Natural analog or multilevel transistor DRAM-cell
View Patent ↗Circuits and methods to design and to fabricate said circuits to accomplish a two-level DRAM cell or a multilevel DRAM cell using a natural transistor have been achieved. The usage of a natural transistor, having a threshold voltage of close to zero, as a pass transistor reduces the amount of current required for a read operation significantly. The usage of a natural transistor in a multi-level DRAM is enabling to implement easily a high number of voltage levels, and thus more information, in one DRAM cell and is reducing the amount of output current required as well. The fabrication of said DRAM cells in an integrated circuit, comprising a natural transistor and standard transistors, include masking of the natural transistor during the ion implantation to avoid impurities increasing the threshold voltage.
1. A circuit of a DRAM cell requiring a reduced output current comprising:
a switch to activate a write operation to said DRAM cell, wherein a first terminal is connected to an input signal and a second terminal is connected to a gate of a pass transistor and a first terminal of a storage capacitor;
said storage capacitor having a second terminal connected to ground voltage;
said pass transistor operating as a switch to support a read operation out of said DRAM cell being a natural transistor, wherein its gate is connected to said storage capacitor, its current path is connected to supply voltage, and an other current path opposite to said current path is connected to a first terminal of a switch to activate a read operation;
said switch to activate a read operation out of said DRAM cell having a second terminal connected to a current source and to output voltage; and
said current source to support the read operation out of said DRAM cell,
wherein said switch to activate said write operation is a standard transistor, and
wherein said natural transistor is a MOS natural transistor.
2. The circuit of claim 1 wherein said natural transistor is a PMOS transistor.
3. The circuit of claim 1 wherein said natural transistor is a CMOS transistor.
4. The circuit of claim 1 wherein said natural transistor is a NMOS transistor.
5. The circuit of claim 1 wherein said current source is a constant current source.
6. A method to achieve a two-level DRAM cell requiring a reduced output current, comprising:
providing a capacitor, a natural transistor as pass transistor, and peripheral circuitry to activate and to drive said DRAM cell comprising standard transistors used as switches, a current source, and an amplifier;
deploying said capacitor as DRAM storage element; and
deploying said natural transistor, having a minimal threshold voltage, as pass transistor to sense, via its gate, a charge of said storage capacitor, wherein said charge represents a value of stored information.