Patent ID: 6633509
Filing Date: 2003-10-14
Classification: G11C

Abstract:
In a semiconductor integrated circuit having a memory array comprising a plurality of sub-arrays, a method of writing a data set into the memory array and reading the data set from the memory array, said method comprising the steps of:providing separately selectable groups of said sub-arrays, each group containing at least one sub-array; organizing the memory array to associate the data set with a predetermined number of sub-array groups, with a corresponding portion of the data set associated with each corresponding sub-array within the predetermined number of sub-array groups; selecting at least one but less than the predetermined number of groups to simultaneously write into at least one sub-array of the selected at least one group a corresponding portion of the data set; cycling through additional sub-array groups, selecting at any time at least one but less than the predetermined number of groups, to simultaneously write into at least one sub-array of each selected additional group a corresponding portion of the data set, until all the predetermined number of groups have been selected, and the complete data set written into the predetermined number of sub-array groups; and selecting all of the predetermined number of sub-array groups to simultaneously read from each corresponding sub-array within the predetermined number of sub-array groups a corresponding portion of the data set, thereby reading simultaneously the data set.