115 results about "Spare cell" patented technology

A synchronous DRAM and method are provided in which main cells and spare cells are accessed by an external address during automatic refresh of a test mode. In the synchronous DRAM, a mode register setting circuit receives an external signal in response to a plurality of control signals to generate a mode register setting signal, during an automatic refresh operation in a test mode. An address selector selects and outputs an external address to the memory cell array, in response to the activation of the mode register set signal, during the automatic refresh operation in the test mode. The address selector selects and outputs an internal address to the memory cell array, in response to the deactivation of the mode register set signal, during an automatic refresh operation in a normal mode. Therefore, the main cells and the spare cells in the memory cell array are sequentially accessed and refreshed by the external address during the automatic refresh operation in the test mode.</PTEXT>

A data processing system containing a monolithic network of cells with sufficient redundancy provided through direct logical replacement of defective cells by spare cells to allow a large monolithic array of cells without uncorrectable defects to be organized, where the cells have a variety of useful properties. The data processing system according to the present invention overcomes the chip-size limit and off-chip connection bottlenecks of chip-based architectures, the von Neumann bottleneck of uniprocessor architectures, the memory and I/O bottlenecks of parallel processing architectures, and the input bandwidth bottleneck of high-resolution displays, and supports integration of up to an entire massively parallel data processing system into a single monolithic entity.

A semiconductor memory device includes a memory collar, a repair data analyzer, a BIST block, and a system logic. The memory collar includes a memory cell and a spare cell and have a redundancy function of replacing fail memory cell with the spare cell if fail memory cell exists. The repair data analyzer determines whether or not memory cell included in the memory collar is defective, and generates fail address corresponding to the memory cell determined as being defective. The BIST block operates in synchrony with a first clock signal inputted to a first clock signal terminal in a test operation mode, and controls the operation of the memory collar. The system logic operates in synchrony with a second clock signal inputted to a second clock signal terminal in the test operation mode.

An engineering change order (ECO) modifying an IC having spare cell instances is implemented by converting active cell instances implementing portions of the IC to be deleted into additional spare cell instances, by creating a technology independent behavioral model of portions of the IC to be added, by selecting spare cell instances to implement the behavior model, and by routing nets to the selected spare cell instances in a way that minimizes a number of metal layers of the IC that are modified.

An integrated circuit includes a set of cells for operation in a functional mode and in a scan testing mode, and a spare cell. The cells are connected in a scan chain with scan data inputs connected to the outputs of preceding cells in the scan chain and respond to assertion of a scan enable signal. A clock gating element applies a functional clock signal to clock inputs of the cells in response to a gating enable signal in functional mode and a test clock signal in response to a test mode signal in scan testing mode. A functional data input of the spare cell latches the gating enable signal during the scan testing mode in response to de-assertion of the scan enable signal. The output of the spare cell is connected to the scan data input of one of the cells in response to the scan enable signal.

A method for placing spare cells into an auto-place-route (APR) block of an integrated circuit is disclosed. The list of functional cells to be included in the block is determined along with the netlist. The sum of the areas of the functional cells and the desired spare cell area is used as the area of the block boundary. The boundary is provided as input to an auto-placement tool along with the netlist and the list of functional cells. The list of functional cells specifically does not include the spare cells so that the tool does not place spare cells in the boundary. Consequently, the spare cell area may be utilized as wiggle-room by the tool to efficiently place the functional cells. The tool produces a placement of the functional cells that includes white space in the boundary. Spare cells are then placed into the white space.

As an improvement to existing matrix-like power/communications systems, a decentralized array of power and communications components defining a self-configuring modular electrical system which is comprised of components that are completely scalable, easily replaceable, intelligent and combinable in a series, parallel, bypassed state or even capable of elegantly switching in a spare cell(s) to replace a dead cell while interfacing with common battery power chemistry, an external power supply input, a standardized bi-directional data communication input and is combinable and arrangeable into practically any mechanical footprint whereby energy density and communications capability is maximized along with simplicity in accordance with weight and balance considerations and integrated as an autonomous system at the lowest possible cost while being survivable in the harshest of environments including physical shock, vibration, vacuum, radiation, thermal, and electromagnetic interference and providing a communications interface for external control or monitoring via human or other control system input while simultaneously being capable of fully and simply reconfiguring itself if an internal battery cell failure occurs within the system, allowing for instant stabilization to maintain the required uninterrupted power output while providing uninterrupted communications through the system during the upset event while being instantly reconfigurable from series to parallel or vice versa ordering, and being capable of reconfiguring itself autonomously into an arrangement of series/parallel states within its architecture for charge/discharge while enabling cell balancing and continual monitoring all individual cell health status parameters, and only using two wires for all component interconnection.

A method of placement and routing of a semiconductor device, includes steps (a) to (c). The step (a) is a procedure of executing placement of functional blocks and executing routing of interconnections in a placement and routing area of a semiconductor device based on circuit diagram data, functional block data and design rule data. The step (b) is a procedure of executing placement of spare cells in first areas of the placement and routing area, disregarding the routing result, wherein the functional blocks are not placed in the first areas, the spare cells are spare functional blocks. The step (c) is a procedure of removing first spare cells of the spare cells from the first areas, wherein the first spare cells are in violation of a design rule with regard to a relation to the interconnections, the design rule is described in the design rule data.

A cell based design layout of an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) having a function has reduceddecreased power leakage because functionally unconnected additional cells or spare cells of the integrated design layout are unconnected to the power supplies Vdd and Vss.

A novel multi cell stack architecture has specific features allowing deployment of simple electrical instrumentation of data collection/monitoring of crucial hydraulic, electrical and electrochemical quantities, on the basis of which the operator or electronic controller is able to gather/process critical information of such a depth and enhanced reliability, for immediately identifying any cell in “state of sufferance” and eventually to exclude it from the system and possibly substitute it with a spare cell. A method of monitoring/controlling the operation of an all-vanadium redox flow battery system is also disclosed.

A method of operating a nonvolatile memory device including a memory cell array having first and second main cells for storing external input data, first spare cells for storing data for error correction code (ECC) processing on the data stored in the first and second main cells and second spare cells for storing data for ECC processing on the data stored in the first and second main cells which involves reading the data stored in the first spare cells, reading the data stored in the second main cells and the data stored in the second spare cells, and performing the ECC processing on the data read from the second main cells using the data read from the first spare cells and the data read from the second spare cells.

A charger for handheld units is also an automatic backup unit for data stored in the handheld unit. The communication with the handheld unit is performed through a predefined object transfer protocol. By using an object transfer protocol, it is up to the handheld unit how to interact with the charger/backup unit when the communication has been initiated. Previous versions of the data may be stored and retrieved. It is possible to access the stored data and control the settings of the charger/backup unit from a handheld or a computer.

A method of implementing timing ECO in a circuit includes the steps of performing a static timing analysis on the circuit so as to determine at least one timing violating path of the circuit, decomposing the timing violating path into at least one violating path segment, determining a smooth curve from each timing violating path and determining a plurality of reference points along the smooth curve, computing a fixability parameter of each gate on the violating path segment, extracting at least one gate according to the fixability parameters, and selecting one spare cell and disposing the selected spare cell on the violating path segment.

In a flash EEPROM system that is divided into separately erasable blocks of memory cells with multiple pages of user data being stored in each block, a count of the number of erase cycles that each block has endured is stored in one location within the block, such as in spare cells of only one page or distributed among header regions of multiple pages. The page or pages containing the block cycle count are initially read from each block that is being erased, the cycle count temporarily stored, the block erased and an updated cycle count is then written back into the block location. User data is then programmed into individual pages of the block as necessary. The user data is preferably stored in more than two states per memory cell storage element, in which case the cycle count can be stored in binary in a manner to speed up the erase process and reduce disturbing effects on the erased state that writing the updated cycle count can cause. An error correction code calculated from the cycle count may be stored with it, thereby allowing validation of the stored cycle count.

A memory integrated circuit device is provided. The device includes a plurality of regular address inputs and at least one spare address input configured for a selected mode or an unselected mode. The device includes a plurality of control inputs, a plurality of data inputs, and a plurality of data outputs. The device has a plurality of memory arrays. Each of the memory arrays comprises a plurality of memory cells. Each of the plurality of memory cells is coupled to a data input/output. The device has a spare group of memory cells comprising a plurality of spare memory cells. Each of the plurality of spare memory cells is externally (or internally) addressable using the address match table and configured with the spare address input; whereupon the spare address input is coupled to the address match table to access the spare memory cells.

An error check and correction method of a 3D memory include a) storing check bits, which is used for error check and correction of an upper memory among the plurality of the memory layers, in one or more of spare cell arrays of a lower memory layer stacked below the upper memory layer and the upper memory layer; and b) performing error check and correction of the upper memory layer by using the stored check bits, wherein in the 3D memory, there are stacked a plurality of memory layers comprising a memory cell array with a matrix structure consisting of memory cells and a spare cell array with a matrix structure consisting of spare memory cells for replacing a fault memory cell, in which a fault occurs, and the 3D memory comprises a master layer for controlling the plurality of the memory layers.

A layout circuit is provided, comprising standard cells, a spare cell, combined tie cells and normal filler cells. The standard cells are disposed and routed on a layout area. The spare cell is added on the layout area and provided for replacing one of the standard cells while adding or changing functions later. The combined tie cells are added on the layout area. The normal filler cells are added on the rest of the layout area. The combined tie cell comprises a tie-high circuit, a tie-low circuit and a capacitance circuit. Some standard cells are disposed near at least one combined tie cell for avoiding routing congestion between the combined tie cells and the replaced standard cell. A circuit layout method is also provided.