Patent 7777557 was granted and assigned to Panasonic on August, 2010 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A boosting circuit comprises a first boosting cell row and a second boosting cell row. The boosting circuit further comprises an analog comparison circuit for comparing the potential of boosting cells on the same stage, and selecting and outputting the lower or higher of the potentials. The potential of an N well is controlled using the output potential of the analog comparison circuit. Thereby, the amplitude of an N well potential can be suppressed, and a single N well region can be shared.