 1996-01-11 1996-07-12 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1999-07-12 2000-01-11 2000-07-12 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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