FLASH MANAGEMENT USING BAD PAGE TRACKING AND HIGH DEFECT FLASH MEMORY
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for flash memory management, comprising:
- storing defect information for one or more erase blocks in a flash memory; and
constructing a data table associated with the flash memory, wherein entries of the data table correspond to physical portions within the flash memory, wherein the size of the physical portions is smaller than the size of an erase block in the flash memory, and wherein entries of the data table comprise defect information associated with the physical portions.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed are techniques for flash memory management, including utilizing defect information corresponding to a granularity smaller than a physical erase block size of a flash memory chip.
113 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method for flash memory management, comprising:
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storing defect information for one or more erase blocks in a flash memory; and constructing a data table associated with the flash memory, wherein entries of the data table correspond to physical portions within the flash memory, wherein the size of the physical portions is smaller than the size of an erase block in the flash memory, and wherein entries of the data table comprise defect information associated with the physical portions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A data storage system, comprising:
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a memory configured for block-based erase operations; a controller in communication the memory, wherein the controller is configured to write incoming data to the memory in the order the data is received; and a data table in communication with the controller, wherein entries of the data table correspond to physical portions within the memory, wherein the size of the physical portions is smaller than the size of an erase block in the memory, and wherein entries of the data table comprise defect information associated with the physical portions. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A tangible computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising:
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instructions to store defect information for one or more erase blocks in a flash memory; and instructions to construct a data table associated with the flash memory, wherein entries of the data table correspond to physical portions within the flash memory, wherein the size of the physical portions is smaller than the size of an erase block in the flash memory, and wherein entries of the data table comprise defect information associated with the physical portions.
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20. A method for reclaiming unused memory in a flash chip, the method comprising:
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testing the flash chip to identify physical pages having an inoperative memory element therein, wherein the flash chip comprises erase blocks, and wherein the flash chip is configured with a list identifying one or more of the erase blocks as unusable; constructing a data table associated with the flash chip, wherein entries of the data table correspond to physical pages within the flash chip, wherein the size of the physical pages is smaller than the size of an erase block in the flash chip, and wherein entries of the data table comprise defect information associated with the physical pages; and storing payload data in a physical page within an erase block in the flash chip, wherein the erase block was identified on the list of unusable erase blocks. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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Specification