Hardware interview practice
Trace an Address Through a Mask ROM
A mask-programmed ROM uses a row decoder, word lines, bit lines with pull devices, and optional programmed devices at row-column intersections. Which statement correctly explains a read?
Choose one
Answer choices
- A. The address decoder activates one word line; each selected intersection either changes or leaves its bit-line state according to the programmed connection, and column sensing converts those states into output bits.
- B. All word lines are enabled together, and the address selects one sense amplifier after their bit-line values are shorted together.
- C. The address is stored dynamically in every cell capacitor and must be refreshed before the decoder can use it.
- D. The row decoder rewrites the ROM contents on every access so the selected word appears at the output.