| US 7,577,052 B2 | ||
| Power switching circuit | ||
| Jui-Jen Wu, Hsinchu (Taiwan); Kun-Lung Chen, Taipei (Taiwan); Hung-Jen Liao, Hsin-Chu (Taiwan); Yung-Lung Lin, Taichung (Taiwan); Chen Yen-Huei, Hsinchu (Taiwan); and Dao-Ping Wang, Hsinchu (Taiwan) | ||
| Assigned to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Hsin-Chu (Taiwan) | ||
| Filed on Dec. 13, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/638,187. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2008/0144419 A1, Jun. 19, 2008 | ||
| Int. Cl. G11C 5/10 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 365—226 [365/227; 365/228; 365/229] | 18 Claims |
| 1. A power control circuit for an integrated circuit module comprising:
at least one switch device coupled between a supply voltage and a power node of the integrated circuit module, wherein the
switch device includes a first PMOS device having a source coupled to the supply voltage and a drain coupled to the power
node; and
a switch control module having a first terminal coupled to the switch device, a second terminal coupled to a control signal,
a third terminal coupled to a first storage node of at least one tracking cell, a fourth terminal coupled to a second storage
node of the tracking cell, and a fifth terminal coupled to the power node of the integrated circuit module, for controlling
the switch device to pass the supply voltage to the power node with or without a substantial voltage drop depending on an
operation mode of the integrated circuit module,
wherein the switch control module includes a first NMOS device coupled between the first storage node of the tracking cell
and a complementary supply voltage, having a gate controlled by the control signal, and a second NMOS device coupled between
the gate of the first PMOS device and the complementary supply voltage, having a gate controlled by the second storage node
of the tracking cell, and
wherein the switch control module provides a discharge path for lowering the voltage at the power node based on the control
signal until a predetermined value is written into the tracking cell.
|