Patent ID: 8467251

Claim:
A sense amplifier comprising: a sense input; a precharge unit configured to provide a precharge voltage during a precharge phase; a voltage generator having an output and configured to provide a bias voltage; a cascode transistor comprising a gate terminal, a first conduction terminal configured to receive the precharge voltage, and a second terminal configured to supply the sense input with a bitline voltage lower than the precharge voltage; a first capacitor coupled between the gate terminal and the first conduction terminal, and a second capacitor coupled between the gate and second conduction terminals; and an isolating element configured to isolate the gate terminal of the cascode transistor from the output of the voltage generator during a first period of the precharge phase, and link the gate terminal to the output of the voltage generator during a second period of the precharge phase, wherein the first and second capacitors are configured to boost a control voltage on the gate terminal to a value above the bias voltage during the first period of the precharge phase.