SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE AND DATA PROCESSING METHOD THEREOF

• US 20110060965A1
• Filed: 09/03/2010
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: KWON, EuiJin, LIM, Kyoungmook, KIM, Kwanho
• Granted Patent: US 8,381,085 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/758
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1068 in sector programmable memories, e.g. flash disk G06F11/1072 takes precedence

Abstract

A semiconductor memory device is provided. The semiconductor memory device includes an error correction code block and a memory. The error correction code block performs error correction encoding for user data to generate parity data. The memory stores the user data and the parity data. The error correction code block generates parity data, including a number of bits equal to at least 2t, wherein t is a natural number, and the bits of the parity data distinguish free page data from user data that is equal to the free page data.

Claims

1. A semiconductor memory device, comprising:

an error correction code unit that performs error correction encoding for user data, and generates parity data; and

a memory unit that stores the user data and the parity data, wherein the error correction code unit generates the parity data, which comprises a number of bits equal to at least 2t, wherein t is a natural number, and the bits of the parity data distinguish free page data from user data that is equal to the free page data.

2. The semiconductor memory device of claim 1, wherein the error correction code unit generates the parity data by adding an indicator to padding data of the user data, wherein the indicator distinguishes the free page data from user data that is equal to the free page data.

3. The semiconductor memory device of claim 2, wherein the indicator comprises at least one bit which differs from a bit of the free page data.

4. The semiconductor memory device of claim 1, wherein t is the maximum number of errors correctable by the error correction code unit.

5. The semiconductor memory device of claim 1, wherein the error correction code unit comprises:

a first inverter that inverts the user data;

a padding data adder that, if the user data is equal to the free page data, adds padding data to the inverted user data;

a parity bit generator that generates a parity bit using the inverted user data and the padding data; and

a second inverter that inverts the inverted user data and the parity bit and stores the user data and inverted parity bit in the memory unit.

6. The semiconductor memory device of claim 5, wherein if the user data is equal to the free page data, the padding data adder adds an indicator to the padding data that distinguishes the free page data from the user data that is equal to the free page data.

7. A data writing method of a semiconductor memory device, the data writing method comprising:

performing error correction encoding for user data, and generating parity data; and

storing the user data and the parity data, wherein the parity data comprises a number of bits equal to at least 2t, wherein t is a natural number, and the bits of the parity data distinguish free page data from user data that is equal to the free page data.

8. The data writing method of claim 7, wherein the generating of parity data comprises:

if the user data is equal to the free page data, adding an indicator, which is configured with a bit different from a bit of the free page data, to padding data of the user data; and

generating the parity data using the user data and the padding data, which includes the indicator.

9. The data writing method of claim 8, wherein the indicator is comprises at least one bit which differs from a bit of the free page data.

10. The data writing method of claim 7, wherein t is the maximum number of errors correctable by the error correction encoding.

11. The data writing method of claim 7, wherein the error correction encoding comprises:

inverting the user data;

if the user data is equal to the free page data, adding padding data to the inverted user data;

generating a parity bit using the inverted user data and the padding data; and

inverting the inverted user data and the parity bit, and storing the user data and inverted parity bit.

12. The data writing method of claim 11, further comprising, if the user data is equal to the free page data, adding an indicator to the padding data that distinguishes the free page data from the user data that is equal to the free page data.

13. A semiconductor memory system comprising:

a semiconductor memory device; and

a host device;

wherein the semiconductor memory device comprises a memory controller and a memory unit;

wherein the memory controller comprises an error correction code unit that performs error correction encoding for user data, and generates parity data, which comprises a number of bits equal to at least 2t, wherein t is a natural number, and the bits of the parity data distinguish free page data from user data that is equal to the free page data.

14. The semiconductor memory system of claim 13, the error correction code unit generates the parity data by adding an indicator to padding data of the user data, wherein the indicator distinguishes the free page data from user data that is equal to the free page data.

15. The semiconductor memory system of claim 14, wherein the indicator comprises at least one bit which differs from a bit of the free page data.

16. The semiconductor memory system of claim 13, wherein t is the maximum number of errors correctable by the error correction code unit.

17. The semiconductor memory system of claim 13, wherein the error correction code unit comprises:

a first inverter that inverts the user data;

a padding data adder that, if the user data is equal to the free page data, adds padding data to the inverted user data;

a parity bit generator that generates a parity bit using the inverted user data and the padding data; and

a second inverter that inverts the inverted user data and the parity bit and stores the user data and inverted parity bit in the memory unit.

18. The semiconductor memory system of claim 17, wherein if the user data is equal to the free page data, the padding data adder adds an indicator to the padding data that distinguishes the free page data from the user data that is equal to the free page data.