Patent ID: 6788578
Filing Date: 2004-09-07
Classification: G11C

Abstract:
A self-decoding apparatus integrated on a chip for selectively charging conductive lines of a programmable non-volatile memory array for programming, comprising:oscillator output capacitive coupling circuitry connecting an oscillator output to a first control node corresponding to a selected conductive line, the capacitive coupling circuitry being responsive to a voltage on the first control node, for capacitively coupling voltage pulses from the oscillator output to the first control node while the conductive line is selected; control selective charge transfer circuitry connecting a high voltage source to a second control node through the first control node, the second control node corresponding to the conductive line and having a lower capacitance than the conductive line, for selectively transferring charge increments from the high-voltage source to the second control node while the conductive line is selected, in response to the voltage pulses received at the first control node and in response to a voltage on the second control node; conductive line charging control circuitry connecting the high voltage source to the conductive line and responsive to the second control node, for selectively transferring charge from the high voltage source to the conductive line while the conductive line is selected, in response to the voltage on the second control node;and conductive line isolation circuitry connecting the conductive line to the second control node, for selectively charging the second control node from the conductive line while the conductive line is selected, and for preventing a charging of the conductive line from the second control node.