Improvement technology of a charge pump circuit is provided for avoiding device destruction due to electrification of an intermediate node of plural capacitors coupled in series to form one step-up capacitor, and avoiding reduction of pump efficiency due to leakage current which flows through a leakage path of the intermediate node concerned. A charge pump circuit includes a step-up capacitor configured by a first capacitance and a second capacitance coupled in series, a capacitance driver, and a protection circuit. The protection circuit is set at a conductive state and discharges a stored charge at the series coupling node of the first capacitance and the second capacitance, when the step-up voltage is not generated, and the protection circuit is maintained in a non-conductive state, when the step-up voltage is generated. Accordingly, relaxation of the withstand voltage of the step-up capacitor is achieved, and reduction of the pump efficiency is avoided.

Claims

11 · 1 independent · depth 5

11 granted claims

›1.independentA charge pump circuit comprising:na step-up capacitor comprising a first capacitance and a second capacitance coupled in series with each other;a capa…+10

›2.↳ 1The charge pump circuit according to claim 1,nwherein the diode is a pn junction diode in which a p-type diffusion layer and an n-type diffusion layer…d2+6

›6.↳ 2The charge pump circuit according to claim 2,nwherein the step-up capacitor comprising the first capacitance and the second capacitance coupled in ser…d3

›7.↳ 2The charge pump circuit according to claim 2,nwherein the first capacitance and the second capacitance are a monolayer capacitor comprised of laminati…d3

›8.↳ 2The charge pump circuit according to claim 2,nwherein the first capacitance and the second capacitance are an MIM capacitor comprised of lamination of…d3

›9.↳ 2A nonvolatile memory comprising:na charge pump circuit according to claim 2;a memory array in which nonvolatile memory cells are arranged; anda circui…d3+2

›3.↳ 1The charge pump circuit according to claim 1,nwherein the protection circuit comprises a switch by means of an MOS transistor coupled to the series co…d2+2

Classifications

4 codes

IPC · International Patent Classification

Section G — Physics

G05F3/02
G11C7/00

USPC · US Patent Classification

365/189.11327/536

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Pendency

2.5 y

923 days filing → grant

Office actions

non-final + final

Responses

no RCE

Examiner

Hoai V Ho

art unit 2827 · TC 2800

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Citations: 4 back · 0 forward

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1 priority documents

›Priority documents — 1

Type	Document	Date
related publication	US 20120014193 A1	19 Jan 2012

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