摘要 |
A method and circuitry for boosting a driven signal along a circuit line so as to reduce RC delays is disclosed. In one embodiment, the circuitry includes a line amplifier positioned at a distance from the circuitry that drives signals onto the line, for example, across a memory array. The line amplifier detects the driven signal on the line at early stages, and even before the signal reaches its full potential, the amplifier amplifies that signal and drives it back to the line to help boost the detected signal. In a preferred embodiment, the amplifier comprises a differential amplifier capable of boosting one of two input signal lines. In an alternative embodiment, the amplifier output may additionally input to a feedback loop, which loop ultimately drives a pull-up transistor to boost the detected signal and passes it back to the line to even further assist the differential amplifier in boosting. Use of the disclosed circuitry benefits, as one example, the boosting of a DRAM column select line that passes a long distance through the memory array.
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