APPARATUS AND METHOD OF OPERATING MEMORY DEVICE

• US 20140129902A1
• Filed: 10/31/2013
• Published: 05/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: YOON, Hyun-Jun, JEONG, Jae-Yong, KIM, Bo-Geun, PARK, Ki-Tae, CHOI, Myoung-Hoon
• Granted Patent: US 9,147,483 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/764
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1048 using arrangements adapted for a specific error detection or correction feature
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/5642 Sensing or reading circuits; Data output circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/26 Sensing or reading circuits; Data output circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/3422 Circuits or methods to evaluate read or write disturbance in nonvolatile memory, without steps to mitigate the problem
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2029/0411 Online error correction
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2211/5641 Multilevel memory having cells with different number of storage levels

Abstract

A memory device useable with a memory system includes a voltage generator to a plurality of first candidate voltages and a plurality of second candidate voltages, and an X decoder to sequentially apply each of the plurality of first candidate voltages and each of the plurality of second candidate voltages to one or more cells of a memory cell array, and then to apply one of the plurality of first candidate voltages and one of the plurality of second candidate voltages as a first read voltage and a second voltage, respectively, to read data from the cells of the memory cell array according to a characteristic of the cells of the memory cell array.

Claims

1. A memory system comprising:

a nonvolatile memory device comprising a plurality of memory cells into which data is programmed; and

a controller to control the nonvolatile memory device,

wherein;

the controller comprises;

a microprocessor to change a first read voltage, which is used to determine whether the data stored in the memory cells is a first voltage state or a second voltage state, to a first select read voltage which is any one of a first number of first candidate voltages different from each other by a first voltage and to change a second read voltage, which is used to determine whether the data stored in the memory cells is a third voltage state or a fourth voltage state, to a second select read voltage which is any one of a second number of second candidate voltages different from each other by a second voltage which is different from the first voltage;

an error correction code (ECC) encoder to create data added with parity bits by performing ECC encoding on data which is to be provided to the nonvolatile memory device; and

an ECC decoder to correct error bits of the data added with the parity bits; and

the nonvolatile memory device comprises;

a voltage generator to generate the first and second read voltages, the first candidate voltages, and the second candidate voltages;

an X decoder to receive the first and second read voltages and the first and second select read voltages generated by the voltage generator and to drive the memory cells using the first and second read voltages and the first and second select read voltages; and

a register to store the first and second select read voltages.

2. The memory system of claim 1, wherein the first and second voltage states are different from the third and fourth voltage states.

3. The memory system of claim 1, wherein the first voltage state and the second voltage state overlap each other, and the third voltage state and the fourth voltage state overlap each other.

4. The memory system of claim 3, wherein a difference between a voltage at an intersection of the third and fourth voltage states and the second read voltage is greater than a difference between a voltage at an intersection of the first and second voltage states and the first read voltage.

5. The memory system of claim 4, wherein the first voltage is smaller than the second voltage.

6. The memory system of claim 1, wherein the microprocessor changes the first read voltage if a number of failed cells is equal to or greater than a first limit value when the first read voltage is applied to the memory cells, does not change the first read voltage if the number of failed cells is less than the first limit value when the first read voltage is applied to the memory cells, changes the second read voltage if the number of failed cells is equal to or greater than a second limit value when the second read voltage is applied to the memory cells, and does not change the second read voltage if the number of failed cells is less than the second limit value.

7. The memory system of claim 6, wherein the first limit value and the second limit value are different.

8. The memory system of claim 6, wherein each of the first and second limit values is a number of memory cells that can be error-corrected using ECC.

9. The memory system of claim 1, wherein the first number and the second number are different.

10. The memory system of claim 1, wherein the first select read voltage is a candidate voltage which produces a smallest number of failed cells when the first candidate voltages are applied to the memory cells, and the second select read voltage is a candidate voltage which produces the smallest number of failed cells when the second candidate voltages are applied to the memory cells.

11. A method of operating a memory device, the method comprising:

changing a first read voltage, which is used to determine whether data stored in memory cells is a first voltage state or a second voltage state, to a first select read voltage which is any one of a first number of first candidate voltages different from each other by a first voltage; and

changing a second read voltage, which is used to determine whether the data stored in the memory cells is a third voltage state or a fourth voltage state, to a second select read voltage which is any one of a second number of second candidate voltages different from each other by a second voltage which is different from the first voltage,

wherein the changing of the first read voltage to the first select read voltage comprises applying the first candidate voltages sequentially from a first start candidate voltage at intervals of the first voltage and selecting a previous first candidate voltage as the first select read voltage if a number of failed cells is smaller when the previous first candidate voltage is applied to the memory cells than when a present first candidate voltage is applied to the memory cells, and the changing of the second read voltage to the second select read voltage comprises applying the second candidate voltages sequentially from a second start candidate voltage at intervals of the second voltage and selecting a previous second candidate voltage as the second select read voltage if the number of failed cells is smaller when the previous candidate voltage is applied to the memory cells than when a current candidate voltage is applied to the memory cells.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the changing of the first read voltage comprises changing the first read voltage if the number of failed cells is equal to or greater than a first limit value when the first read voltage is applied to the memory cells and not changing the first read voltage if the number of failed cells is less than the first limit value when the first read voltage is applied to the memory cells, and the changing of the second read voltage comprises changing the second read voltage if the number of failed cells is equal to or greater than a second limit value when the second read voltage is applied to the memory cells and not changing the second read voltage if the number of failed cells is less than the second limit value.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein each of the first and second limit values is a number of memory cells that can be error-corrected using ECC.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the first and second voltage states are different from the third and fourth voltage states.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the first start candidate voltage is different from the first read voltage, and the second start candidate voltage is different from the second read voltage.

16. A memory device useable with a memory system, comprising:

a voltage generator to generate a plurality of first candidate voltages and a plurality of second candidate voltages; and

an X decoder to sequentially apply each of the plurality of first candidate voltages and each of the plurality of second candidate voltages to one or more cells of a memory cell array, and then to apply one of the plurality of first candidate voltages and one of the plurality of second candidate voltages as a first read voltage and a second voltage, respectively, to read data from the cells of the memory cell array according to a characteristic of the cells of the memory cell array.

17. The memory device of claim 16, wherein each of the one or more cells of the memory cell array comprises a multi-level cell to store more than two bits as data stored in each cell.

18. The memory device of claim 16, wherein:

the memory system includes a controller connected to the memory device; and

the controller determines the number of failed cells according to read data associated with the sequentially applied first candidate voltages and the sequentially applied second candidate voltages as the characteristic of the cells of the memory cell array, determines the ones as the first read voltage and the second read voltage according to the determined number of failed cells, and to output to an external device a signal representing the data read from the cells applied with the first read voltage and the second voltage.

19. The memory device of claim 18, wherein the controller does not output the signal to the external device when data is read from the cells applied with the first candidate voltages and the second candidate voltages.

20. The memory device of claim 16, further comprising:

a register to store the applied one of the first candidate voltages and the applied one of the second candidate voltages as the first read voltage and the second read voltage, respectively, such that data can be read regardless of a shift of threshold voltage distributions on the cells.