Samsung patents circuit to find broken wires in memory chips
This patent describes a circuit that checks for defects in the horizontal wires (word lines) used to access data in memory chips. It works by sending a specific electrical current through a wire and measuring the resulting voltage to see if the wire is broken or faulty.
In the filing’s own words
A word line defect detection circuit configured to detect a defect of at least one word line selected from a plurality of word lines of a memory device includes a current generating circuit configured to generate a detection reference current having a first magnitude and to apply the detection reference current to the selected word line, and a sensing amplifier configured to measure a voltage of the selected word line generated based on the detection reference current. The word line defect detection circuit may be configured to detect a defect of the selected word line in response to the voltage of the selected word line having a value less than a first reference voltage.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A word line defect detection circuit configured to detect a defect of at least one word line, which is a selected first word line that is selected from a plurality of word lines of a memory device, the word line defect detection circuit comprising: a current generating circuit configured to discharge the selected first word line to a ground (GND) voltage, to generate a detection reference current having a first magnitude, and to apply the detection reference current to the selected first word line in response to the selected word line being discharged to the ground (GND) voltage; and a sensing amplifier configured to measure a measured voltage of the selected first word line, the measured voltage generated based on the detection reference current, wherein in response to determining that the measured voltage according to application of the detection reference current to the selected first word line has a value less than a first reference voltage, the word line defect detection circuit is configured to detect a defect existing in the selected first word line, and in response to the measured voltage of the selected first word line being equal to the first reference voltage, the word line defect detection circuit is configured to determine that the selected first word line is not defective.
Facts
- Company
- Samsung (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.)
- Official title
- Wordline defect detection circuit, wordline defect detection method, and memory device including the same
- Patent number
- US12731654B2
- Application number
- 18403091
- Filed
- Jan 3, 2024
- Granted
- Sep 8, 2026
- Inventors
- 5
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
G11C 29/12005 Physics & computingG11C 2029/1202 Physics & computingMore from Samsung in Chips & hardware
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.