J. Cent. South Univ. Technol.

(2011) 18: 20362044

DOI: 10.1007/s1177101109394

Design of 512-bit logic process-based single poly EEPROM IP

JIN Li-yan(), JANG Ji-Hye, YU Yi-ning(), HA Pan-Bong, KIM Young-Hee
Department of Electronic Engineering, Changwon National University, Changwon 641-773, Korea
Central South University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011
Abstract: A single poly EEPROM cell circuit sharing the deep N-well of a cell array was designed using the logic process. The
proposed cell is written by the FN tunneling scheme and the cell size is 41.26 m2, about 37% smaller than the conventional cell.
Also, a small-area and low-power 512-bit EEPROM IP was designed using the proposed cells which was used for a 900 MHz passive
UHF RFID tag chip. To secure the operation of the cell proposed with 3.3 V devices and the reliability of the used devices, an
EEPROM core circuit and a DCDC converter were proposed. Simulation results for the designed EEPROM IP based on the 0.18
m logic process show that the power consumptions in read mode, program mode and erase mode are 11.82, 25.15, and 24.08 W,
respectively, and the EEPROM size is 0.12 mm2.
Key words: single poly EEPROM cell; Fowler-Nordheim tunneling; logic process; radio frequency identification; small area

1 Introduction
Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a
technology that provides various communication services
between objects by collecting, storing and revising
information based on RFID tags installed or attached to
them. Currently, passive RFID tags are more widely used
than their active counterparts because they have
advantages such as low cost and small size. Therefore,
more efforts have been devoted to the development of
the passive tags [1].
The required memory capacity of an EEPROM used
for a tag chip is 512 bits or more including a reserved
memory space. The capacities of recently published
EEPROM IPs are in the range of 224 bit to 64 kbit [15].
To reduce the cost of a tag chip, a single poly EEPROM
cell based on logic process rather than EEPROM process
is required [2]. For the EEPROM cell, the cell size
should be small and the cell uses the Fowler-Nordheim
(FN) tunneling scheme by which the current dissipation
of a DCDC converter is small in writing. The single
poly EEPROM does not require an additional mask layer.
In addition, the process turn-around time (TAT) is short
and the manufacturing cost is low [69].
There are two methods to write with the FN
tunneling scheme for a single poly EEPROM cell: using
a high voltage VPP (Boosted voltage) [10] and using a
back-gate bias voltage VNN (Negative voltage) [2].
Although high-voltage (HV) devices are required in
designing with a high voltage VPP, they are not required

with a back-gate bias voltage VNN. Instead, deep N-wells

(DNWs) are required to prevent the well junction from
being turned on when a negative voltage is applied. Also,
there is a disadvantage that the more isolated the DNWs
and N-wells (NWs) are, the bigger a cell size is.
When an EEPROM IP used for a RFID tag chip is
designed independently, an EEPROM and an analog
block need their own reference voltage generators. Thus,
the size of the tag chip grows bigger and the power
consumption increases in write mode.
In this work, a method was established to reduce the
size of a single poly EEPROM such that a cell array of
512 bits shares the DNW. Also, methods to increase the
recognition distance of an RFID tag chip in write mode
and to reduce a leakage current when over-erased were
established. In addition, a design technique implementing
a reference voltage generator of a DCDC converter
with a resistive divider was introduced. Furthermore,
schemes to secure the operation of the proposed cell with
3.3 V devices and the reliability of the used devices were
also described by proposing an EEPROM core circuit (a
control gate driving circuit and a tunnel gate driving
circuit) and a DCDC converter (VPP, VNN and VNNL
(=VNN/2)). The 512-bit EEPROM IP was designed with
Towers 0.18 m logic process.

2 Circuit design
The capacities and IP sizes of recently published
EEPROM IPs are compared in Table 1. It is required to

Foundation item: Project(10039239) supported by the Industrial Strategic Technology Development Program Funded by the Ministry of Knowledge
Economy, Korea
Received date: 20110426; Accepted date: 20111010
Corresponding author: KIM Young-Hee, Professor, PhD; Tel: +82552851023; E-mail: [email protected]

J. Cent. South Univ. Technol. (2011) 18: 20362044

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Table 1 Comparison of EEPROM capacities and IP sizes

Memory
Memory
Reference Memory
Cell
No.
process
size/m2 capacity/bit IP size/mm2
0.25 m
EEPROM

[2]

0.18 m
Logic

65

64 000

[7]

0.18 m
EEPROM

640

[8]

0.35 m
EEPROM

224

[9]

0.35 m
EEPROM

2 000

[1]

512

0.216

0.6

have a single ploy EEPROM using the FN tunneling

scheme for the effect of the reduced size and cost. A
circuit of a c-flash cell and a process cross-section for a
single ploy EEPROM using the FN tunneling scheme are
shown in Fig.1 [2]. As shown in Fig.1(a), a c-flash cell
circuit consists of a control gate (CG) capacitor (C1), a
tunnel gate (TG) capacitor (C2), a CMOS inverter (MP1
and MN1) and an NMOS switch (MN2). As shown in
Fig.1(b), C1 and C2 must be formed to two isolated deep
N-wells (C_DNW and T_DNW) and a PMOS transistor
MP1 in the NW (N-well). Thus, the more isolated the
N-wells, the bigger the cell size is. The size of a c-flash
cell with the 0.18 m logic process is 65 m2 [2].
Table 2 shows the bias voltage conditions of a
c-flash memory cell for different operation modes. Bias
voltages of CG and TG are 4.75 V and +4.75 V in the

Fig.1 Schematic maps of single EEPROM using FN tunneling

scheme: (a) A circuit of c-flash cell; (b) A process cross-section

Table 2 Bias voltage conditions of c-flash memory cell for

different operation modes
Terminal

Program

Erase

Read

VDD

1.8 V

VSS

VCG

4.75 V

4.75 V

SWEEP

VTG

4.75 V

4.75 V

VC_DNW

4.8 V

MAX_SWEEP

VT_DNW

4.8 V

NW

1.8 V

WL

3V

BL

Sensing

erase mode and +4.75 V and 4.75 V in the program

mode. The output of the inverter is high when electrons
are injected to the floating gate, and it is low when
electrons are ejected from the floating gate. In the read
mode, the inverter output voltage of the cell selected by
word-line (WL) cell is transferred to BL.
As shown in Fig.2(a), a single poly EEPROM cell
consists of a CG capacitor (C1), a TG capacitor (C2), a
sense transistor (MN1) and a select transistor (MN2) to
reduce the off-leakage current when over-erased. As
shown in Fig.2(b), the cell size is minimized since a cell
array of 512 bits shares the deep N-well and so the space
equivalent to the DNW space of at least 5 m is removed.
The size of an EEPROM cell using the 0.18 m process
is 4.71 m 8.76 m (41.26 m2) and the coupling ratio
is 0.927. The cell size of the newly proposed EEPROM
is 37% smaller than the conventional cell size. Figure 3
shows the EEPROM cell array having 32 rows and 16
columns.
Table 3 lists the bias voltage conditions of a single
poly EEPROM cell for different operation modes. In the
erase mode, electrons of the floating gate are ejected by
the Fowler-Nordheim (FN) tunneling with the CG and
the TG of the selected cell applied with 4.75 V and
+4.75 V, respectively. And in the program mode,
electrons of the floating gate are ejected by the same FN
tunneling with the CG and the TG of the selected cell
applied with +4.75 V and 4.75 V, respectively. In the
read mode, the erased cell outputs 0 V on the bit line
(BL) while the programmed cell outputs a voltage of
VDD.
Major specifications of the designed 512-bit
EEPROM IP using the proposed EEPROM cell in Fig.2
are listed in Table 4. The memory is based on the
Towers 0.18 m logic CMOS process and uses dual
power supply voltage: VDD (1.2 V) and VDDP (2.2 V).
There are four operation modes: program, erase, read and
reset mode. The clock frequency of the tag chip is
3.846 MHz. The write time is 1.2 ms.

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J. Cent. South Univ. Technol. (2011) 18: 20362044

Fig.2 Schematic maps of proposed single poly EEPROM cell: (a) A circuit; (b) A process cross-section; (c) A layout plot

Fig.3 Cell array circuit with 32 rows and 16 columns

Figure 4 shows a block diagram of the designed

512 bit EEPROM. It consists of a cell array (32 rows
16 columns), a row decoder, a control logic to generate
control signals at different operation modes, a row driver

supplying voltages to any WL and CG selected by the

address bus A[4:0], a bit line sense amplifier (BL S/A)
sensing the read-out data, a TG driver and a DCDC
converter to provide high voltages (VPP, VNN, and VNNL)

J. Cent. South Univ. Technol. (2011) 18: 20362044

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Table 3 Bias voltage conditions of single poly cell at different operation modes
Erase mode

Program mode

Signal Selected Not selected

cell
cell

Selected cell

Read mode

Not selected cell

Selected cell

Not selected cell

DIN=1

DIN=0

DIN=1

DIN=0

DIN=1

DIN=0

DIN=1

DIN=0

CG

4.75 V

0V

4.75 V

4.75 V

0V

0V

1.2 V

1.2 V

0V

0V

TG

4.75 V

4.75 V

4.75 V

0V

4.75 V

0V

0V

0V

0V

0V

WL

0V

0V

0V

0V

0V

0V

1.2 V

1.2 V

0V

0V

BL

Floating

Floating

Floating

Floating

Floating

Floating

1.2 V

0V

DNW

4.75 V

4.75 V

4.75 V

4.75 V

4.75 V

4.75 V

1.2 V

1.2 V

1.2 V

1.2 V

Fig.4 Block diagram of a designed 512-bit EEPROM

Table 4 Major specifications of 512-bit EEPROM
Item

Main feature

Process
EEPROM cell array

Towers 0.18 m logic process

32 rows 16 columns

Cell type

Single poly EEPROM cell

VDD

1.2 V

VDDP

2.2 V

Operating mode

Erase/program/read/reset

Clock frequency

3.846 MHz

Write time

1.2 ms

necessary for EEPROM programming.

The interface signals are control signals (RSTb,
READ, ERS and PGM), the address bus A[4:0], the input
data DIN[15:0] and the output data DOUT[15:0]. Read and
write functions are performed word by word.
Figure 5(a) shows the timing diagram in the erase
mode of the designed EEPROM. If ERASE is activated
to be high after the address to erase is applied at first, a
word of data from the selected cells is erased. Figure 5(b)
shows the timing diagram in the program mode of the
designed EEPROM. Erasing should be performed before

programming. If PROGRAM is activated to be high after

the address to program and a word of data DIN[15:0] are
applied at first, a word of data DIN[15:0] is programmed
into the address. tERS (erase time) and tPGM (program
time) are all set to 1.2 ms to consider the settling time of
the DCDC converter. The timing diagram in the read
mode of the EEPROM memory is shown in Fig.5(c). If
READ is activated to be high after the address to read
out from is applied at first, a word of data from the
selected cells is outputted on the DOUT port at tAC (access
time).
Towers 0.18 m logic CMOS process requires that
the devices of 3.3 V are limited within 5.5 V in the write
mode to secure the reliability of 1 000 erase and program
cycles as well as ten years of data retention. To meet the
above conditions, control gate (CG) and tunnel gate (TG)
driving circuit are designed, as shown in Fig.6. To have a
switching voltage under 4.75 V, the CG driving circuit
uses three stages of level translators: VDDVNNL_CG,
CG_HVVNNL_CG, and CG_HVCG_LV. Table 5 gives
the output voltages of switching powers according to the
operation modes. It can be seen that switching voltages
of voltage level translators are all under 4.75 V. In

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Fig.5 Timing diagrams of designed

EEPROM in different modes: (a) Erase
mode; (b) Program mode; (c) Read mode

Fig.6 Schematic diagram of core driving circuit: (a) CG driving circuit; (b) TG driving circuit

J. Cent. South Univ. Technol. (2011) 18: 20362044

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Table 5 Output voltages of switching powers according to

operation modes
Mode

Reset

Read

Program

Erase

CG_HV

VDD

VDD

4.75 V

0V

CG_LV

0V

0V

0V

4.75 V

TG_HV

VDD

VDD

0V

4.75 V

TG_LV

0V

0V

4.75 V

0V

VNNL_CG

0V

0V

0V

1.58 V

VNNL_TG

0V

0V

1.58 V

0V

addition, since the TG driving circuit uses three stages of

level translators like the CG driving circuit, it is designed
that the maximum voltage to be applied to the devices of
3.3 V is also under 4.75 V.
Table 6 compares the power consumptions of
band-gap reference voltage generators. The current
dissipation of the reference voltage generator supplying
reference voltages in writing is an order of several tens
A as listed in Table 6. The analog block supplies the
logic voltage VDD. Although VDD is used as the reference
voltage, if its variation is small in the case of an
EEPROM of a tag chip, the output voltage of DCDC
converter can be stable. Thus, the layout size can be
smaller because the reference voltage generator can be
removed. Figure 7 shows the distribution of output
voltages of a VDD voltage regulator with Towers
0.18 m logic process. The average voltage of V DD is

1.181 5 V and the three-sigma (3) limit is 50.42 mV.

These values are beside the question as the reference
voltage of the DCDC converter. Thus, a voltage divider
circuit is proposed using a resistive divider for the
DCDC converter in this work. The current dissipation
of the voltage divider is 1 A, which means a large
reduction.
Figure 8 shows the block diagram of the DCDC
converter using a resistive divider. It consists of a
reference voltage divider, VPP (boosted voltage)
generation circuit and VNN (negative voltage) generation
circuit. The reference voltage divider supplies VREF_VPP
and VREF_VNN. VPP and VNN are generated with 5VREF_VPP
and 13.57VREF_VNN by a negative feedback. VNNL is
generated with VNN/2 by the VNN generation circuit. In
Fig.9, a NMOS switch MN_OFF is used to reduce the
power consumption since it is turned on in the write
mode and shut down in the rest.

Fig.8 Block diagram of DCDC converter

Table 6 Comparison of power consumptions of reference

voltage generators
Reference No.

Process

Reference
voltage/V

Dissipating
current/A

[11]

0.6 m CMOS

1.142

23

[12]

0.18 m CMOS

0.75

10.1

[13]

0.5 m CMOS

0.631

10

[14]

0.6 m CMOS

0.309

9.7

[15]

0.35 m CMOS

0.75

4.5
Fig.9 Reference voltage divider circuit using resistors

Fig.7 Distribution of output voltages (VDD) of voltage regulator

Voltage generation circuits for VPP (+4.75 V), VNN

(4.75 V) and VNNL (=VNN/2) in the write mode are
shown in Figs.10 and 11. The VPP generation circuit
consists of two stages of cross-coupled charge pumps, a
control logic, a ring oscillator and a VPP level detector.
The VPP level detector compares VPP/5 with VREF_VPP. VPP
goes up by a positive pumping since the output signal of
the VPP level detector, VPP_OSC_ENb, is low when VPP/5 is
lower than VREF_VPP. VPP is kept to the target voltage of
4.75 V since VPP_OSC_ENb is high and as a result, the
charge pumping stops from a negative feedback when
VPP/5 is greater than VREF_VPP.
Figure 11 shows a negative charge pump circuit for

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J. Cent. South Univ. Technol. (2011) 18: 20362044

Fig.10 Block diagram of VPP generation circuit

Fig.11 Block diagram of negative voltage generation circuit

VNN and VNNL using six stages of Dickson charge pumps.

VNN is kept to 4.75 V by a negative feedback and VNNL
supplies VNN/2.
The layout image of the designed 512 bit EEPROM
IP using Towers 0.18 m logic process is shown in
Fig.12 and the layout size is 326.675 m 367.27 m
(=0.12 mm2).

3 Simulation results
Figure 13 shows the simulation results for the
control signals of a cell in the erase mode and in the
program mode. It can be seen that the voltages of the
selected CG and the non-selected CG are 4.75 V and
+4.75 V, and the voltage of TG is +4.75 V in the erase
mode. Also, it can be seen that the voltages of the
selected CG and TG to be programmed are +4.75 V and

Fig.12 Layout image of designed 512 bit EEPROM IP

J. Cent. South Univ. Technol. (2011) 18: 20362044

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Fig.14 Simulation result for control signals of EEPROM IP in

read mode
Table 7 Simulation results of active currents and power
dissipations for different operation modes
Signal
Fig.13 Simulation results for control signals of cell in writing:
(a) Erase mode; (b) Program mode

4.75 V, and the voltages of the non-selected CG and TG

not to be programmed are all 0 V in the program mode. It
is confirmed that the results are consistent with the
values in Table 3.
Figure 14 shows the timing diagram for the control
signals in the read mode. If READ signal enters in the
read mode, WL is activated and a cell datum is
transferred to BL immediately, and then the BL datum is
sensed by BL S/A and outputted to DOUT if SAENb
signal is activated low.
Table 7 shows the simulation results for active
currents and power dissipations. The power dissipation
under the typical condition is 11.82 W in the read mode,
25.15 W in the program mode and 24.08 W in the
erase mode, respectively.

Operating current/A

Power dissipation/W

Read Program

Erase

Read Program Erase

VDD

9.85

8.38

8.41

11.82

10.06

10.09

VDDP

6.86

6.36

15.09

13.99

11.82

25.15

24.08

Total

4 Conclusions
1) A 512 bit EEPROM IP used for a passive RFID
tag chip is designed. A single poly EEPROM cell is
proposed by the 0.18 m process-based FN tunneling
scheme. Since the proposed cell shares the deep N-well
of a cell array, the cell size is 4.71 m 8.76 m, 37%
smaller than the conventional cell.
2) To secure the operation of the cell proposed with
3.3 V devices and the reliability of the used devices, an
EEPROM core circuit (a control gate driving circuit and
a tunnel gate driving circuit) and a DCDC converter are
proposed.
3) A design technique implementing a reference

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voltage generator of the DCDC converter with a

resistive divider is proposed. The technique uses a stable
VDD from the analog block to reduce the power
dissipation of the reference voltage generator and the
size of the EEPROM IP.
4) The 512 bit EEPROM IP is designed with
Towers 0.18 m logic process. The layout size is
326.675 m 367.27 m. It is confirmed by the computer
simulation that the power dissipation is 11.82 W in read
mode, 25.15 W in the program mode, and 24.08 W in
the erase mode, respectively. A test chip is in the making
with Towers 0.18 m logic process.

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

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