Patent ID: 8867292

Claim:
A semiconductor device comprising: a data memory cell for storing data; a reference data memory cell for storing reference data to be compared with the data; an inverted data memory cell for storing inverted data of the reference data; a sense amplifier unit; and a data output unit, wherein said sense amplifier unit is configured to perform a first retrieving process, in which the sense amplifier unit differentially amplifies the data stored in the data memory cell and the reference data stored in the reference data memory cell, and adjusts an output thereof when a voltage difference between the data and the reference data becomes a predetermined retrievable voltage difference, said sense amplifier unit is configured to perform a second retrieving process, in which the sense amplifier unit differentially amplifies the data stored in the data memory cell and the inverted data stored in the inverted data memory cell, and adjusts an output thereof when a voltage difference between the data and the inverted data becomes the predetermined retrievable voltage difference, and said data output unit is configured to determine and output the data stored in the data memory cell according to a result of the first retrieving process and a result of the second retrieving process performed with the sense amplifier unit.