Patent Document

FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The invention relates generally to semiconductor memory devices, and more particularly to a double data rate (DDR) synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) architecture having improved performance and size.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     There is a demand for faster, higher capacity, random access memory (RAM) devices. RAM devices, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices are typically used as the main memory in computer systems. Although the operating speed of the DRAM has improved over the years, the speed has not reached that of the processors used to access the DRAM.  
         [0003]     Synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) has been developed to provide faster operation in a synchronous manner. SDRAMs are designed to operate synchronously with the system clock. That is, input and output data of the SDRAM are synchronized to an active edge of the system clock which is driving the processor accessing the SDRAM.  
         [0004]     Double data rate (DDR) SDRAMs and second generation DDR SDRAMs, known as DDR II SDRAMs, are being developed to provide twice the operating speed of the conventional SDRAM. These devices allow data transfers on both the rising and falling edges of the system clock and thus, provide twice as much data as the conventional SDRAM.  
         [0005]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a portion of a DDR SDRAM integrated circuit  10  is shown. The SDRAM  10  includes a plurality of memory arrays  20   a ,  20   b ,  20   c ,  20   d  (collectively referred to herein as “arrays  20 ”) and peripheral circuitry  60  surrounding the arrays  20 . Each array has a span (e.g., spans  22   a ,  22   b ) and includes, as shown in  FIG. 2 , multiple memory blocks  30  separated from each other in a first direction by a plurality of sense amplifiers  52 ,  54  (also referred to as sense amplifier stripes), and from each other in a second direction by a plurality of row drivers  42 ,  44 . Accordingly each memory block  30  is bounded on two opposing sides by first and second sense amplifier stripes  52 ,  54  respectively. Further, each memory block  30  is bounded on two other opposing sides by first and second row driver stripes  42 ,  44  respectively. Gap cells  50  are located at the intersection of the row drivers  42 ,  44  and sense amplifier stripes  52 ,  54 . The gap cells  50  may contain additional circuitry required by the arrays  20 .  
         [0006]      FIG. 3  illustrates a 128 megabit portion of the SDRAM circuit  10  consisting of a throat region  60  centrally located between two 64 megabit arrays  20   a ,  20   b . The first array  20   a  contains at least one memory block  30   a  and sense amplifier circuit  52   a . Digit lines  80   a  of the first array  20   a  are organized in a vertical direction while row lines  82   a  of the first array  20   a  are organized in a horizontal direction. The second array  20   b  contains at least one memory block  30   b  and sense amplifier circuit  52   b . Digit lines  80   b  of the second array  20   b  are organized in a vertical direction while row lines  82   b  of the second array  20   b  are organized in a horizontal direction.  
         [0007]     The throat  60  contains row logic  64  and a datapath  70 . The row logic  64  contains LT drivers  62  and array drivers  66 . The LT drivers  62  are global row decoders that drive LT lines  68  connected to the row drivers of both arrays  20   a ,  20   b . As such, the LT drivers  62  are “bidirectional” (i.e., the LT driver  62  drive two different arrays  20   a ,  20   b , the first array  20   a  being driven in a first direction and the second array  20   b  being driven in a second direction). The array drivers  66  include PH (phase), EQ (equilibration), ISO (isolation), NSA (n-sense amplifier control), PSA (p-sense amplifier control) drivers required to drive lines  67  connected to the sense amplifiers  52   a ,  52   b . Thus, the row logic  64  of the throat  60  supports both arrays  20   a ,  20   b  in a bidirectional manner.  
         [0008]     The illustrated datapath  70  contains IO circuits  72  having drivers for driving four  10  pairs  74  connected to the first and second arrays  20   a ,  20   b . As such, the datapath  70  and the IO circuits  72  are bidirectional. The illustrated SDRAM  10  uses four IO pairs  74  per block  30   a ,  30   b  to obtain a 2n pre-fetch. It is desirable to increase the number of IO pairs  74  and enhance the overall performance of the DDR SDRAM  10 , while simplifying its architecture and the routing of the lines interconnecting the throat  60  and the arrays  20   a ,  20   b .  
         [0009]     Moreover, although not shown in  FIG. 3 , the throat  60  and the arrays  20   a ,  20   b  share the same power bussing. With this configuration, power spikes and other sensitivities in the peripheral circuitry (e.g., throat  60 ) can adversely affect the array  20 . Similarly, power spikes and other sensitivities in the arrays  20  can adversely affect the periphery, its IO circuitry and signal lines. Preventing noise from affecting the arrays  20  and the periphery will improve the performance of the SDRAM  10 . Accordingly, there is a need and desire for a DDR SDRAM  10  with improved power bussing for the memory arrays  20  and peripheral circuitry (such as the throat  60 ).  
       SUMMARY  
       [0010]     The present invention provides a DDR SDRAM with an increased number of IO pairs per memory block and enhanced overall performance, yet simplified architecture and signal line routing.  
         [0011]     The present invention also provides a DDR SDRAM with improved power bussing for memory arrays and peripheral circuitry contained within the SDRAM.  
         [0012]     The above and other features and advantages are achieved in various embodiments of the invention by providing a DDR SDRAM where unidirectional row logic is associated with and connected to a single memory array instead of being associated with and connected to multiple memory arrays. The unidirectional row logic is located in the outward periphery of its associated array, but is not within a throat region between two arrays. The location of the row logic allows the throat region to include more bidirectional IO circuitry and signal lines servicing two arrays, which increases the performance of the SDRAM. In addition, separate power bussing is employed for the memory arrays and IO circuitry. This prevents noise from the arrays from affecting the IO circuitry and signal lines of the throat region and vice versa. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]     The foregoing and other advantages and features of the invention will become more apparent from the detailed description of exemplary embodiments provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a portion of a DDR SDRAM integrated circuit;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating memory blocks used in the SDRAM illustrated in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0016]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating two memory arrays and a throat region contained in the DDR SDRAM illustrated in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0017]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating a portion of a DDR SDRAM constructed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention;  
         [0018]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  illustrate the relationship between a substrate assembly and three metallization layers of an integrated circuit memory device constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0019]      FIG. 6  is a block diagram of a processor system utilizing the DDR SDRAM constructed in accordance with the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0020]     In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of the specification, and in which is shown by way of illustration various embodiments whereby the invention may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the invention. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized, and that structural, logical, and electrical changes, as well as changes in the materials used, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.  
         [0021]     Now referring to the figures, where like reference numbers designate like elements,  FIG. 4  shows a 128 megabit portion of a DDR SDRAM integrated circuit  110  constructed in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention. The SDRAM  110  includes a throat region  160  centrally located between two 64 megabit arrays  120   a ,  120   b . The first array  120   a  contains at least one memory block  130   a  and sense amplifier circuit  152   a . Digit lines  180   a  of the first array  120   a  are organized in a vertical direction while row lines  182  of the first and second arrays  120   a ,  120   b  are organized in a horizontal direction. The second array  120   b  contains at least one memory block  130   b  and sense amplifier circuit  152   b . Digit lines  180   b  of the second array  120   b  are organized in a vertical direction. It should be noted that the invention is not limited to the illustrated size of the first and second arrays  120   a ,  120   b . That is, the invention could use first and second arrays  120   a ,  120   b  greater than or less than 64 megabits depending upon the desired application. Likewise, although the invention provides a DDR SDRAM having a size of at least one gigabit, the invention is not to be limited to any particular size.  
         [0022]     In the illustrated embodiment, the throat  160  contains only a datapath  170 . Unlike the SDRAM  10  of  FIG. 3 , two unidirectional row logic circuits  164   a ,  164   b  are used in the illustrated SDRAM  110 . The term “unidirectional” is used to represent the fact that the row logic circuits  164   a ,  164   b  respectively drive one array  120   a ,  120   b  in one direction relative to the circuits  164   a ,  164   b . That is, a first unidirectional row logic circuit  164   a  is connected to and associated with the first array  130   a  only and a second unidirectional row logic circuit  164   b  is connected to and associated with the second array  130   b  only. “Unidirectional” does not mean that the conductors between the row logic circuits  164   a ,  164   b  and their respective array  120   a ,  120   b  are special conductors only allowing signals to be transmitted in one direction. That is, any conductors can be used between the row logic circuits  164   a ,  164   b  and their respective array  120   a ,  120   b  even though the row logic circuits  164   a ,  164   b  are considered unidirectional.  
         [0023]     The first row logic circuit  164   a  contains LT drivers  162   a  and array drivers  166   a . The LT drivers  162   a  are global row decoders that drive LT lines  168   a  connected to the row drivers of the first array  120   a  in a unidirectional manner. The array drivers  166   a  include PH (phase), EQ (equilibration), ISO (isolation), NSA (n-sense amplifier control), PSA (p-sense amplifier control) drivers required to drive lines  167   a  connected to the sense amplifier circuitry  152   a  of the first array  120   a . Thus, the first row logic circuit  164   a  is not located within the throat  160  and supports only the first array  120   a  (i.e., unidirectional). The significance of this architecture is explained below.  
         [0024]     The second row logic circuit  164   b  contains LT drivers  162   b  and array drivers  166   b . The LT drivers  162   b  are global row decoders that drive LT lines  168   b  connected to the row drivers of the second array  120   b  in a unidirectional manner. The array drivers  166   b  include PH (phase), EQ (equilibration), ISO (isolation), NSA (n-sense amplifier control), PSA (p-sense amplifier control) drivers required to drive lines  167   b  connected to the sense amplifier circuitry  152   b  of the second array  120   b . Thus, the second row logic circuit  164   b  is not located within the throat  160  and supports only the second array  120   b  (i.e., unidirectional manner).  
         [0025]     To understand the significance of using two unidirectional row logic circuits  164   a ,  164   b  removed from the throat region  160 , a brief description of how the layers of the SDRAM  110  are organized is now provided. Referring to  FIG. 5A , which shows a portion of the IC memory device in perspective view, and to  FIG. 5B , which shows the same portion in an elevated sectional view, the integrated circuit  110  includes a substrate assembly  200  and a conductor portion  210 . The conductor portion  210  defines at least first  220 , second  230 , and third  240  layers of metalization. It should be noted that a layer of metalization includes a plurality of discrete traces  242  or conductors arranged in a pattern. Accordingly a first set of traces defines a metal- 1   220  layer, a second set of traces defines a metal- 2   230  layer, and a third set of traces defines a metal- 3   240  layer.  
         [0026]     The invention uses three layers of metal traces  242  deposited on layers of insulation  280  disposed above a substrate assembly  200 . In a particular embodiment, the present invention includes three layers of metal traces  220 ,  230 ,  240  disposed above, and substantially parallel to an upper surface  205  of a substrate assembly  200 . The substrate assembly includes doped active regions, gate stacks, polysilicon plugs and a limited number of polysilicon lines. In addition, as known in the art capacitor structures are also fabricated in the memory array above the surface  205  of the substrate and below the three layers of metalization.  
         [0027]     Each metal layer is disposed in spaced relation to the other metal layers, and to the substrate assembly  200  of the integrated circuit  110 , which contains fabricated devices. Interlayer insulating regions are defined between adjacent layers of metal, and between the metal- 1  layer  220  and the substrate assembly  200  of the integrated circuit  110 . Thus, a first interlayer region  250  is provided between metal- 1  and a surface  205  of the substrate assembly  200  of the integrated circuit  90 , a second interlayer region  260  is provided between metal- 2  and metal- 1 , and a third interlayer region  270  is provided between metal- 3  and metal- 2 . Electrically insulating material  280  is generally placed throughout the interlayer regions. As is understood in the art, one or more conventional materials may be used for this purpose.  
         [0028]     Since each row logic circuit  164   a ,  164   b  supports one 64 megabit array  120   a ,  120   b  instead of two, they are designed to be unidirectional. As such, metal- 2  and metal- 3  layers are interleaved in parallel throughout the length of the row logic circuits  164   a ,  164   b , utilizing maximum routing and power bussing efficiency; thus, increasing performance of the SDRAM  110 . This allows a redesign of the LT driver  162   a ,  162   b  using buried digit lines. The change in row logic design methodology greatly reduces the design area as compared to the prior art, and subsequently saves die area as the pattern is repeated across the length of the die.  
         [0029]     The illustrated datapath  170  contains IO circuits  172  having enough drivers to drive eight bidirectional  10  pairs  174  connected to the first and second arrays  120   a ,  120   b . The illustrated SDRAM  110  uses eight IO pairs  174  per block  130   a ,  130   b  to obtain a 4n pre-fetch. Thus, the illustrated embodiment includes four IO pairs in addition to the four  10  pairs used in the DDR SDRAM  10  illustrated in  FIG. 3 . Thus, the illustrated DDR SDRAM contains two times the number of IO pairs per block than prior SDRAMs. In a desired embodiment, the additional four IO pairs are routed across the array cores, running parallel to the LT metal- 2  lines (thus being shielded by them). The additional IO pairs are dropped into the sense amplifier circuits  152   a ,  152   b  at the array gap cells  50  (illustrated in  FIG. 2 ). Thus, in the desired embodiment, the sense amplifier cell height is unaffected by the additional IO signal lines. As such, the illustrated SDRAM  110  utilizes standard sense amplifier circuitry. This means that the SDRAM  110  has twice as many IO pairs, yet does not have increased die size in comparison to prior SDRAMs (e.g., SDRAM  10  of  FIG. 3 ).  
         [0030]     In a desired embodiment, the arrays  120   a ,  120   b  share the same power bussing. That is, the arrays  120   a ,  120   b  share a power supply bus such as an array Vcc bus and an array ground potential bus (Gnd bus). The datapath  170 , on the other hand, is connected to periphery Vcc and Gnd power bussing. The separation of the array and periphery power bussing prevents power spikes and other sensitivities that may be experienced in the SDRAM  10  illustrated in  FIG. 3 . Moreover, the separation of the row logic and datapath from a centralized throat region also simplifies the interface and hookup from peripheral areas (i.e., non-array areas) of the SDRAM  110 . This alleviates the congestion of signals and power bussing usually found at these areas. This also improves the overall performance of the SDRAM  110  in comparison to the SDRAM  10  ( FIG. 3 ).  
         [0031]      FIG. 6  illustrates an exemplary processing system  900  which may utilize a memory device  110  constructed in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. That is, the memory device  110  is a DDR SDRAM having unidirectional row logic, increased IO lines, and improved routing and power bussing as illustrated in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0032]     The processing system  900  includes one or more processors  901  coupled to a local bus  904 . A memory controller  902  and a primary bus bridge  903  are also coupled to the local bus  904 . The processing system  900  may include multiple memory controllers  902  and/or multiple primary bus bridges  903 . The memory controller  902  and the primary bus bridge  903  may be integrated as a single device  906 .  
         [0033]     The memory controller  902  is also coupled to one or more memory buses  907 . Each memory bus accepts memory components  908  which include at least one memory device  110  of the present invention. The memory components  908  may be a memory card or a memory module. Examples of memory modules include single inline memory modules (SIMMs) and dual inline memory modules (DIMMs). The memory components  908  may include one or more additional devices  909 . For example, in a SIMM or DIMM, the additional device  909  might be a configuration memory, such as a serial presence detect (SPD) memory. The memory controller  902  may also be coupled to a cache memory  905 . The cache memory  905  may be the only cache memory in the processing system. Alternatively, other devices, for example, processors  901  may also include cache memories, which may form a cache hierarchy with cache memory  905 . If the processing system  900  include peripherals or controllers which are bus masters or which support direct memory access (DMA), the memory controller  902  may implement a cache coherency protocol. If the memory controller  902  is coupled to a plurality of memory buses  907 , each memory bus  907  may be operated in parallel, or different address ranges may be mapped to different memory buses  907 .  
         [0034]     The primary bus bridge  903  is coupled to at least one peripheral bus  910 . Various devices, such as peripherals or additional bus bridges may be coupled to the peripheral bus  910 . These devices may include a storage controller  911 , a miscellaneous I/O device  914 , a secondary bus bridge  915 , a multimedia processor  918 , and a legacy device interface  920 . The primary bus bridge  903  may also coupled to one or more special purpose high speed ports  922 . In a personal computer, for example, the special purpose port might be the Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP), used to couple a high performance video card to the processing system  900 .  
         [0035]     The storage controller  911  couples one or more storage devices  913 , via a storage bus  912 , to the peripheral bus  910 . For example, the storage controller  911  may be a SCSI controller and storage devices  913  may be SCSI discs. The I/O device  914  may be any sort of peripheral. For example, the I/O device  914  may be a local area network interface, such as an Ethernet card. The secondary bus bridge may be used to interface additional devices via another bus to the processing system. For example, the secondary bus bridge may be a universal serial port (USB) controller used to couple USB devices  917  to the processing system  900 . The multimedia processor  918  may be a sound card, a video capture card, or any other type of media interface, which may also be coupled to one additional devices such as speakers  919 . The legacy device interface  920  is used to couple legacy devices, for example, older styled keyboards and mice, to the processing system  900 .  
         [0036]     The processing system  900  illustrated in  FIG. 6  is only an exemplary processing system with which the invention may be used. While  FIG. 6  illustrates a processing architecture especially suitable for a general purpose computer, such as a personal computer or a workstation, it should be recognized that well known modifications can be made to configure the processing system  900  to become more suitable for use in a variety of applications. For example, many electronic devices which require processing may be implemented using a simpler architecture which relies on a CPU  901  coupled to memory components  908  and/or memory devices  110 . These electronic devices may include, but are not limited to audio/video processors and recorders, gaming consoles, digital television sets, wired or wireless telephones, navigation devices (including system based on the global positioning system (GPS) and/or inertial navigation), and digital cameras and/or recorders. The modifications may include, for example, elimination of unnecessary components, addition of specialized devices or circuits, and/or integration of a plurality of devices.  
         [0037]     The processes and devices described above illustrate exemplary methods and typical devices of many that could be used and produced. The above description and drawings illustrate embodiments, which achieve the objects, features, and advantages of the present invention. However, it is not intended that the present invention be strictly limited to the above-described and illustrated embodiments. Any modification, though presently unforeseeable, of the present invention that comes within the spirit and scope of the following claims should be considered part of the present invention.

Technology Category: g