Internal voltage generation circuit of semiconductor memory device
View Patent ↗An internal voltage generation circuit of a semiconductor memory device controls a dead zone voltage, in which the driving unit that supplies a power supply voltage, does not need to operate. An internal voltage having a dead zone is determined by first and second driving signals based on a level of a reference voltage, and by selectively supplying first and second voltages by means of the first and second driving signals.
1. An internal voltage generation circuit comprising:
a driving control unit for generating first and second driving signals to form a first dead zone, and third and fourth driving signals to form a second dead zone, based on a reference voltage having a target level between a first voltage and a second voltage, and selecting either one pair of the first and second driving signals or one pair of the third and fourth driving signals based on a control signal to control a dead zone; and
a driving unit for driving the first and second voltage based on signals selected by the driving control unit, and outputting an internal voltage having a dead zone determined based on the signals selected by the driving control unit.
2. The internal voltage generation circuit as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the first voltage includes either a core voltage or a power supply voltage, and the second voltage includes a ground voltage.
3. The internal voltage generation circuit as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the driving control unit is provided with a self-refresh signal as the control signal.
4. The internal voltage generation circuit as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the driving control unit comprises:
a voltage divider for generating the first and second driving signals and the third and fourth driving signals by means of the reference voltage between the first and second voltages; and
a selection unit for selecting either one pair of the first and second driving signals or one pair of the third and fourth driving signals based on the control signal.
5. The internal voltage generation circuit as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the voltage divider comprises a plurality of resistor means which are serially connected between a power supply having the first voltage and a power supply having the second voltage, in which the reference voltage and the first to fourth driving signals are outputted from nodes connected between the each resistor means.
6. The internal voltage generation circuit as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the voltage divider comprises a plurality of diode means which are serially connected between a power supply having the first voltage and a power supply having the second voltage, in which the reference voltage and the first to fourth driving signals are outputted from nodes connected between the each diode means.
7. The internal voltage generation circuit as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the voltage divider generates the first driving signal having a higher level than the reference voltage, the third driving signal having a higher level than the first driving signal, a second driving signal having a lower level than the reference voltage, and a fourth driving signal having a lower level than the second driving signal.
8. The internal voltage generation circuit as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the selection unit comprises:
a first transistor connected between a node generating the first driving signal and a node generating the third driving signal, wherein the first transistor determines, based on the control signal, whether to transmit the third driving signal; and
a second transistor connected between a node generating the second driving signal and a node generating the fourth driving signal, in which the second transistor determines, based on the control signal, whether to transmit the fourth driving signal.
9. The internal voltage generation circuit as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the driving unit increases a level of the internal voltage by supplying the first voltage when a level of a signal selected by the driving control unit is increased, and decreases the level of the internal voltage by supplying the second voltage when a level of a signal selected by the driving control unit is decreased.