Patent ID: 8860501
Filing Date: 2014-10-14
Classification: G11C,H02M,H03L

Abstract:
1. A monolithic three-dimensional semiconductor memory device, said memory device comprising: a plurality of memory device levels vertically disposed above a substrate wherein said memory device levels have a plurality of non-volatile memory elements; said memory elements in a memory device level being horizontally separated from each other and arranged in two or more horizontal rows of two or more memory elements; at least one of said memory device levels having memory elements substantially vertically aligned with memory elements of a vertically adjacent memory device level; at least one word line being common among at least two memory elements in one of said horizontal rows in one of said memory device levels; and a charge pump system connectable to provide an output voltage to one or more of said memory elements for use in the operation thereof, the charge pump system comprising: a charge pump circuit connected to receive N pump clock signals and generate therefrom the output voltage, where N is an integer greater than or equal to one; regulation circuitry connected to receive the output voltage and generate a regulation signal based on the output voltage; an oscillator circuit providing N initial clock signals; and N clock buffer circuits, each receiving a corresponding one of the initial clock signals and generating therefrom a corresponding one of the pump clock signals, wherein each of the buffer circuits includes: a plurality of inverters connected in series, with the first inverter in the series connected to receive the corresponding initial clock signal as input and the last inverter in the series providing the corresponding pump clock signal as output; and a corresponding plurality of clamp elements connected to receive the regulation signal and through which a corresponding one of the inverters is connected to a power supply level, the voltage level being supplied to the corresponding inverter being dependent upon the regulation signal.