Systems and methods for data path power savings in DDR5 memory devices

• US 10,552,066 B2
• Filed: 08/31/2017
• Issued: 02/04/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Kandikonda, Ravi Kiran
• Primary Examiner(s): Rones, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vo, Tong B.
• Application Number:
  US15/693,173
• Publication Number:
  US 20190065090A1
• Time in Patent Office: 887 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/02 Addressing or allocation; Relocation program address sequencing G06F9/00; arrangements for selecting an address in a digital store G11C8/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0625 Power saving in storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0638 Organizing or formatting or addressing of data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0673 Single storage device
• 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 11/4087 Address decoders, e.g. bit - or word line decoders; Multiple line decoders
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/4096 Input/output [I/O] data management or control circuits, e.g. reading or writing circuits, I/O drivers or bit-line switches
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 5/063 Voltage and signal distribution in integrated semi-conductor memory access lines, e.g. word-line, bit-line, cross-over resistance, propagation delay
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 5/066 Means for reducing external access-lines for a semiconductor memory clip, e.g. by multiplexing at least address and data signals
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 7/1072 for memories with random access ports synchronised on clock signal pulse trains, e.g. synchronous memories, self timed memories

Abstract

A memory device includes a data path having a data bus. The memory device further includes a first one-hot communications interface communicatively coupled to the data bus, and a second one-hot communications interface communicatively coupled to the data bus. The memory device additionally includes at least one memory bank, and an input/output (I/O) interface communicatively coupled to the at least one memory bank via the first one-hot communications interface and the second one-hot communications interface, wherein the first one-hot communications interface is configured to convert a first data pattern received by the I/O interface into one-hot signals transmitted via the data bus to the second one-hot communications interface, and wherein the second one-hot communications interface is configured to convert the one-hot signals into the first data pattern to be stored in the at least one memory bank.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

transmitting, via an input/output (DQ) pad, a write command to write a memory data incoming from an external system to a bank controller, the bank controller configured to store the memory data in a memory bank;

receiving, via an input/output (I/O) interface circuitry, the write command at a memory device, wherein the I/O interface circuitry is included in the memory device;

converting, via a first one-hot communications interface circuitry of the memory device, a first data pattern of the memory data to be written in the memory bank of the memory device into first one-hot signals based on the write command;

transmitting, via a data path having a data bus of the memory device, the first one-hot signals from the first one-hot communications interface circuitry of the memory device, wherein the first one-hot communications interface circuitry is disposed in the DQ pad, wherein transmitting, via the data path, the first one-hot signals comprises transmitting the first one-hot signals to a first data junction of the memory device, to a single repeater of the memory device, and then from the single repeater to a second data junction of the memory device, wherein the single repeater connects the first data junction to the second data junction and is configured to boost the first one-hot signals to the second data junction;

converting, via a second one-hot communications interface circuitry, the first one-hot signals into the first data pattern, wherein the second one-hot communications interface circuitry is included in the memory bank controller and operatively coupled to the memory bank, and wherein the second one-hot communications interface circuitry is communicatively coupled to the data bus; and

saving the first data pattern in the memory bank, wherein the I/O interface circuitry is communicatively coupled to the memory bank via the first one-hot communications interface circuitry and the second one-hot communications interface circuitry.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein converting, via the memory device, the first data pattern comprises deriving a plurality of nibbles based on the first data pattern, each nibble comprising 4 bits, and wherein the data bus comprises a width of 16 bits.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein converting, via the memory device, the first data pattern comprises decoding the plurality of nibbles into the first one-hot signals based on a one-hot signal decoding table.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising:

receiving a read command at the memory device;

converting, via the memory device, a second data pattern to be read from the memory bank of the memory device into second one-hot signals based on the read command;

transmitting, via the data bus of the memory device, the second one-hot signals from the second one-hot communications interface circuitry of the memory device;

converting, via the first one-hot communications interface circuitry, the second one-hot signals into the second data pattern; and

providing the second data pattern to the DQ pad of the memory device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein converting, via the first one-hot communications interface circuitry, the second one-hot signals into the second data pattern comprises encoding the second one-hot signals via a one-hot signal encoder circuitry.

6. A memory device, comprising:

an input/output (DQ) pad configured to transmit memory data incoming from an external system to a bank controller;

the bank controller configured to store the memory data in at least one memory bank;

a data path comprising a data bus;

a first one-hot communications interface circuitry communicatively coupled to the data bus and disposed in the DQ pad;

a second one-hot communications interface circuitry communicatively coupled to the data bus and disposed in the bank controller;

the at least one memory bank; and

an input/output (I/O) interface circuitry communicatively coupled to the at least one memory bank via the first one-hot communications interface circuitry and the second one-hot communications interface circuitry, wherein the first one-hot communications interface circuitry is configured to convert a first data pattern of the memory data received by the I/O interface circuitry into one-hot signals transmitted via the data bus to the second one-hot communications interface circuitry, wherein the second one-hot communications interface circuitry is configured to convert the one-hot signals into the first data pattern to be stored in the at least one memory bank, wherein the I/O interface circuitry includes the first-one hot communications interface circuitry, and wherein the data path comprises a first data junction;

a second data junction communicatively coupled to the at least one memory bank; and

a single repeater connecting the first data junction to the second data junction and configured to boost the one-hot signals from the first data junction to the second data junction, and wherein the one-hot signals are transmitted from the first one-hot communications interface circuitry to the first data junction via the data bus, then to the repeater, and then to the second data junction via the repeater to be stored into the at least one memory bank.

7. The memory device of claim 6, wherein the first one-hot communications interface circuitry comprises a pumping parallelizer circuitry communicatively coupled to an input buffer of the DQ pad configured to convert the first data pattern into one or more phase-separated nibbles of data.

8. The memory device of claim 7, wherein the first one-hot communications interface circuitry comprises a decoder circuitry configured to receive the one or more phase-separated nibbles of data and configured to decode the one or more phase-separated nibbles of data into the one-hot signals.

9. The memory device of claim 8, wherein the data bus comprises a 16-bit data bus, wherein the pumping parallelizer circuitry comprises a quad pumping parallelizer circuitry configured to convert the first data pattern into 4 phase-separated nibbles of data, and wherein each of the 4 phase-separated nibbles of data comprises 4 bits.

10. The memory device of claim 6, wherein the second one-hot communications interface circuitry comprises an encoder circuit configured to convert the one-hot signals into the first data pattern.

11. The memory device of claim 6, wherein the second one-hot communications interface circuitry is configured to convert a second data pattern stored in the at least one memory bank into second one-hot signals transmitted to the first one-hot communications interface circuitry, and wherein the first one-hot communications interface circuitry is configured to convert the second one-hot signals into the second data pattern to be communicated to an external system via the I/O interface circuitry.

12. The memory device of claim 11, wherein the second one-hot communications interface circuitry comprises a pumping parallelizer circuitry configured to convert the second data pattern into one or more phase-separated nibbles of data, a decoder circuitry configured to receive the one or more phase-separated nibbles of data and configured to decode the one or more phase-separated nibbles of data into the second one-hot signals.

13. The memory device of claim 6, comprising a double data rate type five (DDR5) memory device having the data path, the first one-hot communications interface circuitry, the second one-hot communications interface circuitry, the at least one memory bank, and the I/O interface circuitry.

14. A memory device, comprising:

a first one-hot communications interface circuitry comprising;

a first pumping parallelizer circuitry configured to receive a first data pattern incoming from an input buffer included in an input/output (DQ) pad and to convert the first data pattern into one or more phase-separated nibbles of data, wherein the DQ pad is configured to transmit memory data incoming from an external system to a bank controller, and wherein the bank controller is configured to store the memory data in a memory bank; and

a first decoder circuitry configured to receive the one or more phase-separated nibbles of data and configured to decode the one or more phase-separated nibbles of data into first one-hot signals, wherein the first one-hot communications interface circuitry is configured to transmit the first one-hot signals via a data bus for storage of the first data pattern in the memory bank of the memory device, wherein the first one-hot communications interface circuitry is included in an input/output (I/O) interface circuitry of the memory device;

a data path comprising the data bus, a first data junction, a second data junction communicatively coupled to the memory bank; and

a single repeater connecting the first data junction to the second data junction, wherein the single repeater is configured to boost the first one-hot signals from the first data junction to the second data junction, wherein the DQ pad includes the first one-hot communications interface circuitry; and

a second one-hot communications interface circuitry comprising a first encoder circuit configured to convert the first one-hot signals into the first data pattern for storage of the first data pattern in the memory bank, wherein the second one-hot communications interface circuitry is included in the bank controller.

15. The memory device of claim 14, wherein the second one-hot communications interface circuitry comprises:

a second pumping parallelizer circuitry configured to convert a second data pattern stored in the memory bank into second one or more phase-separated nibbles of data; and

a second encoder circuitry configured to receive the second one or more phase-separated nibbles of data and configured to encode the second one or more phase-separated nibbles of data into second one-hot signals, wherein the second one-hot communications interface circuitry is configured to transmit the second one-hot signals via the data bus to the DQ pad of the memory device.

16. The memory device of claim 15, wherein the first one-hot communications interface circuitry comprises a second encoder circuit configured to convert the second one-hot signals into the second data pattern for transmission of the second data pattern to the DQ pad.

17. The memory device of claim 14, comprising a double data rate type five (DDR5) memory device having the first one-hot communications interface circuitry.