Abstract:
Power to operates memory bank of DRAM stably is supplied with reduced power consumption. A semiconductor storage unit includes multiple arrays forming memory banks on a substrate, first and second power supplies. Multiple arrays are arranged like a matrix and surround the central region of the substrate. Each memory bank consists of two of the multiple arrays. Each first power supply supplies driving power to a peripheral circuit which drives each multiple array. Second power supplies are arranged at four corners of the central region, each supply provides access power to word lines which access the multiple arrays. The first power supplies are mounted to a central and the opposite side for predetermined arrays, serve as a main and an auxiliary power supply to provide main and auxiliary power (smaller than the main power), and provide distantly arranged two of the multiple arrays forming a memory bank with power.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a semiconductor storage unit, and more specifically, to a control of power supply for driving a dynamic random access memory. 
     2. Description of the Background Art 
     FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional dynamic random access memory (hereinafter referred to as “DRAM”) chip  70 . The conventional DRAM chip  70  has memory banks A, B, C, and D arranged in areas obtained by dividing a rectangular semiconductor chip into 4 portions. Each of memory banks A through D has, for example, 16M-bit storage capacity, and further includes a line address decoder which selects lines of the bank, column address decoder which selects columns, and a sense amplifier which detects and amplifies data of memory cell selected (none of them is illustrated). 
     Furthermore, DRAM chip  70  has two kinds of power supply circuit which drives each of memory banks A through D. That is, peripheral power supply circuits VDC 71 ,  72 ,  73 , and bank power supply circuits for VPP 74 ,  75 . Peripheral power supply circuits VDC 71 ,  72 ,  73  supply power (that is, current and line voltage) to peripheral circuits and one or more sense amplifiers. On the other hand, bank power supply circuits for VPP 74  and  75  apply the power (that is, current and step-up voltage VPP) to word lines selected. All of the power supply circuits are installed at central regions defined between a row of memory banks A and C of DRAM chip  70  and a row of memory banks B and D. One of the reasons why a power supply circuit is arranged at the central region is that lengths of power supply lines which apply line voltage to memory banks A through D are brought to be nearly equal. 
     When memory cell selecting operations are carried out simultaneously in memory banks A through D, peripheral power supply circuit VDC must supply electric power to sense amplifiers included in memory banks A through D. That is, a drive transistor of peripheral power supply circuit VDC which supplies current and voltage to a sense amplifier needs to have a large current driving power. Consequently, size (channel width) of drive transistor must be made sufficiently large. However, since the current flows through a drive transistor which has a large channel width when a sense amplifier is in operation, it is unable to reduce direct current, and as a result, current consumption of DRAM chip  70  increases. 
     In addition, peripheral power supply circuits VDC 71 ,  72 ,  73  are not arranged at positions completely at equal distances from memory banks A through D. Consequently, impedance of power supply line differs due to the difference of the length of power line and the drop rate of line voltage supplied to the power supply line also differs. When the power supply capability of peripheral power supply circuits VDC 71 ,  72 ,  73  is decided with voltage drop in the power supply line with small impedance, still greater voltage drop occurs in the sense power supply line with large impedance, and accurate sense operation is unable to be carried out. On the other hand, when the current driving force of peripheral power supply circuits VDC 71 ,  72 ,  73  is decided with voltage drop in the power supply line with large impedance, unnecessarily large current is supplied to the sense power supply line with small impedance, and current is consumed. That is, because of unbalance of impedance in the power supply line, stable operation of DRAM chip  70  is unable to be secured. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to supply electric power that enables each memory bank to stably operate and at the same time to reduce consumption power. 
     A semiconductor storage unit according to the present invention has multiple arrays that form memory banks on a substrate, each of the memory banks consisting of two of the multiple arrays; first power supplies, each of which supplies driving power to a peripheral circuit which drives each of the multiple arrays; and second power supplies, each of which supplies access power to word lines which access the multiple arrays. Multiple arrays are arranged in the form of a matrix and surround the central region of the substrate. The first power supplies are mounted to a central region side and to an opposite side of the central region side for predetermined arrays. The second power supplies are arranged at four corners of the central region. The first power supplies serve as a main power supply to provide main power and as an auxiliary power supply to provide auxiliary power, smaller than the main power, and provide distantly arranged two of the multiple arrays forming a memory bank with power. According to this configuration, even for memory bank arrays which are arranged distantly, sufficient electric power can be applied with voltage drop avoided. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and other object and features of the present invention will become clear from the following description taken in conjunction with the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional dynamic random access memory chip; 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a dynamic random access memory chip according to the present embodiment; 
     FIG. 3 is a signal chart of power supply activating control of DRAM chip; 
     FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a peripheral power supply circuit VDC (b); 
     FIG.  5 A and FIG. 5B are diagrams of specific configuration and operation of a VDC control circuit; 
     FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a configuration of a VDC supply circuit; and 
     FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of a VDC comparator. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of dynamic random access memory (hereinafter referred to as “DRAM”) chip  10  according to the present embodiment. DRAM chip  10  has eight memory bank arrays A 1 , A 2 , B 1 , B 2 , C 1 , C 2 , D 1 , D 2  and two kinds of power supply circuit for driving each of the eight memory bank arrays, that is, four peripheral power supply circuits VDC (a), (b), (c), (d) as well as four bank power supply circuits VPP (w), (x), (y), (z). In addition, DRAM chip  10  further includes power supply lines which supplies power from power supply circuits to each memory bank array, signal line such as word lines for accessing each memory bank array (all not illustrated), etc. 
     First of all, the memory bank array will be described. Eight memory bank arrays are arranged in the form of a matrix and surround the central region of DRAM chip  10 . Specifically, memory bank array A 1  is located on the lower right of DRAM chip  10  and then, successively clockwise arrays B 1 , C 1 , D 1 , D 2 , C 2 , B 2 , and A 2  are located in that order. Each of bank array A 1  and A 2  is also called “memory array block” and two arrays form one memory bank. In the following description, “memory bank A” means two memory bank arrays A 1  and A 2 . The same applies to all the combinations of other memory bank arrays. Each of memory bank array contains a plurality of memory cells. 
     Next discussion will be made on the power supply circuit. Four peripheral power supply circuits VDC (a), (b), (c), (d) supply power (that is, current and line voltage) to peripheral circuits to drive DRAM chip  10 . Each of, or at least one of the peripheral circuits contain a sense amplifier. Peripheral power supply circuits VDC (b), (c) are arranged in the central region of DRAM chip  10  and peripheral power supply circuits VDC (a), (d) are arranged in the peripheral sections of DRAM chip  10 . Peripheral power supply circuits VDC (a) and (b) are arranged with bank D 1  held between. Peripheral power supply circuits VDC (c) and (d) are arranged with bank A 2  held between. Four bank power supply circuits VPP (w), (x), (y), (z) apply electric power (that is, current and step-up voltage VPP) to a selected word line of memory bank arrays. Bank power supply circuits VPP (w), (x), (y), (z) are installed at four corners of the central region of DRAM chip  10 , and VPP (w), VPP (x), VPP (z), VPP (y) are arranged in that order clockwise from the left top corner of the central region. 
     In addition, at the central region, not only power supply circuits but also a DRAM control circuit (not illustrated) is formed. In the following description, the power supply circuits and the DRAM control circuit are generically called the control circuit. The control circuit controls activity/non-activity of eight memory bank arrays and also controls data access. Activity/non-activity shows the condition in which the word line is driven to the selective condition in memory bank arrays. Each one of eight memory bank arrays has multiple memory cells arranged in the form of a matrix. 
     By dividing DRAM chip  70  into small regions of multiple lines and multiple columns (3-line 3-column) in this way, it is possible to secure a control circuit forming region of an area practically the same as each memory bank array arranged region. Consequently, the control circuit can be arranged with flexibility. By arranging the power supply circuit in the central region, line voltage can be supplied at the minimum wiring length. In addition, influences of voltage drop caused by power supply line impedance can also be sufficiently suppressed. In the same manner, arranging eight memory bank arrays as if they surround the control circuit at the central region can minimize the wiring distance from control circuit to each memory bank array. Consequently, it is possible to reduce delay in signal transmission. 
     A primary feature of the present invention lie in power supply control of DRAM chip  10 . To describe specifically, when memory bank A is activated, peripheral power supply circuits VDC (c), (d) are activated as main power supplies of peripheral circuits related to motions of memory bank arrays A 1 , A 2 . In addition, for main power supply for driving word lines of memory bank arrays A 1 , A 2 , bank power supply VPP (z) are activated. 
     On the other hand, when memory bank B is activated, peripheral power supply circuits VDC (c), (d) are activated as main power supplies for supplying main power and further, peripheral power supply circuit VDC (b) is activated as an auxiliary power supply for supplying auxiliary electric power smaller than the main power supply. The reason for providing peripheral power supply circuit VDC (b) as the auxiliary power supply is because there are cases in which electric power enough to drive memory bank array B 1  is unable to be supplied due to voltage drop with peripheral power supply circuit VDC (c) alone. In addition, for the main power supply for driving word lines of memory bank arrays B 1 , B 2 , bank power supply circuits VPP (x), (y) are activated. 
     Now, the electric power which each of bank power supply circuits VPP (x), (y) supply is smaller than the electric power which bank power supply VPP (z) supplies as the main power supply for driving word lines of memory bank arrays A 1 , A 2 . Accordingly, as compared to the case in which the same electric power is constantly supplied, the consumption rate of electric power which bank power supply circuits VPP (x), (y) supply can be reduced. By the way, the control of memory bank D is same as memory bank A and the control of memory bank C is same as memory bank B. 
     Supplying auxiliary electric power by providing the auxiliary power supply in this way can avoid voltage drop of memory bank (in this case, memory banks B, C) where memory bank arrays are arranged in distant positions and can supply sufficient line voltage. 
     Now, description is made on the configuration and motions of DRAM chip  10  that can materialize above-mentioned features of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a signal chart of power supply activating control of DRAM chip  10  (FIG.  2 ). In FIG. 3, for example, notation RASD &lt;3:0&gt; indicates that four signal liens (third, second, first, and 0th bits) exist in control signal line RASD. Simply indicating &lt;3:2&gt; means that third bit to second bit signal lines are used. Notation &lt;n&gt; indicates that the nth-bit signal line is used. 
     First of all, DRAM control circuit  21  activates the specified memory bank, and then, activates the power supply circuit that supplies electric power to the memory bank. This is achieved by DRAM control circuit  21  which causes appropriate bit lines of two kinds of control signals RASD, ZSONM to high level or low level. The two kinds of control signals RASD, ZSONM are control signals that activate peripheral power supply circuits VDC (a) through (d) as main power supply. 
     Furthermore, for activation of power supply circuit, two kinds of signals of control signals BASE_B, and BASE_C are used. Control signals BASE_B, C control peripheral power supply circuits VDC (c), (d). More specifically, for control signals BASE_B, C become activating signals as auxiliary power supply for peripheral power supply circuits VDC (c), (d). As described later, control signals BASE_B, C are created based on control signals RASD&lt;3:0&gt;, ZSONM&lt;3:0&gt;. The reason why signal lines of control signal for activation as auxiliary power supply is not provided from DRAM control circuit  21  to each of peripheral power supply circuits VDC (c), (d) is to reduce the number of signal wires. 
     This can be explained using examples. First of all, cases in which memory bank A is activated are considered. DRAM control circuit  21  brings control signal RASD&lt;0&gt; to the high level and ZSONM&lt;0&gt; to the low level. Then, peripheral power supply circuits VDC (c), (d) are activated. In such event, by control signal RASD&lt;0&gt;, bank power supply circuit VPP (z) is also activated. 
     For the next example, the case when memory bank B is activated is considered. DRAM control circuit  21  brings control signal RASD&lt;1&gt; to the high level and ZSONM&lt;1&gt; to the low level. As a result, peripheral power supply circuits VDC (c), (d) are activated. Peripheral power supply circuit VDC (c) generates control signal BASE_B to operate peripheral power supply circuit VDC (b) as auxiliary power supply. Peripheral power supply circuit VDC (b) serves as an auxiliary power supply based on control signal BASE_B. In addition, by control signal RASD&lt;1&gt;, bank power supplied VPP (x), (y) are activated. 
     Now, the configuration of peripheral power supply circuit VDC will be described. To be more specific, the description will be made with peripheral power supply circuit VDC (b) taken as an example. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of peripheral power supply circuit VDC (b). Peripheral power supply circuit VDC (b) primarily comprises VDC control circuit  31 , control signal generating section  32 , reversing circuit  33 , internal control signal generating section  34 , VDC supply circuit  35 , and level shift signal generating section  36 . 
     First of all, movements when peripheral power supply circuit VDC (b) serves as main power supply are described. This is, for example, a case in which memory bank C (memory bank arrays C 1 , C 2 ) is activated. First of all, control signals RASD &lt;2&gt;, ZSONM &lt;2&gt;, and ZEN are entered VDC control circuit  31 . Control signals RASD &lt;2&gt; and ZSONM &lt;2&gt; are of high level and of low level, respectively. FIG.  5 A and FIG. 5B are diagrams showing the specific configuration and motions of VDC control circuit  31 . That is, FIG. 5A is a circuit diagram of VDC control circuit  31 , and FIG. 5B is a timing chart showing input signal and output signal. 
     Referring again to FIG. 4, VDC control circuit  31  outputs internal control signal BASE, ZICL, and ICS. Internal control signal BASE is entered in internal control signal generating section  34  together with control signal BASE_B from peripheral power supply circuit VDC (c) (FIG.  3 ). When peripheral power supply circuit VDC (b) becomes a main power supply, control signal BASE_B is of low level and control signal BASE becomes low level after it becomes 40 ns high level. Consequently, internal control signal generating section  34  outputs signal BASED which becomes low level after it becomes 40 ns high level. Signal BASED is entered into reversing circuit  33  and VDC supply circuit  35 . VDC supply circuit  35  supplies the specified power VCCS as main power supply by the control of control signals ZICME, ZICLE, ZICSE after VDC supply circuit  35  receives signal BASED. 
     Next description will be made on motions when peripheral power supply circuit VDC (b) becomes an auxiliary power supply. This is the case in which, for example, memory bank B (memory bank arrays B 1 , B 2 ) (FIG. 2) are activated. First of all, control signals RASD &lt;2&gt;, ZSONM &lt;2&gt;, ZEN are entered. Control signals RASD &lt;2&gt; and ZSONM &lt;2&gt; are of high level and of low level, respectively. VDC control circuit  31  outputs internal control signals BASE, ZICL, and ICS. Internal control signal BASE is entered into internal control signal generating section  34  and VDC supply circuit  35  together with control signal BASE_B from peripheral power supply circuit VDC (c) (FIG.  3 ). When peripheral power supply circuit VDC (b) becomes an auxiliary power supply, control signal BASE_B becomes low level after it becomes 40 ns high level. Consequently, internal control signal generating section  34  outputs signal BASED which becomes low level after it becomes 40 ns high level. Signal BASED is entered into reversing circuit  33 . When reversing circuit  33  receives signal BASED, it outputs reversing signal ZICME to VDC supply circuit  35 . VDC supply circuit  35  receives control signal BASE_B and ZICME. VDC supply circuit  35  supplies specified power VCCS as the auxiliary power supply based on the control of control signals BASE_B and ZICME. By the way, when VDC supply circuit  35  becomes the auxiliary power supply, the circuit is not subject to control of control signals ZICLE and ZICSE. 
     Control signal BASE outputted by VDC control circuit  31  is also entered to control signal generating section  32 . Control signal generating section  32  transmits the output to peripheral power supply circuit VDC (c) as control signal BASE_C. Control signal BASE_C becomes a control signal of VDC supply circuit  35  when peripheral power supply circuit VDC (c) operates as auxiliary power supply. The description so far has been made with peripheral power supply circuit VDC (b) as an example. However, this also applies to peripheral power supply circuit VDC (c). 
     Referring now to FIG.  6  and FIG. 7, the specific configuration of VDC supply circuit  35  will be described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of VDC supply circuit  35 . VDC supply circuit  35  primarily comprises VDC comparator  51 , auxiliary power supply selecting circuit  53 , and power supply driving circuit  54 . VDC supply circuit  35  varies the current feed rate of power supply output VCCS in accordance with whether peripheral power supply circuit VDC is used for auxiliary power supply or not. 
     Now, description will be made on each component element of VDC supply circuit  35 . VDC comparator  51  outputs analog signal D 0  that determines the electric power feed rate in accordance with multiple control signals. The multiple control signals referred to here are primarily internal control signals ZICME, ZICLE, ZICSE outputted from reversing circuit  33  (FIG.  4 ). The comparison motion by VDC comparator  51  is carried out in accordance with these three internal signals. More detailed configuration and motions of VDC comparator  51  will be discussed later referring to FIG.  7 . 
     Auxiliary power supply selecting circuit  53  outputs control signal D 1  based on control signals BASED and D 0 . Control signal D 1  is the signal that changes transistor size of output transistors of power supply driving circuit  54 . To be more specific, when peripheral power supply circuit VDC serves as the main power supply, control signal BASE_B is of low level, and transistor  56  is turned off and switch  58  is turned on. Consequently, output signal D 1  of auxiliary power supply selecting circuit  53  becomes same as signal D 0 . Power supply driving circuit  54  outputs electric power VCCS using transistors on both right and left as output drivers. On the other hand, when peripheral power supply circuit VDC becomes the auxiliary power supply, control signal BASE_B is of high level for 40 ns, and transistor  56  is turned on or switch  58  is turned off. Consequently, power supply driving circuit  54  outputs electric power VCCS using the transistor on the left side only. 
     Power supply driving circuit  54  has multiple transistors. One of the features of the present invention is that the output transistor size is reduced to improve response of power supply when peripheral power supply circuit VDC is utilized as the auxiliary power supply. Reducing the output transistor size means to reduce the number of transistors used, in other words, to reduce the number of transistors which are turned on. 
     In the figure, two transistors are used. Of these, the transistor on the left is constantly controlled by output signal D 0 . On the other hand, the transistor on the right is controlled by output signal D 1 . As described in relation to auxiliary power supply selecting circuit  53 , when peripheral power supply circuit VDC serves as the main power supply, control signal D 1  is same as control signal D 0 . That is, transistors on right and left operate with the same control signal. On the other hand, when peripheral power supply circuit VDC serves as the auxiliary power supply, control signal D 1  is in free communication with fixed current source  57 , and the transistor on the right of power supply driving circuit  54  is turned off. Accordingly, when peripheral power supply circuit  54  serves as the auxiliary power supply, the output transistor of power supply driving circuit  54  on the left side only is utilized. This can improve response of power supply. 
     Referring now to FIG. 7, VDC comparator  51  will be described. FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing the configuration of VDC comparator  51 . VDC comparator  51  compares reference signal VREF with signal VCCS to be compared that indicates how much current is flowing, and outputs signal D 0  in accord with the magnitude of the difference. 
     The power supply capabilities can be expressed by how much current is allowed to flow with a specified voltage maintained or how much current is allowed to flow without causing voltage drop. Peripheral power supply circuit VDC cannot maintain the voltage as it is when large current flows and voltage drop results. Consequently, VDC supply circuit  35  opens the gate of power supply driving circuit  54  by lowering voltage of signal D 0  and operates to reinforce the electric power supplied. Accordingly, even when large current flows, voltage can be maintained without causing voltage drop. 
     Reference signal VREF is compared with signal VCCS to be compared by comparing section  61 . That is, comparing section  61  carries out comparison operatons based on three internal control signals ZICME, ZICLE, ZICSE outputted from reversing circuit  33  (FIG.  4 ). 
     Comparison section  61  has transistors which are driven by each of three internal control signals ZICME, ZICLE, ZICSE. Transistor T 1  is driven by signal VCCS outputted arising from control signal ZICSE. Transistor T 3  is driven by control signal ZECME. Transistors T 5 , T 6  are driven by control signal ZICLE. The advantages of providing transistors driven by each of these three signals lie in that the current comparison points can be varied. 
     When voltage drop occurs in VCCS to be compared, voltage of control signal D 0  lowers and electric power supply to power supply output VCCS increases. When peripheral power supply circuit VDC is used for main power supply, signal COMP becomes 3-mA current by control of control signals ZICSE, ZICME, ZICLE. In addition, when peripheral power supply circuit VDC is used for auxiliary power supply, signal COMP becomes 1.4-mA current. That is, when it is used as auxiliary power supply, current consumption can be reduced. 
     When peripheral power supply circuit VDC is used for auxiliary power supply, drop of control signal D 0  to voltage drop of VCCS to be compared delays from the case when it is used for main power supply. This is assumed to cause the response of power supply. However, because the response of power supply can be improved by reducing the number of power supply driving transistors driven by power supply driving circuit  54  (FIG. 6) as described above, in other words, by reducing the size of power driving transistor, the response of power supply will not be degrade, as a result. 
     Next description will be made on the control of bank power supply circuit VPP. Referring now again to FIG. 3, four bank power supply circuits VPP (w) through (z) provided in DRAM chip apply step-up voltage VPP which boosted power supply voltage supplied from outside to selected word lines (not illustrated). The reason why the step-up voltage is applied is to prevent loss of threshold voltage of access transistors contained in each memory cell of DRAM and to write the data of line voltage level successfully in a capacitor. The step-up voltage can be obtained by charge-pump operations utilizing the known charge-pump circuit (not illustrated) provided in bank power supply circuit VPP. 
     Constantly driving all the bank power supply circuits VPP (w) through (z) can simplify the control, but on the other hand, power consumption increases. Therefore, driving the required bank power supply circuit VPP only can suppress power consumption. The selective drive of bank power supply circuit VPP can be achieved by utilizing control signal RASD &lt;3:0&gt;. 
     For example, when memory bank D is activated, bank power supply circuit VPP (w) is activated by control signal RASD &lt;3&gt;. In such event, bank power supply circuits VPP (x) through (z) are not activated. In other example, when memory bank B is activated, bank power supply circuits VPP (x) and VPP (y) are activated. In such event, bank power supply circuits VPP (w) and VPP (z) are not activated. This applies when other memory banks A, D are activated. 
     Referring now again to FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, electric power supplied by bank power supply circuit VPP is varied in accord with the position of bank power supply circuit VPP. The power supply capabilities of bank power supply circuits VPP (w), (z) are greater than the power supply capabilities of bank power supply circuit VPP (x), (y). Specifically, they are about double. The reason is that bank power supply circuits VPP (w), (z) must drive two adjacent memory bank arrays D 1 , D 2  and memory bank arrays A, A 2 , respectively. Bank power supply circuits VPP (x), (y) may drive either memory bank array B 2  or B 1 . Or they may drive either memory bank array C 2  or C 1 . It is possible to equalize influences of signal change operation (for example, heat generation) by supplying electric power from bank power supply circuits VPP at opposite angles of central region, and the memory can be stably operated. 
     The magnitude of the electric power supplied by bank power supply circuit VPP can be adjusted by the number of pump units of charge pump circuit (not illustrated) in bank power supply circuit VPP. For example, to bank power supply circuits VPP (w), (z) that require large step-up voltage, four pump units are installed, while to bank power supply circuits VPP (x), (y), two pump units are installed. The pump unit operates in accordance with control signal RASD &lt;3:0&gt; that determines whether bank power supply circuit VPP is activated or not. 
     The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.