Column redundancy circuit for a semiconductor memory device

Claim 2

A column redundancy circuit for a semiconductor memory device having a plurality of memory cell arrays each comprising a plurality of bitlines, a plurality of memory cells connected to each bitline, a plurality of sense amplifiers coupled between a plurality of data input/output lines and the bitlines, and a plurality of switches controlled by column select signals and coupled between the sense amplifiers and the data input/output lines; the column redundancy circuit comprising: a redundant memory cell array containing at least one redundant memory cell column coupled to redundancy data input/output lines, each redundant memory cell column selected by a redundant column select signal; a decoded redundancy repair circuit comprising an enable input; a plurality of inputs for receiving a particular column address; an output coupled to a logic circuit and to one of the redundant memory cell columns, for generating the redundant column select signal; a plurality of outputs for generating redundancy enable signals, which are each coupled to one of a plurality of multiplexers; and a main switching fuse circuit coupled to the enable input and having an output responsive to a main fuse, wherein the output of the main switching fuse circuit generates a main switching fuse signal to enable the decoded redundancy repair circuit when the main fuse is in a programmed condition; a column decoder and input/output control circuit connected between the data input/output lines and a data bus, and receiving a column address and a column disable signal, wherein the column decoder and input/output control circuit generates a column select signal responsive to the column address and selectively connects the data input/output lines to a data bus if the column disable signal is false, and does not generate the column select signal and does not selectively connect the data input/output lines to the data bus if the column disable signal is true; the logic circuit coupled between the decoded redundancy repair circuit and the column decoder and input/output control circuit, wherein the logic circuit generates the column disable signal in response to the redundant column select signal and the redundancy enable signals; and the plurality of multiplexers coupled between the redundancy data input/output lines and the data bus, wherein the multiplexers connect the redundancy data input/output lines to the data bus in response to the redundancy enable signals.

Claim 3

A column redundancy circuit as in claim 1, wherein the decoded redundancy repair circuit further comprises: a plurality of first redundancy unit circuits which each have an output coupled to an input of a first decoder which generates the redundant column select signal; a plurality of second redundancy unit circuits which each have an output coupled to another input of the first decoder; and a plurality of fuse circuits having outputs connected to the second redundancy unit circuits and to a second decoder circuit, wherein the fuse circuit outputs control the second redundancy unit circuits, and wherein the second decoder circuit generates the redundancy enable signals in response to the fuse circuit outputs.

Claim 4

A column redundancy circuit as in claim 2, wherein each of the first redundancy unit circuits further comprises: a first and a second transmitting circuit each having enable inputs which receive the main switching fuse signal, wherein the first transmitting circuit receives one bit of the column address, and the second transmitting circuit receives the complement of the bit; and a first fuse coupled between an output of the first transmitting circuit and an output node, and a second fuse coupled between an output of the second transmitting circuit and the output node, wherein only one of the first and second fuses is conductive; and a transistor having a source and a drain coupled between the output node and a reference voltage, and a gate coupled to the main switching fuse signal, wherein the transistor is turned off and the output node produces either the bit or the complement of the column address in response to the main switching fuse signal.

Claim 5

A column redundancy circuit as in claim 3, wherein each of the second redundancy unit circuits further comprises: a first and a second column address transmitting circuit, the first column address transmitting circuit inputting one of a plurality of most significant bits of the column address, and the second column address transmitting circuit inputting the complement of the most significant bit; and wherein the fuse circuit outputs selectively enable either the first or the second column address transmitting circuits.

Claim 6

A column redundancy circuit as in claim 4, further comprising two of the second redundancy unit circuits corresponding to the two most significant bits of the column address, and two of the fuse circuits, wherein the second decoder circuit generates four of the second redundancy enable signals in response to a combination of the main switching fuse output and the outputs of the two fuse circuits.

Claim 7

A column redundancy apparatus for a semiconductor memory device having a plurality of memory cell arrays each comprising a plurality of bitlines, a plurality of memory cells connected to each bitline, a plurality of sense amplifiers coupled between a plurality of data input/output lines and the bitlines, and a plurality of switches controlled by column select signals and coupled between the sense amplifiers and the data input/output lines; and a column redundancy circuit associated with each memory cell array, each column redundancy circuit comprising: a redundant memory cell array containing at least one redundant memory cell column coupled to redundancy data input/output lines, each redundant memory cell column selected by a redundant column select signal; a decoded redundancy repair circuit comprising an enable input; a plurality of inputs for receiving a particular column address; an output coupled to a logic circuit and to one of the redundant memory cell columns, for generating the redundant column select signal; a plurality of outputs for generating redundancy enable signals, which are each coupled to one of a plurality of multiplexers; and a main switching fuse circuit coupled to the enable input and having an output responsive to a main fuse, wherein the output of the main switching fuse circuit generates a main switching fuse signal to enable the decoded redundancy repair circuit when the main fuse is in a programmed condition; a column decoder and input/output control circuit connected between the data input/output lines and a data bus, and receiving a column address and a column disable signal, wherein the column decoder and input/output control circuit generates a column select signal responsive to the column address and selectively connects the data input/output lines to a data bus if the column disable signal is false, and does not generate the column select signal and does not selectively connect the data input/output lines to the data bus if the column disable signal is true; the logic circuit coupled between the decoded redundancy repair circuit and the column decoder and input/output control circuit, wherein the logic circuit generates the column disable signal in response to a combination of the redundant column select signal, the redundancy enable signals, and a plurality of redundant column select signals and redundancy enable signals generated by other decoded redundancy repair circuits associated with other of the memory cell arrays; and the plurality of multiplexers coupled between the redundancy data input/output lines and the data bus, wherein the multiplexers connect the redundancy data input/output lines to the data bus in response to the redundancy enable signals.

Claim 8

A column redundancy apparatus for a semiconductor memory device having a plurality of memory cell arrays each comprising a plurality of bitlines, a plurality of memory cells connected to each bitline, a plurality of sense amplifiers coupled between a plurality of data input/output lines and the bitlines, and a plurality of switches controlled by column select signals and coupled between the sense amplifiers and the data input/output lines; and a column redundancy circuit associated with each memory cell array, each column redundancy circuit comprising: a redundant memory cell array containing at least one redundant memory cell column coupled to redundancy data input/output lines, each redundant memory cell column selected by a redundant column select signal; a decoded redundancy repair circuit comprising an enable input; a plurality of inputs for receiving a particular column address; an output coupled to a logic circuit and to one of the redundant memory cell columns, for generating the redundant column select signal; a plurality of outputs for generating redundancy enable signals, which are each coupled to one of a plurality of multiplexers; and a main switching fuse circuit coupled to the enable input and having an output responsive to a main fuse, wherein the output of the main switching fuse circuit generates a main switching fuse signal to enable the decoded redundancy repair circuit when the main fuse is in a programmed condition; a column decoder and input/output control circuit connected between the data input/output lines and a data bus, and receiving a column address and a column disable signal, wherein the column decoder and input/output control circuit generates a column select signal responsive to the column address and selectively connects the data input/output lines to a data bus if the column disable signal is false, and does not generate the column select signal and does not selectively connect the data input/output lines to the data bus if the column disable signal is true; the logic circuit coupled between the decoded redundancy repair circuit and the column decoder and input/output control circuit, wherein the logic circuit generates the column disable signal in response to a combination of the redundant column select signal, the redundancy enable signals, and a plurality of redundant column select signals and redundancy enable signals generated by other decoded redundancy repair circuits associated with other of the memory cell arrays; and the plurality of multiplexers coupled between the redundancy data input/output lines and the data bus, wherein the multiplexers connect the redundancy data input/output lines to the data bus in response to the redundancy enable signals.

Claim 9

A column redundancy apparatus as in claim 6, wherein the decoded redundancy repair circuit in each column redundancy circuit further comprises: a plurality of first redundancy unit circuits which each have an output coupled to an input of a first decoder which generates the redundant column select signal; a plurality of second redundancy unit circuits which each have an output coupled to another input of the first decoder; and a plurality of fuse circuits having outputs connected to the second redundancy unit circuits and to a second decoder circuit, wherein the fuse circuit outputs control the second redundancy unit circuits, and wherein the second decoder circuit generates the redundancy enable signals in response to the fuse circuit outputs.

Claim 10

A column redundancy apparatus as in claim 7, wherein each of the first redundancy unit circuits further comprises: a first and a second transmitting circuit each having enable inputs which receive the main switching fuse signal, wherein the first transmitting circuit receives one bit of the column address, and the second transmitting circuit receives the complement of the bit; and a first fuse coupled between an output of the first transmitting circuit and an output node, and a second fuse coupled between an output of the second transmitting circuit and the output node, wherein only one of the first and second fuses is conductive; and a transistor having a source and a drain coupled between the output node and a reference voltage, and a gate coupled to the main switching fuse signal, wherein the transistor is turned off and the output node produces either the bit or the complement of the column address in response to the main switching fuse signal.

Claim 11

A column redundancy apparatus as in claim 8, wherein each of the second redundancy unit circuits further comprises: a first and a second column address transmitting circuit, the first column address transmitting circuit inputting one of a plurality of most significant bits of the column address, and the second column address transmitting circuit inputting the complement of the most significant bit; and wherein the fuse circuit outputs selectively enable either the first or the second column address transmitting circuits.

Claim 12

A column redundancy apparatus as in claim 9 having four of the memory cell arrays and four of the column redundancy circuits, wherein each column redundancy circuit further comprises two of the second redundancy unit circuits corresponding to the two most significant bits of the column address, and two of the fuse circuits, and wherein the second decoder circuit generates four of the second redundancy enable signals in response to a combination of the main switching fuse output and the outputs of the two fuse circuits.