Non-volatile ferroelectric memory device for storing data bits restored upon power-on and intermittently refreshed

摘要

A non-volatile ferroelectric memory cell includes a ferroelectric capacitor polarized in either direction representative of one of the logic levels of a data bit and a field effect transistor connected between a bit line and a ground line and having a gate electrode connected to one of the electrodes of the ferroelectric capacitor, and the polarization in the ferroelectric capacitor induces movable electric charge in the gate electrode so as to change the threshold of the field effect transistor between a high level and a low level; when the movable electric charge is undesirably leaked from the gate electrode, a data restoring circuit checks the ferroelectric capacitor to see whether the polarization is directed in one direction or the other direction, and a driving circuit makes up the movable electric charge so as to enhance the reliability of the data bit stored therein.