Semiconductor device and method for adjusting impedance of output circuit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016164494-A1
Application number	US-201615045124-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Feb 16, 2016
Priority date	Jul 16, 2013
Publication date	Jun 9, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

An impedance adjustment circuit includes a counter circuit outputting a count value thereof as a plurality of first impedance adjustment signals, a mode selection circuit setting a second impedance adjustment signal to be in an active/inactive state irrespective of the count value, and a level fixing circuit fixing a third impedance adjustment signal to be in an active state. A pre-stage circuit generates a plurality of first output control signals, a second output control signal, and a third output control signal in response to the first impedance adjustment signals, the second impedance adjustment signal, and the third impedance adjustment signal, respectively, and a data signal. An output circuit includes a plurality of first transistors, a second transistor, and a third transistor connected in parallel to each other between an output terminal and a first power supply wiring. Control terminals of the first transistors, the second transistor, and the third transistor receive the first output control signals, the second output control signal, and the third output control signal, respectively.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An output circuit comprising:
a power supply wiring configured to be supplied with a selected one of the first and second voltages; an output terminal; a first transistor coupled between the power supply wiring and the output terminal and configured to be turned ON or OFF in response to a data signal in either of a first case where the power supply wiring is supplied with the first voltage and a second case where the power supply wiring is supplied with the second voltage; and a second transistor coupled between the power supply wiring and the output terminal and configured to be turned ON or OFF in response to the data signal in the first case and kept turned OFF in the second case.

2 . The output circuit as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising:
a plurality of third transistors each coupled between the power supply wiring and the output terminal, each of the plurality of third transistors being operated by ZQ codes.

3 . The output circuit as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the plurality of third transistors are turned ON or OFF responsive to the ZQ codes and the data signal.

4 . The output circuit as claimed in claim 2 ,
wherein the power supply wiring is a first power supply wiring, the output circuit further comprising: a second power supply wiring; a fourth transistor coupled between the second power supply wiring and the output terminal and configured to be turned ON or OFF in response to the data signal in either of the first case and the second case; and a fifth transistor coupled between the second power supply wiring and the output terminal and configured to be turned ON or OFF in response to the data signal in the first case and kept turned OFF in the second case.

5 . The output circuit as claimed in claim 4 , further comprising:
a plurality of sixth transistors each coupled between the second power supply wiring and the output terminal, each of the plurality of sixth transistors being operated by the ZQ codes.

6 . The output circuit as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the second power supply wiring is supplied with a third voltage whose potential level is lower than that of the first voltage.

7 . The output circuit as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a potential level of the second voltage is different from a potential level of the first voltage level.

8 . The output circuit as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the potential level of the second voltage is higher than the potential level of the first voltage level.

9 . An apparatus comprising:
a power supply line configured to be supplied with a first voltage in a first case and with a second voltage in a second case; an output terminal; an impedance control circuit configured to produce an impedance control code; and an output buffer coupled between the power supply line and the output terminal to drive the output terminal with an impedance responsive to the impedance control code; wherein the output buffer comprising:
a first transistor configured to drive the output terminal independently of the impedance control code in either of the first and second cases; and
a second transistor configured to drive the output terminal independently of the impedance control code in the first case, the second transistor further configured to be free from driving the output terminal in the second case.

10 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 9 , wherein a potential level of the second voltage is different from a potential level of the first voltage level.

11 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 10 , wherein a potential level of the second voltage is higher than a potential level of the first voltage level.

12 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the output buffer further comprises a plurality of third transistors, and selected one or ones of the plurality of third transistors are configured to drive the output terminal in response, at least in part, to the impedance control code in either of the first and second cases.

13 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 12 ,
wherein each of the first, second and plurality of third transistors is of a first conductivity type, and wherein the output buffer comprising:
a fourth transistor of a second conductivity type configured to drive the output terminal independently of the impedance control code in either of the first and second cases; and
a fifth transistor of the second conductivity type configured to drive the output terminal independently of the impedance control code in the first case, the second transistor being further configured to be free from driving the output terminal in the second case.

14 . The apparatus as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the output buffer further comprises a plurality of sixth transistors of the second conductivity type, and selected one or ones of the plurality of sixth transistors are configured to drive the output terminal in response, at least in part, to the impedance control code in either of the first and second cases.

15 . A method of operating an output circuit, comprising:
driving a pull up circuit of the output circuit to pull up a level at an output terminal when a data signal has a first logic level; and driving a pull down circuit of the output circuit to pull down the level at an output terminal when the data signal has a second logic level, wherein the pull up circuit is driven by rendering a first transistor ON between a power supply wiring and the output terminal when the data signal has the first logic level in case that the power supply wiring is supplied with a first voltage, wherein the pull up circuit is driven by rendering the first transistor ON when the data signal has the first logic level in case that the power supply wiring is supplied with a second voltage, wherein the pull up circuit is driven by rendering a second transistor ON between the power supply wiring and the output terminal when the data signal has the first logic level in case that the power supply wiring is supplied with the first voltage, and wherein the pull up circuit is driven by rendering the second transistor OFF when the data signal has the first logic level in case that the power supply wiring is supplied with the second voltage.

16 . The method as claimed in claim 15 ,
wherein the pull up circuit is driven by rendering a plurality of third transistors between the power supply wiring and the output terminal each ON or OFF corresponding to ZQ codes when the data signal has the first logic level.

17 . The method as claimed in claim 16 , wherein a potential level of the second voltage is higher than that of the first voltage.

18 . The method as claimed in claim 16 ,
wherein whether the second transistor is rendered ON or OFF is determined by a calibration circuit configured to determine a value of the ZQ codes.

19 . The method as claimed in claim 18 ,
wherein the calibration circuit comprises a fourth transistor corresponding to the second transistor and a counter configured to count up or down the value of the ZQ codes, wherein the calibration circuit is configured to count up or down the value of the ZQ codes in case that the fourth transistor is rendered OFF.

20 . The method as claimed in claim 19 ,
wherein after the calibration circuit finishes the counting up or down of the value of the ZQ codes, the calibration circuit sets the fourth transistor ON and then restarts the counting up or down if an impedance corresponding to the value of the ZQ codes does not meet to a predetermined value.

Assignees

• Micron Technology Inc

Inventors

• Kaneko Yuhei
• Nakamura Kohei

Classifications

• H03H7/38

  Impedance-matching networks · CPC title

• H03K17/6871

  the output circuit comprising more than one controlled field-effect transistor · CPC title

• H03H11/28 Primary

  Impedance matching networks · CPC title