Embedded refresh controllers and memory devices including the same

• US 10,446,216 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2016
• Issued: 10/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Oh, Jong-Min, Song, Ho-Young, Kim, Do-Yeon
• Primary Examiner(s): Khan, Masud K
• Application Number:
  US15/134,637
• Publication Number:
  US 20170011792A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,272 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/406 Management or control of the refreshing or charge-regeneration cycles
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/40618 Refresh operations over multiple banks or interleaving
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/40622 Partial refresh of memory arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/4072 Circuits for initialization, powering up or down, clearing memory or presetting
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/4076 Timing circuits for regeneration management G11C11/406
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/408 Address circuits

Abstract

Embedded refresh controllers included in memory devices and memory devices including the embedded refresh controllers are provided. The embedded refresh controllers may include a refresh counter and an address generator. The refresh counter may generate a counter refresh address signal in response to a counter refresh signal such that the counter refresh address signal may represent a sequentially changing address. The address generator may store information with respect to a hammer address that is accessed intensively and may generates a hammer refresh address signal in response to a hammer refresh signal such that the hammer refresh address signal may represent an address of a row that is physically adjacent to a row of the hammer address. Loss of cell data may be reduced and performance of the memory device may be enhanced by detecting the intensively-accessed hammer address and performing the refresh operation based on the detected hammer address efficiently.

Claims

1. An embedded refresh controller included in a memory device, the embedded refresh controller comprising:

a refresh counter configured to generate a counter refresh address signal in response to a counter refresh signal, the counter refresh address signal corresponding to a row address of the memory device; and

an address generator configured to store information with respect to a hammer address that is accessed intensively and configured to generate a hammer refresh address signal in response to a hammer refresh signal, the hammer refresh address signal corresponding to an address of a first row of the memory device that is physically adjacent to a second row of the memory device corresponding to the hammer address,

wherein the address generator includes a storage circuit configured to store row addresses of the memory device and respective access count values corresponding to the row addresses in response to an active signal and an address signal provided from a memory controller,

wherein each of the access count values represents a number of occurrence of access to a respective row among a plurality of rows of the memory device,

wherein the address generator is configured to determine the hammer address as an address of one of the plurality of rows having a highest access count value among the access count values stored in the storage circuit when the hammer refresh signal is activated, and

wherein the address generator is configured to initialize the highest access count value and a lowest access count value among the access count values stored in the storage circuit to zero without changing remaining access count values after determining the hammer address.

2. The embedded refresh controller of claim 1, wherein the address generator is configured to accumulate the access count values without initializing the access count values stored in the storage circuit in each of a plurality of time frames.

3. The embedded refresh controller of claim 1, wherein the storage circuit includes a plurality of storage units, and each of the storage units is configured to store a respective one of the row addresses and a respective one of the access count values.

4. The embedded refresh controller of claim 3, wherein the address generator is configured to replace an address of a new row with an address of one of the plurality of rows corresponding to the lowest access count value among the access count values stored in the storage circuit when all of the storage units store the row addresses and the new row that corresponds to the address not stored in the storage units is accessed.

5. The embedded refresh controller of claim 1, further comprising:

a timing controller configured to generate the counter refresh signal and the hammer refresh signal in response to a refresh signal provided from the memory controller.

6. The embedded refresh controller of claim 5, wherein the timing controller is configured to selectively activate one of the counter refresh signal and the hammer refresh signal.

7. The embedded refresh controller of claim 1, wherein the memory device further comprises an interface, and the memory device is configured to communicate with the memory controller through the interface, and

wherein the embedded refresh controller is configured to generate the hammer refresh signal in response to a command signal provided by the memory controller through the interface.

8. A memory device comprising:

an interface, the memory device being configured to communicate with a memory controller through the interface;

a memory cell array including a plurality of memory cells; and

an embedded refresh controller configured to control a refresh operation of the memory cells, the embedded refresh controller comprising;

a refresh counter configured to generate a counter refresh address signal in response to a counter refresh signal, the counter refresh address signal corresponding to a row address of the memory cell array; and

an address generator configured to store information with respect to a hammer address that is accessed intensively and configured to generate a hammer refresh address signal in response to a hammer refresh signal, the hammer refresh address signal corresponding to an address of a first row of the memory cell array that is physically adjacent to a second row of the memory cell array corresponding to the hammer address, and the embedded refresh controller being configured to generate the hammer refresh signal in response to a command signal provided by the memory controller through the interface,

wherein the embedded refresh controller is further configured to periodically generate the counter refresh signal for a first number of first activation periods and then periodically generate the hammer refresh signal for a second number of second activation periods, and

wherein the embedded refresh controller is further configured to maintain an activation ratio between the first number of first activation periods and the second number of second activation periods.

9. The memory device of claim 8, wherein the memory cell array includes a plurality of memory banks, and

wherein the address generator includes a plurality of sub-generators, and each of the sub-generators is configured to independently generate hammer refresh address signals corresponding to each of the memory banks.

10. The memory device of claim 9, wherein first ones of the memory cells included in rows that have addresses corresponding to the counter refresh address signal are configured to be refreshed simultaneously in all of the memory banks when the counter refresh signal is activated, and

wherein second ones of the memory cells included in rows that have addresses corresponding to the hammer refresh address signals of the respective memory banks are configured to be refreshed simultaneously in all of the memory banks when the hammer refresh signal is activated.

11. The memory device of claim 8, wherein the memory device is a three-dimensional memory device including a plurality of semiconductor dies that are stacked vertically.

12. The memory device of claim 8, wherein the interface comprises an address pad and a data pad.

13. The memory device of claim 8, wherein the memory device is configured to receive a Row Address Strobe (RAS) signal and a Column Address Strobe (CAS) signal from the memory controller through the interface.

14. A memory device comprising:

an embedded refresh controller comprising an address generator that is configured to store addresses of rows and numbers of occurrence of access to the respective rows and is configured to determine a hammer address as an address of one of the rows that has a highest number of occurrence of access in response to a hammer refresh signal that is activated in synchronization with time points at a periodic interval; and

wherein the embedded refresh controller further comprises;

a timing controller configured to generate a counter refresh signal and the hammer refresh signal in response to a refresh signal provided from a memory controller,

wherein the embedded refresh controller is configured to generate the counter refresh signal for a first number of first activation periods and then generate the hammer refresh signal for a second number of second activation periods, and

wherein the embedded refresh controller is further configured to maintain an activation ratio between the first number of first activation periods and the second number of second activation periods.

15. The memory device of claim 14, wherein the address generator is configured to initialize the number of occurrence of access of the one of the rows that has the highest number of occurrence of access without changing at least one of the numbers of occurrence of access after determining the hammer address.

16. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the address generator is configured to initialize the address of the one of the rows that has the highest number of occurrence of access after determining the hammer address.

17. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the address generator is configured to initialize the number of occurrence of access of one of the rows that has a lowest number of occurrence of access without changing remaining number of occurrence of access after determining the hammer address.

18. The memory device of claim 14, wherein a memory cell array including the rows and the embedded refresh controller are in one die.