Nonvolatile Semiconductor Memory Device

The present invention relates to an electrically erasable and programmable nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device having NAND gate structured cells.

Recently, electrically erasable and programmable nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices (hereinafter referred to as an EEPROM) have become more highly integrated. In addition to increasing memory capacity, conventional EEPROMS operate at a lower power supply voltage. To obtain improved memory devices having large capacity and high density, the surface area allocated to peripheral circuits used to drive the memory device has been reduced. This is especially true for decoding circuits used to selectively drive memory cells. One technique used to reduce the number of peripheral circuit has resulted in an EEPROM having row block units, wherein each block shares a decoding circuit. U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,942 teaches one example of this particular technique. Specifically, the memory cell array is arranged in row block units, and each row block shares a control gate driving circuit in order to reduce the area occupied by the associated decoding circuit.

The reduced power supply voltage in the conventional EEPROM often causes difficulty in "reading" data from memory. In particular, the driving voltage applied to the to the word may become lower than the threshold voltage of the memory cell. In order to resolve this problem, the driving voltage must be sufficiently amplified such that it is higher than the memory cell threshold voltage.

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a portion of a conventional EEPROM having a block decoding circuit. In FIG. 1, a NAND cell string 10 is connected to a bit line and a ground voltage via first and second string selection transistors ST1 and ST2, respectively. Each NAND cell string includes eight memory cells M1 to M8 having their channels serially connected one to another and their gates respectively controlled by word lines WL1 to WL8. Each memory cell in the cell string is a conventional EEPROM cell having a control gate and a floating gate.

One row block comprises 256 NAND cell strings arranged in a row-wise direction and commonly controlled by the eight word lines. A block selection signal logic 11 receives externally provided block selection decoding information X, Y, and Z. The output of block selection signal logic 11 is commonly applied to first and second string selection logic 12 and 14. First string selection logic 12 includes a NAND gate receiving the block selection signal from block selection signal logic 11, and a string selection signal SD1. Second string selection logic 14 includes a NAND gate receiving the block selection signal from block selection signal logic 11 and a ground selection signal SS1.

The output of first string selection logic 12 is applied to one end of a string selection line SSL via the channel of a depletion type isolation transistor 18 having its gate connected to a control signal PRO. The output of the second string selection logic 14 is applied to a ground selection line GSL. The string selection line SSL is commonly connected to the gates of first string selection transistors ST1 of the NAND cell strings, thereby serving as a path for a control signal which either connects or isolates the NAND cell string to the bit line. The other end of the string selection line SSL is connected to an output node of a charge pump circuit 20 which outputs a boosting voltage, Vpp. When the string selection line SSL is charged to a logically high level (hereinafter referred to as a "high"), if a clock pulse OSC is applied, charge pump circuit 20 starts a charge pumping operation to raise string selection line SSL to Vpp.

Ground selection line GSL is commonly connected to the gates of the second string selection transistors ST2 of the respective NAND cell strings, thereby serving as a path for the control signal which operates to either connect or isolate the NAND cell string from ground. The control gate terminals of the memory cells in each NAND cell string are commonly connected to respective word lines WL1 to WL8 which, in turn, are connected to the control gate driving signals CG1 to CG8 via corresponding transfer transistors BT1 to BT8.

The gate terminals of transfer transistors BT1 to BT8 are commonly connected a pumping node N1. Pumping node N1 receives the output of first string selection logic 12 via an n-channel isolation transistor 16 having its gate controlled by Vcc, and being connected to the gate of a pump capacitor Cb to which control signal PUSH is applied. Accordingly, pump capacitor Cb operates to pump charge transferred from first string selection logic 12 to pumping node N1 via n-channel isolation transistor 16, thereby raising the potential of pumping node N1.

FIG. 2 is a waveform diagram illustrating a "read" operation for the EEPROM shown in FIG. 1. For the convenience of illustration, FIG. 2 shows, as an example, the reading operation for a first memory cell M1 in the first NAND cell string.

Before a block selection, i.e. before time t1, the output of block selection signal output logic 11 is placed at 0 volts, or a logically low level (hereinafter referred to as a "low"). The outputs of first and second string selection logic 12 and 14 are likewise low. At this time, control signal PUSH applied to pump capacitor Cb, control gate driving signals CG1 to CG8, string selection signal SD1, and ground selection signal SSI all remain low. As node N1 is low, transfer transistors BT1 to BT8 are all turned OFF, and word lines WL1 to WL8 are allowed to float.

As the block is selected by the block selection decoding information X, Y, Z at time t1, the block selection signal output logic 11 outputs the block selection signal at a logical high, that is at the power supply voltage Vcc. Also at this time, control gate driving signal CG1 is applied at 0 volts, control gate driving signals CG2 to CG8 are applied at a voltage of Vcc, and string selection signal SD1 and ground selection signal SS1 are applied at a voltage of Vcc. As string selection signal SD1 and block selection signal are applied at a voltage of Vcc, the output voltage of first string selection logic 12 moves towards Vcc. Also at this time, a voltage Vcc-Vtn, where Vtn is the threshold voltage of n-channel isolation transistor 16, is applied to pumping node N1 and to the gates of transfer transistors BT1 to BT8. Word line WL1 corresponding to memory cell M1 receives a low voltage (0 volts) via the transfer transistor BT1 which has been turned ON, and the remaining word lines WL2 through WL8 receive a voltage of Vcc-2Vtn, obtained by subtracting the threshold voltage of the turned-ON transfer transistors BT2 to BT8 from the gate voltage thereof. When the gate of depletion type isolation transistor 18 receives a high voltage from control signal PRO, string selection line SSL and ground selection line GSL go to a voltage of Vcc.

When the read operation is started at time t2, control signal PUSH is applied at a voltage of Vcc to boost pumping node N1, such that pumping node N1 is boosted to a voltage of Vcc+Vtn+.alpha. by a charge pumping operation of capacitor Cb. The potential of boosted pumping node N1 is applied to the gates of transfer transistors BT1 to BT8, and word lines WL2 to WL8 are thereby charged to a voltage of Vcc which is the same voltage potential as control gate driving signals CG2 to CG8. Accordingly, memory cells M2 to M8 are turned ON and function as pass transistors, thereby reading out a threshold voltage from the memory cell M1 to bit line BL1. This threshold voltage indicates whether the stored read data of the memory cell M1 is "1" or "0."

Unfortunately, the conventional EEPROM shown in FIG. 1 is disadvantageous in that each memory block has a pump capacitor Cb. Thus, the area occupied by the memory block is larger than it might otherwise be, and a separate circuit is required to supply control signal PUSH to each pump capacitor. That is, the respective pump capacitors Cb are placed in the memory blocks in a one to one arrangement such that the voltage level boosted by the pump capacitors Cb will improve the driving capability of transfer transistors BT1 to BT8. However, this arrangement uses a great amount of surface area. In addition, since the control signal PUSH must be applied to each pump capacitor Cb, the resulting circuit structures further occupy surface area with peripheral circuits and, thus, lower memory device integration density. Finally, the foregoing problems may become more disadvantageous as memory devices continue to increase in capacity and to increase in the number of the memory blocks.

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor EEPROM capable of increased integration and greater density by reducing the area occupied by decoders.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor EEPROM capable of obtaining a high word line driving voltage without the use of a separate capacitor.

To achieve the above objects, the preferred embodiment of the present invention is featured in that gate terminals of transfer transistors are connected to a common control node and a block selection signal generated from a block selection part is applied to the common control node, so that a memory block is activated. In particular, the electrically erasable and programmable nonvolatile semiconductor memory device (EEPROM) according to the present invention comprises; at least two memory blocks having at least two NAND cell strings connected between a bit line and a ground voltage via string selection means and ground selection means, each of the NAND cell strings including a predetermined number of memory cells having their channels serially connected one to another and their gate terminals controlled by word lines commonly connecting the NAND cell strings, wherein each of the memory cells includes a control gate and a floating gate, and wherein the word lines receive control gate driving signals via channels of corresponding transfer transistors, block selection logic generating a block selection signal which selects between the memory blocks, and control gate driving logic generating control gate driving signals and applying same to the memory blocks, characterized in that; gates of the transfer transistors are connected to a common control node, and the block selection signal is applied to the common control node.

In addition, the electrically erasable and programmable nonvolatile semiconductor memory device of the present invention comprises the steps of; charging a junction capacitor between gate and source terminals of the transfer transistors with a first voltage by applying the string selection signal and ground selection signal from the control gate driving section to each one of the memory blocks in common, and applying a block selection signal having a first voltage to a common connection node of the gates of the transfer transistors and respective control gate driving signals of a reference potential to one end of the channels of the transfer transistors, and coupling the gate of each of the transfer transistors corresponding to an unselected word lines to make the voltage at the gate terminal higher than a second voltage by applying the remaining control gate driving signals except the control gate driving signal corresponding to the word line selected according to a reading operation with said second voltage higher than said first voltage.

In the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention presented below, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a portion of an EEPROM having a conventional block decoding circuit;

FIG. 2 is a waveform diagram illustrating a read operation for the EEPROM shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a portion of an EEPROM having a block decoding circuit according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a waveform diagram illustrating a read operation of the EEPROM shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 illustrates one row block in EEPROM. Referring to FIG. 3, a NAND cell string to which the present invention applies, comprises eight memory cells M1 to M8 having channels serially connected one to another, having gates controlled by corresponding word lines WL1 to WL8, and coupled to a bit line and a ground voltage via first and second string selection transistors ST1 and ST2, respectively. The row block shown in FIG. 3 comprises, for example, 1st through 256th NAND cell strings controlled in common by the eight common word lines. Each of the memory cells in the respective NAND cell strings is an EEPROM cell having a control gate and a floating gate. The control gates of the memory cells in each NAND cell string are commonly connected to respective word lines WL1 to WL8, which, in turn, are connected to control gate driving signals CG1 to CG8 via corresponding transfer transistors BT1 to BT8. The gates of the transfer transistors BT1 to BT8 are connected in common to a control node N2, which, in turn, is connected to the output node of block selection signal output logic 21 via a depletion type isolation transistor 26 having its gate controlled by a write control signal WE. The block selection signal output logic 21, which outputs the block selection signal, includes a three-input NAND gate 22 receiving block selection information X, Y, Z and an inverter 24 connected to an output node of NAND gate 22. A NAND gate 28 has a first input receiving an output of three-input NAND gate 22, and a second input receiving an erasing signal ERA. The output of NAND gate 28 serves as an input to string selection line SSL via a depletion type isolation transistor 30 having a gate controlled by a write control signal. Accordingly, string selection line SSL receives the output of NAND gate 28 and a cell string selection signal .phi.CSS applied via the transfer transistor BT1.

In this arrangement control gate driving signals CG1 to CG8, cell string selection signal .phi.CSS, and a ground selection signal .phi.GSS are commonly applied to all of the memory blocks. Also in this arrangement, the gates of transfer transistors BT1 to BT10 are boosted to a boosting voltage by a self-boosting operation.

FIG. 4 is a waveform diagram showing a "READ" operation for memory cell M1 selected by bit line BL1 and word line WL1 in the memory block shown in FIG. 3.

Before the memory block is selected, i.e. before time t1, block selection signal is low (0 volts), write control signal WE is at the power supply voltage Vcc, and control gate driving signals CG1 to CG8 are also low. Thus, control node N2 is held low, which results in transfer transistors BT1 to BT8 being turned OFF, and word lines WL1 to WL8 and ground selection line GSL are left floating. At this time, the output of NAND gate 28 is low, and string selection line SSL is thus also maintained at 0 volts.

At time t1, as the block selection information X, Y, Z are all applied at high voltage, the output of NAND gate 22 goes to a low voltage, and the block selection signal output from inverter 24 accordingly goes high, that is it goes to a voltage of Vcc. The threshold voltage of depletion type isolation transistor 26, its gate receiving write control signal WE at a voltage of Vcc, is negative. Thus, control node N2 is charged to a voltage of Vcc. Also at this time, the control gate driving circuit outputs ground selection signal .phi.GSS is at a voltage of 0 volts, cell string selection signal .phi.CSS is at V(w1), where V(w1) is a boosted Vcc level, and control gate driving signals CG1 to CG8 are at 0 volts. Depletion type isolation transistor 30, receives write control signal WE and has a threshold voltage of -(Vtd). Thus, string selection line SSL is charged to the higher of either Vcc-Vtn or Vtd in consideration of the effect of the threshold voltage Vtn of transfer transistor BT1. Thereupon, all the word lines WL1 to WL8 are discharged to 0 volts. At this time, the junction capacitor between the gate and source of each transfer transistor BT2 to BT9, the channels of which receive the control gate driving signals CG1 to CG8, is charged to a voltage of Vcc.

When the read operation starts at time t2, write control signal WE moves to a low voltage (0 volts), and the control gate driving circuit applies the selected control gate driving signal CG1 at 0 volts. The unselected control gate driving signals CG2 to CG8 as well as ground selection signal .phi.GSS are at a voltage of V(w1). The self-boosting operation of the junction capacitor between the gate and source of each transfer transistors BT2 to a voltage of BT9, causes control node N2 to boosted to V(w1)+Vtn, namely, the voltage obtained by adding the voltage V(w1) applied to control gate driving signals CG2 to CG9 to the threshold voltage Vtn of each transfer transistor. Thus, the unselected word lines WL2 to WL8 are charged to a voltage of V(w1). A voltage high enough to turn ON the memory cells is applied to the control gate terminals such that memory cells M2 to M8 begin to operate as pass transistors. On the other hand, control gate driving signal CG1 corresponding to selected word line WL1 is held at 0 volts. This makes it possible to read data from memory cell M1 via the bit line BL1 corresponding to the selected memory cell.

In the foregoing manner a boosting voltage can be obtained without the need to use a separate pump capacitor. As a result, it is possible to obtain a boosting voltage sufficient for the decoder and which will stably drive the word line without the necessity of increasing the size of the semiconductor memory device. The foregoing embodiment is given by way of example. Various modifications to the specific elements of the exemplary embodiment are contemplated and will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The present invention is defined by the appended claims.