US 11,735,248 B2
Sub-word-line drivers and semiconductor memory devices including the same
Seokjae Lee, Gwangmyeong-si (KR); Bok-Yeon Won, Namyangju-si (KR); Kyoungmin Kim, Namyangju-si (KR); Donggeon Kim, Suwon-si (KR); Myeongsik Ryu, Anyang-si (KR); Sangwook Park, Hwaseong-si (KR); and Inseok Baek, Suwon-si (KR)
Assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Filed by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Suwon-si (KR)
Filed on Mar. 3, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/685,849.
Claims priority of application No. 10-2021-0080765 (KR), filed on Jun. 22, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0406360 A1, Dec. 22, 2022
Int. Cl. G11C 11/408 (2006.01); H10B 12/00 (2023.01)
CPC G11C 11/4085 (2013.01) [H10B 12/50 (2023.02); H10B 12/315 (2023.02); H10B 12/34 (2023.02)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A sub-word-line driver comprising a word line pull-up transistor, a word line pull-down transistor, and a keeping transistor configured to maintain a word line at a specified voltage level,
wherein the sub-word-line driver comprises:
a peripheral active region on a substrate, the peripheral active region comprising first to sixth regions, which are arranged around a first device isolation layer of an island shape in a clockwise direction and are connected to each other;
a first peripheral gate electrode that corresponds to a gate node of the word line pull-down transistor on the peripheral active region and crossing the second region and the sixth region;
a second peripheral gate electrode that corresponds to a gate node of the keeping transistor on the peripheral active region and crossing the fourth region; and
a first lower contact coupled to the first region,
wherein the first region corresponds to a source node of the word line pull-down transistor and is configured to be supplied with a first voltage through the first lower contact,
wherein the fifth region corresponds to a source node of the keeping transistor,
wherein the sixth region extends from the first region to the fifth region and is below the first peripheral gate electrode, and
wherein the sixth region connects the first region to the fifth region and is configured to supply the first voltage from the first region to the fifth region.