Patent Description:
Embodiments of the present application relate to a bit line sense circuit and a memory comprising the bit line sense circuit.

A Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) includes storage units (storage bits) arranged in an array. Each storage unit includes a transistor and a capacitor. The transistor acts as a switch between the capacitor and a bit line, and can be activated by a word line coupled to a control end of the transistor. The storage unit can store binary information as a charge on the capacitor. A sense amplifier is connected to the storage unit, and a weak signal stored in the storage unit can be amplified, so that data stored in the storage unit can be correctly written or read.

However, in the manufacturing process of storage arrays of a memory, capacitors of adjacent storage units are susceptible to defects simultaneously, referred to as a <NUM> bits error, due to process reasons.

The DRAM may correct data errors in the memory through an Error Correcting Code (ECC), but the ECC can only correct a <NUM> bit error, and the <NUM> bits error exceeds the error correcting capability of the ECC.

Related technologies can be found in patent documents <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT>.

The present invention is defined in appended independent bit line sense circuit claim <NUM> to which reference should be made.

The present application is further described in detail below in combination with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It can be understood that the specific embodiments described here are merely to explain the present application and not intended to limit the present application. In addition, it should further be noted that for the purpose of facilitating the description, not all of structures related to the present application are illustrated only in the accompanying drawings.

The following clearly and completely describes the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present application without creative efforts fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

In the embodiments of the present application, a bit line sense circuit includes a storage unit array, which includes storage units arranged along a word line direction and a bit line direction. As for the storage units connected to the same word line, every multiple adjacent storage units form a storage unit group. For example, eight adjacent storage units form one storage unit group. Word lines and bit lines are disposed in a crossed mode. Each word line is connected to a corresponding row of storage units to switch on the row of storage units. Each bit line is connected to a corresponding column of storage units to write or read data.

<FIG> is a schematic circuit diagram of a storage array of a bit line sense circuit provided by an embodiment of the present application. As illustrated in <FIG>, the bit line sense circuit includes a storage unit array arranged along a word line direction X and a bit line direction Y. The storage unit array includes a plurality of storage units <NUM>. The bit line sense circuit further includes a plurality of word lines <NUM> and a plurality of bit lines <NUM>. The word lines <NUM> extend along the word line direction X. Each word line <NUM> corresponds to storage units <NUM> and is used for switching on the corresponding storage units <NUM>. The bit lines <NUM> extend along the bit line direction Y. Each bit line <NUM> is connected to the corresponding storage units <NUM> to write data to or read data from the corresponding storage units <NUM>. The plurality of word lines <NUM> and the plurality of bit lines <NUM> described above intersect to define a region of each storage unit <NUM>. Exemplarily, as illustrated in <FIG>, the bit line sense circuit in <FIG> shows six word lines WL0-WL5 sequentially arranged along the bit line direction Y and sixteen bit lines BL0-BL15 sequentially arranged along the word line direction X, which intersect to define respective storage units <NUM>. In the present embodiment, the storage units <NUM> connected to the same word line <NUM> are defined, every n adjacent storage units <NUM> form one storage unit group, and n is an integer greater than <NUM>. For example, when data storage is achieved by the bit line sense circuit, data storage is often performed by every eight storage units. Therefore, the present embodiment defines every eight adjacent storage units <NUM> to form one storage unit group, thereby facilitating detection and amplification processing. That is, every eight adjacent storage units <NUM> in each row of storage units <NUM> form one storage unit group. It should be noted that each row of storage units refers to the storage units <NUM> sequentially arranged along an extension direction of the word line direction X, and respective storage units are arranged in a straight line or in a curve.

<FIG> is a schematic structure diagram of a storage array of a bit line sense circuit provided by an embodiment of the present application. Each storage unit is simplified in <FIG> in the form of circuit symbols, and is illustrated in <FIG> in the form of a circuit layout. In the actual manufacturing process of the bit line sense circuit, as illustrated in the schematic structural diagram of <FIG>, it can be seen that two adjacent storage units illustrated in <FIG> are not actually connected to the same word line or the same bit line. In <FIG>, two adjacent storage units in a Y direction are actually connected to two adjacent bit lines. For example, a storage unit in an upper portion of a region A is connected to a bit line BL1, while the adjacent storage unit in the Y direction is connected to a bit line BL2. For example, a storage unit B1 in a region B is connected to the bit line BL2, a storage unit B2 in the region B is connected to a bit line BL3, and the storage unit B1 and the storage unit B2 are adjacent storage units in the Y direction. As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, <FIG> is a enlarged partial schematic diagram of a region A in <FIG>. <FIG> is a enlarged partial schematic diagram of a region A in <FIG>. Two adjacent storage units <NUM> connected to the same bit line BL1 are illustrated in <FIG>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, in some embodiments of the present application, each storage unit <NUM> includes a second transistor T2 and a capacitor C1. The second transistor T2 includes a control end, a first end, and a second end. The control end of the second transistor T2 is connected with a corresponding word line <NUM>, i.e. WL1, for being turned on or off under the control of a level on the word line <NUM>. The first end of the second transistor T2 is connected to a corresponding bit line <NUM>. The second end of the second transistor T2 is connected to a capacitor C1 of the storage unit <NUM> in which the second transistor T2 is located, for connecting the bit line <NUM> to the capacitor C1 in an on state, so that data on the bit line <NUM> is written into the capacitor C1, or data stored in the capacitor C1 is read and transferred to the bit line <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the storage unit <NUM> is connected to the bit line BL1 through a Bit Line Contact (BLC).

As illustrated in <FIG>, the embodiments of the present application provide a bit line sense circuit, which includes L storage unit groups <NUM> and M sense amplifier groups <NUM>. Each of the storage unit groups <NUM> includes H bit lines <NUM>. Both L and H are positive integers greater than or equal to <NUM>. The M sense amplifier groups <NUM> are configured to write or read storage data to or from the bit lines in the storage unit groups <NUM>. The M sense amplifier groups <NUM> are electrically connected to the L storage unit groups <NUM>. M is an integer multiple of L or L is an integer multiple of M. Two adjacent bit lines of the H bit lines are connected to the different sense amplifier groups <NUM>.

In some embodiments of the present application, H is an integer multiple of <NUM> and M is equal to L. In one embodiment, for example, H is equal to <NUM>, and both M and L are equal to <NUM>.

In some embodiments of the present application, each of the sense amplifier groups <NUM> includes a first sense amplifier 14a and a second sense amplifier 14b. The L storage unit groups <NUM> are arranged side by side along a word line <NUM> direction, and the word lines <NUM> are perpendicular to the bit lines <NUM>. The first sense amplifier 14a is located on one side of the storage unit groups <NUM>, and the second sense amplifier 14b is located on an opposite side of the storage unit groups <NUM>.

<FIG> is a schematic structure diagram of a bit line sense circuit provided by an embodiment of the present application. As illustrated in <FIG>, the bit line sense circuit further includes a plurality of sense amplifier groups <NUM>. Each sense amplifier group <NUM> corresponds to a plurality of bit lines <NUM>, and the sense amplifier group14 is connected to the corresponding plurality of bit lines <NUM>, thereby amplifying data stored in the storage unit <NUM> to which the bit lines <NUM> are connected. For example, in <FIG>, a sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n> corresponds to eight bit lines <NUM> (BL2, BL4, BL6, BL8, BL9, BL11, BL13, and BL15), and is connected to the corresponding eight bit lines <NUM>. A sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n-<NUM>> corresponds to other eight bit lines <NUM> (BL1, BL3, BL5, BL7, BL10, BL12, BL14, and BL16), and is connected to the corresponding other eight bit lines <NUM>. Among the eight bit lines <NUM> (BL9-BL16) corresponding to the storage unit group <NUM>, every two adjacent bit lines <NUM> are connected to different sense amplifier groups <NUM>. As illustrated in <FIG>, BL10, BL12, BL14, and BL16 corresponding to the storage unit group <NUM> are connected to the sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n-<NUM>>, and BL9, BL11, BL13, and BL15 are connected to the sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n>. With this arrangement, when two adjacent bits of erroneous data appear in the storage unit group <NUM>, for example, when BL10 and BL11 are erroneous at the same time, the two bits of erroneous data are connected to different sense amplifier groups <NUM>. Taking DRAM as an example, when the DRAM reads data, each sense amplifier group <NUM> is used as a unit. For example, the sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n-<NUM>> reads eight bits (BL1, BL3, BL5, BL7, BL10, BL12, BL14, and BL16) at a time, and then the sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n-<NUM>> sends the output data to an ECC module or sends the output data to the ECC module after other processing circuits process the output data. The ECC has the detection and correction capability of a <NUM> bit error. Then when two adjacent bits are erroneous, because two adjacent bit lines are connected to different sense amplifier groups, the reading of <NUM> bits error can be divided into twice, and only a <NUM> bit error is read at a time. Therefore, every <NUM> bit error can be detected and corrected, so that the error of two adjacent bits is detected and corrected.

<FIG> is a schematic structure diagram of a comparative embodiment of a bit line sense circuit provided by an embodiment of the present application. In the comparative embodiment, BL9, BL10, BL11, BL12, BL13, BL14, BL15, and BL16 corresponding to a storage unit group <NUM>' are all connected to the sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n>. When two adjacent bits are erroneous, for example, when BL10 and BL11 are erroneous at the same time, the two bits of erroneous data are connected to the sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n>. Taking DRAM as an example, when the DRAM reads data, each sense amplifier group <NUM> is used as a unit. For example, the sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n> reads eight bits (BL9, BL10, BL11, BL12, BL13, BL14, BL15, and BL16) at a time, and then the sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n> sends the output data to an ECC module or sends the output data to the ECC module after other processing circuits process the output data. The ECC has the detection and correction capability of a <NUM> bit error. Then when two adjacent bits are erroneous, the detection and correction capability of the existing ECC is exceeded, resulting in DRAM reading errors.

With continued reference to <FIG>, in some embodiments of the present application, each sense amplifier group <NUM> includes a first sense amplifier 14a and a second sense amplifier 14b. The first sense amplifier 14a is located on a first side of the storage unit array along the word line direction X. The second sense amplifier 14b is located on a second side of the storage unit array which is opposite to the first side along the word line direction X. The first sense amplifier and the second sense amplifier are both connected to P bit lines. H is a positive even multiple of P. For example, the first sense amplifier 14a in the sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n> is connected to four bit lines BL9, BL11, BL13, and BL15, and the second sense amplifier 14b in the sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n> is connected to four bit lines BL2, BL4, BL6, and BL8.

In order to prevent input ends of the sense amplifier group <NUM> connected to the bit lines <NUM> from being arranged too densely, the sense amplifier group <NUM> isdivided into two parts: a first sense amplifier 14a and a second sense amplifier 14b. The first sense amplifier 14a and the second sense amplifier 14b are respectively disposed on two opposite sides of the storage unit array along the word line direction X. The first sense amplifier 14a is disposed on the first side of the storage unit array. The second sense amplifier 14b is disposed on the second side of the storage unit array. The first sense amplifier 14a is connected to a half of the bit lines corresponding to the sense amplifier group <NUM> (Sense Amplifier<n-<NUM>>), such as BL1, BL3, BL5, and BL7. The second sense amplifier 14b is connected to the other half of the bit lines corresponding to the sense amplifier group <NUM> (Sense Amplifier<n-<NUM>>), such as BL10, BL12, BL14, and BL16. For another example, as illustrated in <FIG>, the first sense amplifier 14a in the sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n> is connected to four bit lines <NUM> BL2, BL4, BL6, and BL8, and the second sense amplifier 14b in the sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n> is connected to four bit lines <NUM> BL9, BL11, BL13, and BL15.

In some embodiments of the present application, with continued reference to <FIG>, the first sense amplifier 14a and the second sense amplifier 14b in each sense amplifier group <NUM> are arranged in a staggered manner along the word line direction X, which facilitates the connection of the first sense amplifier 14a and the second sense amplifier 14b in each sense amplifier group <NUM> to the bit lines <NUM> of different storage unit groups. Referring to <FIG>, for example, the first sense amplifier 14a in the Sense Amplifier<n> is connected to four bit lines BL9, BL11, BL13, and BL15, and the second sense amplifier 14b in the Sense Amplifier<n> is connected to four bit lines BL2, BL4, BL6, and BL8. The first sense amplifier 14a and the second sense amplifier 14b in the Sense Amplifier<n> are projected onto a word line WL0, and do not overlap, that is, are staggered along the word line direction X. The first sense amplifier 14a and the second sense amplifier 14b in the Sense Amplifier <n-<NUM>> are projected onto the word line WL0, and do not overlap, that is, are staggered along the word line direction X.

In some embodiments of the present application, with continued reference to <FIG>, the number of the sense amplifier groups <NUM> is the same as the number of the storage unit groups in each row. The first sense amplifier 14a in each sense amplifier group <NUM> is connected to odd or even columns of bit lines in the corresponding storage unit group, and the second sense amplifier 14b in each sense amplifier group <NUM> is connected to even or odd columns of bit lines in the corresponding storage unit group in each row. In the same row of storage unit groups, the storage unit group corresponding to the first sense amplifier 14a in each sense amplifier group <NUM> is different from the storage unit group corresponding to the second sense amplifier 14b in the sense amplifier group <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, in each row of storage units, one storage unit group <NUM> corresponds to bit lines BL1-BL8, and another storage unit group <NUM> corresponds to bit lines BL9-BL16. The number of the sense amplifier groups <NUM> is the same as the number of the storage unit groups in each row. The first sense amplifier 14a in the sense amplifier group <NUM> is connected to an odd column of bit lines in the corresponding storage unit group, and the second sense amplifier 14b is connected to an even column of bit lines in the corresponding storage unit group. Alternatively, the first sense amplifier 14a in the sense amplifier group <NUM> is connected to an even column of bit lines in the corresponding storage unit group, and the second sense amplifier 14b is connected to an odd column of bit lines in the corresponding storage unit group. It should be noted that the storage unit group connected to the first sense amplifier 14a in each sense amplifier group <NUM> is different from the storage unit group connected to the second sense amplifier 14b, so that adjacent <NUM> bit errors are transmitted to different sense amplifier groups. For example, the first sense amplifier 14a in the Sense Amplifier<n> is connected to a storage unit group <NUM>, and the second sense amplifier 14b in the Sense Amplifier<n> is connected to a storage unit group <NUM>. Exemplarily, the first sense amplifier 14a in the sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n-<NUM>> is connected to bit lines BL2, BL4, BL6, and BL8 corresponding to a storage unit group, and the second sense amplifier 14b in the sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n-<NUM>> is connected to bit lines BL9, BL11, BL13, and BL15 corresponding to another storage unit group.

Referring to <FIG> is a schematic structure diagram of another bit line sense circuit provided by an embodiment of the present application. In some embodiments of the present application, the first sense amplifiers 14a are arranged on the first side of the storage unit array along the word line direction X, and are sequentially arranged. For example, a Sense Amplifier<n-<NUM>>, a Sense Amplifier<n-<NUM>>, a Sense Amplifier<n>, and a Sense Amplifier<n+<NUM>> are sequentially arranged. The second sense amplifiers 14b are arranged on the second side opposite to the first side, and are sequentially arranged. For example, a Sense Amplifier<n-<NUM>>, a Sense Amplifier<n>, a Sense Amplifier<n+<NUM>>, and a Sense Amplifier<n+<NUM>> are sequentially disposed. The same sense amplifier group <NUM>, such as the Sense Amplifier<n>, includes a first sense amplifier and a second amplifier that are still staggered along the word line direction X.

With continued reference to <FIG>, in some embodiments of the present application, the first sense amplifier 14a in the nth sense amplifier group <NUM> is connected to odd or even columns of bit lines in the nth storage unit group along the word line direction X, and the second sense amplifier 14b in the n+ith sense amplifier group <NUM> is connected to even or odd columns of bit lines in the nth storage unit group along the word line direction X. Both n and i are integers. For example, the situation that i is <NUM> is illustrated in <FIG>. It should be noted that i can also be <NUM> or <NUM> or other integers, which is not limited herein.

With continued reference to <FIG>, the first sense amplifier 14a in the nth sense amplifier group <NUM> is connected to odd or even columns of bit lines in the nth storage unit group along the word line direction X, and the second sense amplifier 14b in the n+<NUM>th sense amplifier group <NUM> is connected to even or odd columns of bit lines in the nth storage unit group. The first sense amplifier 14a and the second sense amplifier 14b in each sense amplifier group <NUM> are arranged in a staggered manner along the word line direction X. For example, the first sense amplifier 14a in the sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n> and the second sense amplifier 14b in the sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n> do not overlap in the word line direction x, that is, are staggered.

As illustrated in <FIG> is a schematic structure diagram of another bit line sense circuit provided by an embodiment of the present application. In some embodiments of the present application, the first sense amplifier 14a in the nth sense amplifier group <NUM> is connected to odd or even columns of bit lines in the n-<NUM>th storage unit group along the word line direction. The second sense amplifier 14b in the n-<NUM>th sense amplifier group <NUM> is connected to even or odd columns of bit lines in the n-<NUM>th storage unit group along the word line direction. The second sense amplifier 14b in the nth sense amplifier group <NUM> is connected to even or odd columns of bit lines in the nth storage unit group along the word line direction X. The first sense amplifier 14a in the n-<NUM>th sense amplifier group <NUM> is connected to odd or even columns of bit lines in the nth storage unit group along the word line direction X, and n is a positive integer. For example, the first sense amplifier 14a in the Sense Amplifier<n> is connected to even columns (BL2, BL4, BL6, and BL8) of the n-<NUM>th storage unit group, and the second sense amplifier 14b in the Sense Amplifier<n-<NUM>> is connected to odd columns (BL1, BL3, BL5, and BL7) of the n-<NUM>th storage unit group. The second sense amplifier 14b in the Sense Amplifier<n> is connected to odd columns (BL9, BL11, BL13, and BL15) of the nth storage unit group, and the first sense amplifier 14a in the Sense Amplifier<n> is connected to even columns (BL10, BL12, BL14, and BL16) of the nth storage unit group.

<FIG> is a schematic structure diagram of another bit line sense circuit provided by an embodiment of the present application. In some embodiments of the present application, a plurality of storage unit arrays AA are sequentially arranged along the bit line direction Y. A first sense amplifier 14a and a second sense amplifier 14b are respectively disposed on two opposite sides of each storage unit array AA along the bit line direction Y. The first sense amplifier 14a of the tth storage unit array AA is multiplexed as the second sense amplifier 14a of the t+<NUM>th storage unit array AA along the bit line direction Y. For example, there are eight sense amplifiers in the first sense amplifier 14a in the sense amplifier group Sense Amplifier<n> in <FIG>. Four of the sense amplifiers are connected to four bit lines of the storage unit array AA above, and the other four sense amplifiers are connected to four bit lines of the storage unit array AA below. The first sense amplifier 14a in the Sense Amplifier<n> as a whole is multiplexed by the two storage unit arrays AA above and below. The first sense amplifier 14a in the t+<NUM>th storage unit array AA is multiplexed as the second sense amplifier 14b in the t+<NUM>th storage unit array AA. The t is a positive integer.

<FIG> is a schematic structure diagram of a first sense amplifier or a second sense amplifier provided by an embodiment of the present application. <FIG> is a schematic diagram of a column select cell provided by an embodiment of the present application. In some embodiments of the present application, each first sense amplifier and each second sense amplifier respectively include column selection units <NUM> and sense amplifiers <NUM>. The column selection unit <NUM> includes a control end, first ends, and second ends. The first ends of each column selection unit <NUM> are electrically connected to the corresponding sense amplifier <NUM>. The second ends of the column selection unit <NUM> are connected to another circuit, such as a second-level sense amplifier or a conversion circuit. The control end of the column selection unit <NUM> is connected to a decoding circuit. The column selection unit <NUM> includes first transistors T1. Each of the first transistors T1 includes a control end, a first end, and a second end. Taking <FIG> as an example, the column selection unit <NUM> includes four first transistors T1, and each transistor T1 is connected to the sense amplifier <NUM>. For another example, if each storage unit group includes eight storage units, the column selection unit <NUM> is provided with first ends corresponding to four bit lines of the corresponding storage unit group one by one or is connected to four input and output ends of the sense amplifier <NUM>, and the column selection unit 141is configured to control the input and output of data of the sense amplifier <NUM>.

Exemplarily, a memory is also provided. The memory includes technical features of the bit line sense circuit provided by any embodiment of the present application and has beneficial effects of the technical features with reference to <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, <FIG>, and <FIG>. Each of the storage unit groups further includes one word line. The one word line and the H bit lines further correspond to H transistors and H capacitors. The one word line controls the H transistors to be turned on or off. The H bit lines are connected to first ends of the corresponding H transistors. Second ends of the H transistors are connected to first ends of the corresponding H capacitors. Second ends of the H capacitors are connected to a fixed voltage. H is an integer of <NUM>, and both M and L are <NUM>.

Exemplarily, with continued reference to <FIG>, the memory further includes an ECC, which is connected to the sense amplifier groups and configured to detect the correctness of storage data output by the sense amplifiers and correct the erroneous storage data. According to the present embodiment, under the condition that the error correcting capability of the existing ECC is not changed, the detection and correction of a <NUM> bits error in a memory are realized, and the performance of the memory is improved.

It should be noted that the above descriptions are only preferred embodiments of the present application and applied technical principles. Those skilled in the art will understand that the present application is not limited to the specific embodiments described here, and those skilled in the art can make various obvious changes, readjustments and substitutions within the scope of the appended claims. Therefore, although the present application has been described in more detail through the above embodiments, the present application is not limited to the above embodiments, and can also include more other equivalent embodiments within the scope of the appended claims. The scope of the present application is determined by the scope of the appended claims.

Claim 1:
A bit line sense circuit, wherein the bit line sense circuit comprises:
L storage unit groups (<NUM>), each storage unit group (<NUM>) comprising H bit lines (<NUM>), and L and H being positive integers greater than or equal to <NUM>; and
M sense amplifier groups (<NUM>), configured to write storage data to or read storage data from the bit lines (<NUM>) in the storage unit groups (<NUM>), the M sense amplifier groups (<NUM>) being electrically connected to the L storage unit groups (<NUM>), and sense amplifiers of different sense amplifier groups being configured not to read the storage data simultaneously, and M being an integer multiple of L or L being an integer multiple of M,
wherein two adjacent bit lines of the H bit lines (<NUM>) are connected to different sense amplifier groups (<NUM>).