Patent Document

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)  
       [0001]     This is a continuation of, and a claim of priority is made to, U.S. non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 11/315,130, filed Dec. 23, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to semiconductor memory devices, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a layout method of a semiconductor memory device.  
         [0004]     A claim of priority is made to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2005-0053550, filed on Jun. 21, 2005, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.  
         [0005]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0006]     A phase-change random access memory (PRAM), also known as an Ovonic Unified Memory (OUM), includes a phase-change material such as a chalcogenide alloy which is responsive to heat so as to be stably transformed between crystalline and amorphous states. Such a PRAM is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,487,113 and 6,480,438.  
         [0007]     The phase-change material of the PRAM exhibits a relatively low resistance in its crystalline state, and a relatively high resistance in its amorphous state. In conventional nomenclature, the low-resistance crystalline state is referred to a ‘set’ state and is designated logic “0”, while the high-resistance amorphous state is referred to as a ‘reset’ state and is designated logic “1”.  
         [0008]     The terms “crystalline” and “amorphous” are relative terms in the context of phase-change materials. That is, when a phase-change memory cell is said to be in its crystalline state, one skilled in the art will understand that the phase-change material of the cell has a more well-ordered crystalline structure when compared to its amorphous state. A phase-change memory cell in its crystalline state need not be fully crystalline, and a phase-change memory cell in its amorphous state need not be fully amorphous.  
         [0009]     Generally, the phase-change material of a PRAM is reset to an amorphous state by heating the material in excess of its melting point temperature for a relatively short period of time. On the other hand, the phase-change material is set to a crystalline state by heating the material below its melting point temperature for a longer period of time.  
         [0010]     The speed and stability of the phase-change characteristics of the phase-change material are critical to the performance characteristics of the PRAM. As suggested above, chalcogenide alloys have been found to have suitable phase-change characteristics, and in particular, a compound including germanium (Ge), antimony (Sb) and tellurium (Te) (e.g., Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5  or GST) exhibits a stable and high speed transformation between amorphous and crystalline states.  
         [0011]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  illustrate a memory cell  10  in a ‘set’ state and in a ‘reset’ state, respectively, and  FIG. 2  is an equivalent circuit diagram of the memory cell  10  of  FIGS. 1A and 1B . As shown, the memory cell  10  includes a phase-change element  11  and an access transistor  20  connected in series between a bit line BL and a reference potential (e.g., ground). Also, as shown, a gate of the access transistor  20  is connected to a word line.  
         [0012]     It should be noted that the structure of the phase-change element  11  is presented as an example only, and that other structures may be possible. Similarly, the connections illustrated in  FIGS. 1A, 1B  and  2  are presented as examples only, and other configurations are possible. For example, the memory cell  10  may include the phase-change element  11  and a diode (not shown) connected in series between the bit line BL and the word line WL.  
         [0013]     In each of  FIGS. 1A and 1B , the phase-change element  11  includes a top electrode  12  formed on a phase-change material  14 . In this example, the top electrode  12  is electrically connected to a bit line BL of a PRAM memory array (not shown). A conductive bottom electrode contact (BEC)  16  is formed between the phase-change material  14  and a conductive bottom electrode  18 . The access transistor  20  is electrically connected between the bottom electrode  18  and the reference potential, and the gate of the access transistor  20  is electrically connected to a word line WL of the PRAM cell array (not shown).  
         [0014]     In  FIG. 1A , the phase-change material  14  is illustrated as being in its crystalline state. As mentioned previously, this means that the memory cell  10  is in a low-resistance ‘set’ state or logic 0 state. In  FIG. 1B , a portion of the phase-change material  14  is illustrated as being amorphous. Again, this means that the memory cell  10  is in a high-resistance ‘reset’ state or logic 1 state.  
         [0015]     The set and reset states of the memory cell  10  of  FIGS. 1A and 1B  are establish by controlling the magnitude and duration of current flow through the BEC  16 . That is, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the memory cell  10  is activated (or accessed) by applying a LOW level voltage to the word line WL. When activated, the phase-change element  11  is programmed according to the voltage of the bit line BL. More specifically, the bit line BL voltage is controlled to establish a programming current which causes the BEC  16  to act as a resistive heater which selectively programs the phase-change material  14  in its ‘set’ and ‘reset’ states.  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a view showing the core structure layout of a conventional phase change memory device  300 .  
         [0017]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , the phase change memory  300  includes a plurality of memory cell blocks CBLK, a plurality of word line driving blocks WDU, a plurality of bit line selection blocks YPASS, and a plurality of discharge blocks YDCU. Each of the word line driving blocks WDU includes word line driving circuits (not shown) for driving word lines (not shown) of the memory cell blocks CBLK. Each of the bit line selection blocks YPASS includes bit line selection circuits YSEL&lt;1-n&gt; which are responsive to selection signals Y&lt;1-n&gt; to select respective bit lines BL&lt;1-n&gt; of the memory cell blocks CBLK. Likewise, each of the discharge blocks YDCU includes discharge circuits BLD&lt;1-n&gt; which are responsive to inverted selection signals Y&lt;1-n&gt;b to discharge the respective bit lines BL&lt;1-n&gt;.  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  also illustrates block areas which may contain, for example, a column decoder YDEC, a sense amplification circuit SA, and a write driver WD.  
         [0019]     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the bit line selection circuits YSEL&lt;1-n&gt; and the discharge circuits BLD&lt;1-n&gt; are implemented by MOS transistors. The MOS transistors of the bit line selection circuits YSEL&lt;1-n&gt; are inserted in the respective bit lines BL&lt;1-n&gt;, while the MOS transistors of the discharge circuits BLD&lt;1-n&gt; are connected between the respective bit lines BL&lt;1-n&gt; and a reference potential VSS e.g., ground. As such, a pair of MOS transistors(a bit line selection transistor and a discharge transistor) is connected to each of the bit line BL&lt;1-n&gt; adjacent the memory block CBLK containing the bit lines BL&lt;1-n&gt;. It is difficult (and sometimes impossible) from a layout perspective to place these pair of MOS transistors at the end of each bit line BL, particularly as the bit lines BL&lt;1-n&gt; are brought closer together to increase memory density.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0020]     According to an aspect of the present invention, a layout method of a semiconductor memory device is provided. The layout method includes locating a plurality of first bit line selection circuits at a first side of a variable resistive memory cell block, and locating a plurality of second bit line selection circuits at a second side of the variable resistive memory cell block opposite the first side. The method further includes connecting the first bit line selection circuits with respective odd-numbered local bit lines of the variable resistive memory cell block, and connecting the second bit line selection circuits with respective even-numbered local bit lines of the variable resistive memory cell block. The method still further includes selectively connecting respective odd-numbered local bit lines to a global bit line using the first bit line selection circuits, and selectively connecting respective even-numbered local bit lines to the global bit line using the second bit line selection circuits.  
         [0021]     According to another aspect of the present invention, a layout method of a semiconductor memory device is provided. The layout method includes locating a first bit line selection circuit at a first side of a variable resistive memory cell block, and locating a second bit line selection circuit at a second side of the variable resistive memory cell block opposite the first side, and locating a first discharge circuit at a first side of the variable resistive memory cell block, and locating a second discharge circuit at a second side of the variable resistive memory cell block opposite the first side. The first bit line selection circuit selectively connects one of the local bit lines to a global bit line, and the second bit line selection circuit selectively connects another of local bit lines to the global bit line. The first discharge circuit selectively discharges said one of the local bit lines, and the second discharge circuit selectively discharges said other of the local bit lines.  
         [0022]     According to still another aspect of the present invention, a layout method of a semiconductor memory device is provided. The layout method includes selectively connecting a first set of local bit lines, respectively, to a global bit line adjacent a first side of a variable resistive memory cell block, and selectively connecting a second set of local bit lines, respectively, to the global bit line adjacent a second side of the variable resistive memory cell block, where the first side is opposite the second side. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0023]     The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the detailed description that follows, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0024]      FIGS. 1A and 1B  are schematic views of a phase change memory cell r in a crystalline state and an amorphous state, respectively;  
         [0025]      FIG. 2  is an equivalent circuit diagram of the phase change memory cell shown in  FIGS. 1A and 1B ;  
         [0026]      FIG. 3  is a view showing the core structure layout of a conventional phase change memory device;  
         [0027]      FIG. 4  is a view showing the core structure layout of a phase change memory device according to an embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0028]      FIG. 5  is a view showing the core structure layout of a phase change memory device according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0029]     The present invention will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements, and thus their descriptions will not be repeated.  
         [0030]      FIG. 4  is a view showing the core structure layout of a phase change memory device  400  according to an embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0031]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the phase change memory device  400  of this embodiment includes a plurality of memory cell blocks CBLK, a plurality of word line driving blocks WDU, a plurality of bit line selection blocks YPASS, and a plurality of discharge blocks YDCU. Also illustrated in  FIG. 4  are block areas which may contain, for example, a column decoder YDEC, a sense amplification circuit SA, and a write driver WD.  
         [0032]     Each of the memory cell blocks CBLK includes the phase change memory cells such as those depicted, for example, in previously discussed  FIGS. 1A, 1B  and  2 . A phase change material of the cells may, for example, be composed of germanium (Ge), antimony (Sb), and tellurium (Te).  
         [0033]     The word line driving blocks WDU each contains a plurality of word line drivers (not shown) which function in a well known manner to drive respective word lines (not shown) of an adjacent memory cell block CBLK. It should be noted that the word line driving blocks WDU can be placed at locations other than those illustrated in  FIG. 4 , and accordingly, the present embodiment is not limited in this respect. Likewise, locations of the column decoder YDEC, a sense amplification circuit SA, and a write driver WD, are not limited to those shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0034]     For convenience of explanation and to simplify the description, this embodiment of the invention is described in further detail with respect to the first four (4) bit lines BL 1 &lt;1-4&gt; of the memory cell block CBLK 1  of  FIG. 4 . The other memory blocks CBLK may be similarly configured.  
         [0035]     The bit line selection block YPASS adjacent the memory cell block CBLK 1  is divided into sub-blocks YPASS 1 A and YPASS 1 B which are located opposite sides of the memory cell block CBLK 1 . The bit lines BL of the memory cell block CBLK 1  are likewise divided into two sets of bit lines BL. In example of this embodiment, the two sets of bit lines BL are the odd-numbered bit lines BL 1  and BL 3 , and the even-numbered bit lines BL 2  and BL 4 . Also, in the example of this embodiment, the sub-block YPASS 1 A is connected to odd numbered bit lines BL 1  and BL 3 , and the sub-block YPASS 1 B is connected to even numbered bit lines BL 2  and BL 4 .  
         [0036]     The sub-block YPASS 1 A includes plurality of bit line selection circuits YSEL 1  and YSEL 3 , while the sub-block YPASS 1 B includes a plurality of bit line selection circuits YSEL 2  and YSEL 4 . The bit line selection circuits YSEL 1  and YSEL 3  are responsive to selection signals Y 1  and Y 3  to connect the respective bit lines BL 1  and BL 3  to a global bit line GBL 1  at one side of the memory cell block CBLK 1 . The bit line selection circuits YSEL 2  and YSEL 4  are responsive to selection signals Y 2  and Y 4  to connect the respective bit lines BL 2  and BL 4  to the global bit line GBL 1  at the other side of the memory cell block CBLK 1 .  
         [0037]     Also, the discharge block YDCU adjacent the memory cell block CBLK 1  is divided into sub-blocks YDCU 1 A and YDCU 1 B which are located opposite sides of the memory cell block CBLK 1 . In the example of this embodiment, the sub-block YDCU 1 A is connected to odd numbered bit lines BL 1  and BL 3 , and the sub-block YDCU 1 B is connected to even numbered bit lines BL 2  and BL 4 .  
         [0038]     The sub-block YDCU 1 A includes a plurality of discharge circuits BLD 1  and BLD 3 , while the sub-block YDCU 1 B includes a plurality of discharge circuits BLD 2  and BLD 4 . The discharge circuits BLD 1  and BLD 3  are responsive to discharge control signals Y 1 b and Y 3 b to connect the respective bit lines BL 1  and BL 3  to a reference potential VSS (e.g., ground) at one side of the memory cell block CBLK 1 . The discharge circuits BLD 2  and BLD 4  are responsive to discharge control signals Y 2 b and Y 4 b to connect the respective bit line BL 2  and BL 4  to a reference potential VSS (e.g., ground) at the other side of the memory cell block CBLK 1 .  
         [0039]     In the example of this embodiment, the bit line selection circuits YSEL&lt;1-4&gt; and the discharge circuits BLD&lt;1-4&gt; are implemented by NMOS transistors as shown in  FIG. 4 . In this case, the selection signals Y&lt;1-4&gt; may be inverted relative to the discharge control signals Y&lt;1-4&gt;b. Thus, for example, when the selection signal Y 1  is HIGH, the discharge control signal Y 1 b is LOW. In this state, the bit line BL 1  is connected to the global bit line GBL 1 , and the discharge circuit BLD 1  is OFF. In contrast, when the selection signal Y 1  is LOW, the discharge control signal Y 1 b is HIGH. In this state, the bit line BL 1  is isolated from the global bit line GBL 1 , and the bit line BL 1  is discharged to VSS by the discharge circuit BLD 1 . It should be noted, however, that the invention is not limited to these particular examples, and that other configurations of the possible.  
         [0040]     As described above, the bit line selection block YPASS is divided into sub-blocks YPASS 1 A and YPASS 1 B located at opposite sides of the memory cell block CBLK 1 . Since the circuitry associated with the bit line selection block YPASS is divided in this manner, it becomes possible to decrease the pitch between the bit lines BL&lt;1-4&gt;. Likewise, according to the present embodiment, the discharge block YDCU is divided into sub-blocks YDCU 1 A and YDCU 1 B located at opposite sides of the memory cell block CBLK 1 . Again, by dividing the discharge block YDCU in this manner, it is possible to decrease the pitch between the bit lines BL&lt;1-4&gt;. Thus, according to the present embodiment, a more densely integrated memory device can be fabricated.  
         [0041]     It is further noted that, according to the present embodiment, the current flow of each adjacent pair of bit lines BL&lt;1-4&gt; is in opposite directions.  
         [0042]      FIG. 5  is a view showing a core structure layout of a phase change memory device  500  according to another embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0043]     The general layout of the cell blocks CBLK, the word line driving blocks WDU, the bit line selection blocks YPASS, the discharge blocks YDCU, the column decoder YDEC, the sense amplification circuit SA, and the write driver WD of the embodiment of  FIG. 5  is similar to that of previously discussed  FIG. 4 , and accordingly, a detailed description thereof is omitted here to avoid redundancy.  
         [0044]     Referring to  FIG. 5 , the phase change memory device  500  has the same configuration as the phase change memory device  400  shown in  FIG. 4 , except that the structures of bit line selection circuits YSEL 1  through YSEL 4  are different. Therefore, the structure of each of the bit line selection circuits YSEL 1  through YSEL 4  shown in  FIG. 5  will be described below.  
         [0045]     Also, like the embodiment of  FIG. 4 , the bit line selection block YPASS of  FIG. 5  adjacent the memory cell block CBLK 1  is divided into sub-blocks YPASS 1 A and YPASS 1 B which are located opposite sides of the memory cell block CBLK 1 . In the example of this embodiment, the sub-block YPASS 1 A is connected to odd numbered bit lines BL 1  and BL 3 , and the sub-block YPASS 1 B is connected to even numbered bit lines BL 2  and BL 4 .  
         [0046]     The sub-block YPASS 1 A includes plurality of bit line selection circuits YSEL 1  and YSEL 3 , while the sub-block YPASS 1 B includes a plurality of bit line selection circuits YSEL 2  and YSEL 4 . The bit line selection circuits YSEL 1  and YSEL 3  are responsive to control signals Y 1 b and Y 3 b to connect the respective bit lines BL 1  and BL 3  to a global bit line GBL 1  at one side of the memory cell block CBLK 1 . The bit line selection circuits YSEL 2  and YSEL 4  are responsive to selection signals Y 2 b and Y 4 b to connect the respective bit lines BL 2  and BL 4  to the global bit line GBL 1  at the other side of the memory cell block CBLK 1 .  
         [0047]     Also, the discharge block YDCU adjacent the memory cell block CBLK 1  is divided into sub-blocks YDCU 1 A and YDCU 1 B which are located opposite sides of the memory cell block CBLK 1 . In the example of this embodiment, the sub-block YDCU 1 A is connected to odd numbered bit lines BL 1  and BL 3 , and the sub-block YDCU 1 B is connected to even numbered bit lines BL 2  and BL 4 .  
         [0048]     The sub-block YDCU 1 A includes plurality of discharge circuits BLD 1  and BLD 3 , while the sub-block YDCU 1 B includes a plurality of discharge circuits BLD 2  and BLD 4 . The discharge circuits BLD 1  and BLD 3  are responsive to the control signals Y 1 b and Y 3 b to connect the respective bit lines BL 1  and BL 3  to a reference potential VSS (e.g., ground) at one side of the memory cell block CBLK 1 . The bit line selection circuits YSEL 2  and YSEL 4  are responsive to the control signals Y 2 b and Y 4 b to connect the respective bit line BL 2  and BL 4  to the global bit line GBL 1  at the other side of the memory cell block CBLK 1 .  
         [0049]     As shown in  FIG. 5 , in the example of this embodiment, the bit line selection circuits YSEL&lt;1-4&gt; are implemented by PMOS transistors, while the discharge circuits BLD&lt;1-4&gt; are implemented by NMOS transistors. Also, the gates of the PMOS transistors of the bit line selection circuits YSEL&lt;1-4&gt; are connected to the respective gates of the NMOS transistors of the discharge circuits BLD&lt;1-4&gt;. Accordingly, the same control signal can be used to control each pair of the selection circuits YSEL and discharge circuits BLD connected to the same bit line BL. For example, when the control signal Y 1 b is LOW, the bit line BL 1  is connected to the global bit line GBL 1 , and the discharge circuit BLD 1  is OFF. In contrast, when the control signal Y 1 b is HIGH, the bit line BL 1  is isolated from the global bit line GBL 1 , and the bit line BL 1  is discharged to VSS by the discharge circuit BLD 1 . It should be noted, however, that the invention is not limited to these particular examples, and that other configurations of the possible.  
         [0050]     According to the present embodiment, since the same control signal can be used to control each pair of the selection circuits YSEL and discharge circuits BLD connected to the same bit line BL, the bit line selection and discharge control scheme of the memory device is simplified.  
         [0051]     While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims.

Technology Category: 3