Boosted charge transfer preamplifier for low power Gbit-scale DRAM

Abstract

A new charge transfer preamplifier scheme is developed for low power and high, density DRAMs. It employs a boosting method with a MOSFET capacitor for a high voltage precharge level and a pulse control signal for a charge transfer switch. The new scheme increases the sensing margin and enhances the sensing speed under 1.5V operation with a small area overhead. It also leads to a wider design window for a charge transfer switch as the supply voltage scales down.