Experimental 1 Mbit DRAM using power reduction techniques

One of the serious problems which must be overcome in realising a 1 Mbit DRAM is high-power dissipation associated with data-line charging and discharging. To solve this problem, this paper proposes the following three techniques, which permit power reduction by about one-quarter: a multidivided data-line structure, 512 refresh cycles and an on-chip voltage limiter circuit. These techniques are proven to be useful through the design and evaluation of an experimental n-MOS 1 Mbit DRAM with a 46 mm2 chip size. The chip fabricated provides a 295 mW operating power at a 260 ns cycle time despite the fast access time of 90 ns. The possibility of further power reduction is also described.