Patent ID: 7502265

Claim:
A voltage regulator for a non-volatile memory device comprising word lines to be discharged from negative voltages, the voltage regulator comprising: a first circuit portion comprising a pair of transistors for transforming a first voltage to a second voltage at an output thereof, and at least one discharge transistor coupled between the output and a voltage reference, and comprising a body terminal; a second circuit portion comprising a pair of transistors for receiving the second voltage from the output of said first circuit portion; a third circuit portion comprising a pair of transistors for receiving a third voltage transformed by the second voltage for biasing at least one word line connected downstream to said third circuit portion; and a fourth circuit portion comprising a pair of transistors connected in series to each other with an interconnection node therebetween, the interconnection node being coupled to said body terminal of said at least one discharge transistor, said fourth circuit portion forming with said at least one discharge transistor in said first circuit portion a discharge switch for discharging the at least one word line from negative voltages.