Circuit for storing information in an integrated circuit and method therefor
View Patent ↗A circuit has a storing portion, a write portion and a read portion. In one embodiment, read portion has a transistor which has a substantially thinner gate oxide than the transistors in the storing portion and the transistors in the write portion. In an alternate embodiment, circuit has a plurality of read ports. In an alternate embodiment, selecting the optimal gate oxide thickness for the transistors in circuit allows the trade-off between transistor switching speed and gate leakage current to be optimized to produce a circuit having a fast enough read access time and a low enough standby power.
1. A method for providing an integrated circuit, the integrated circuit having a circuit for storing information, the method comprising:
providing a storing portion of the circuit which stores information, the storing portion comprising a first transistor;
providing a write portion of the circuit which provides the information to be written to the storing portion, the write portion comprising a second transistor; and
providing a read portion of the circuit which receives the information to be read from the storing portion, the read portion comprising a third transistor,
wherein a ratio of a gate oxide thickness of the third transistor to a gate oxide thickness of the first transistor is less than or equal to ⅚.
2. A method as in claim 1 , wherein the ratio of the gate oxide thickness of the third transistor to the gate oxide thickness of the first transistor is less than or equal to ⅔.
3. A method as in claim 1 , wherein the ratio of the gate oxide thickness of the third transistor to the gate oxide thickness of the first transistor is less than or equal to ¾.
4. A method as in claim 1 , wherein the gate oxide thickness of the third transistor is less than or equal to 1.4 nanometers, and the gate oxide thickness of the first transistor is greater than or equal to 1.7 nanometers.
5. A method as in claim 1 , wherein the gate oxide thickness of the third transistor is substantially less than a gate oxide thickness of the second transistor.
6. A method as in claim 1 , wherein the integrated circuit comprises a cache, and wherein the cache comprises the circuit.
7. A method as in claim 1 , wherein the integrated circuit comprises a register array, and wherein the register array comprises the circuit.
8. A method as in claim 1 , wherein the read portion comprises a fourth transistor, and wherein a gate oxide thickness of the fourth transistor is substantially less than the gate oxide thickness of the first transistor.
9. A circuit, comprising:
a cross-coupled latch which stores information, the cross-coupled latch comprising a first plurality of transistors;
a differential write port, coupled to the cross-coupled latch, the differential write port being used to write a data value to the cross-coupled latch, the differential write port comprising a write transistor; and
a single-ended read port, coupled to the cross-coupled latch, the single-ended read port being used to read the data value from the cross-coupled latch, the single-ended read port comprising a read transistor,
wherein a ratio of a gate oxide thickness of the read transistor to a gate oxide thickness of at least one of the plurality of transistors is less than or equal to ⅚.
10. A circuit, comprising:
a cross-coupled latch which stores information, the cross-coupled latch comprising a first plurality of transistors;
a differential write port, coupled to the cross-coupled latch, the differential write port being used to write a data value to the cross-coupled latch, the differential write port comprising a write transistor;
a single-ended read port, coupled to the cross-coupled latch, the single-ended read port being used to read the data value from the cross-coupled latch, the single-ended read port comprising a read transistor,
wherein a gate oxide thickness of the read transistor is substantially less than a gate oxide thickness of at least one of the plurality of transistors; and
an additional read port coupled to the cross-coupled latch, the additional read port being used to read the data value from the cross-coupled latch, the additional read port comprising an additional read transistor, wherein a gate oxide thickness of the additional read transistor is substantially less than the gate oxide thickness of the at least one of the plurality of transistors.
11. A circuit as in claim 10 , wherein a ratio of the gate oxide thickness of the read transistor to the gate oxide thickness of the at least one of the plurality of transistors is less than or equal to ⅚.
12. A circuit as in claim 9 , wherein the ratio of the gate oxide thickness of the read transistor to the gate oxide thickness of the at least one of the plurality of transistors is less than or equal to ¾.
13. A circuit as in claim 9 , wherein the gate oxide thickness of the read transistor is substantially less than a gate oxide thickness of the write transistor.
14. An integrated circuit comprising a cache, wherein the cache comprises the circuit as in claim 9 .
15. An integrated circuit comprising a register, wherein the register comprises the circuit as in claim 9 .
16. An integrated circuit having a circuit for storing information, the circuit for storing information comprising:
a storing portion which stores the information, the storing portion comprising a first transistor;
a write portion which provides the information to be written to the storing portion, the write portion comprising a second transistor; and
a read portion which receives the information to be read from the storing portion, the read portion comprising a third transistor,
wherein a ratio of a gate oxide thickness of the third transistor to a gate oxide thickness of the first transistor is less than or equal to ⅚.
17. An integrated circuit as in claim 16 , wherein the ratio of the gate oxide thickness of the third transistor to the gate oxide thickness of the first transistor is less than or equal to ⅔.
18. An integrated circuit as in claim 16 , wherein the ratio of the gate oxide thickness of the third transistor to the gate oxide thickness of the first transistor is less than or equal to ¾.
19. An integrated circuit as in claim 16 , wherein the gate oxide thickness of the third transistor is substantially less than a gate oxide thickness of the second transistor.
20. An integrated circuit as in claim 16 , wherein the integrated circuit comprises a cache, and wherein the cache comprises the circuit for storing information.