Patent ID: 11935607
Assignee: STMICROELECTRONICS INTERNATIONAL N.V.
Field: Computer technology (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 18:
19. The method of claim 18, further comprising detecting excess leakage within row decoders of the selected one of the plurality of memory sectors by:
a) deselecting all word lines within the memory array of the selected one of the memory sectors;
b) setting the variable current to have a magnitude that is within a threshold of zero;
c) increasing the variable current by a given amount, in response to the copy voltage being greater than the gate voltage, and waiting a given period of time;
d) when the increase in the variable current by the given amount results in the copy voltage becoming less than the gate voltage, asserting the leakage detection signal to thereby indicate excess leakage within the row decoders of the selected one of the memory sectors; and
e) when the increase in the variable current by the given amount does not result in the copy voltage becoming less than the gate voltage, returning to step c).