USER DEVICE HAVING A HOST FLASH TRANSLATION LAYER (FTL), A METHOD FOR TRANSFERRING AN ERASE COUNT THEREOF, A METHOD FOR TRANSFERRING REPROGRAM INFORMATION THEREOF, AND A METHOD FOR TRANSFERRING A PAGE OFFSET OF AN OPEN BLOCK THEREOF

• US 20150143035A1
• Filed: 11/13/2014
• Published: 05/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Min-Woo, Chung, Woonjae, Choi, Wan-Soo, Jang, Jun-Ho, Song, Yonghwan
• Granted Patent: US 9,612,773 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 711/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0619 in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0661 Format or protocol conversion arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0679 Non-volatile semiconductor memory device, e.g. flash memory, one time programmable memory [OTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/102 External programming circuits, e.g. EPROM programmers; In-circuit programming or reprogramming; EPROM emulators

Abstract

A user device includes a storage device including a flash memory; and a host connected to the storage device via an interface and adapted to transmit data to the storage device. The host provides the storage device with erase count information of the flash memory using a host flash translation layer (FTL), provides the storage device with reprogram information when the flash memory uses a reprogram method, or provides the storage device with page offset information of an open block of the flash memory.

Claims

1. A user device, comprising:

a storage device including a flash memory; and

a host connected to the storage device via an interface and adapted to transmit data to the storage device,

wherein the host provides the storage device with erase count information of the flash memory using a host flash translation layer (FTL), provides the storage device with reprogram information When the flash memory uses a reprogram method, or provides the storage device with page offset information of an open block of the flash memory.

2. The user device of claim 1, wherein the flash memory includes a plurality of memory blocks, and

wherein the erase count information is a max erase count of erase counts of the memory blocks.

3. The user device of claim 1, wherein the host provides the storage device with the erase count information of the flash memory periodically or when the storage device is booted up.

4. The user device of claim 1, Wherein the storage device adjusts a read level of the flash memory using the erase count information.

5. The user device of claim 1, wherein the flash memory includes a plurality of block types, and wherein the erase count information is a max erase count of each block type.

6. The user device of claim 1, wherein the host provides the storage device with the reprogram information using a program command field format.

7. The user device of claim 6, wherein the program command field format includes a storage address format, and wherein the reprogram information is included in the storage address format.

8. The user device of claim 1, wherein the host provides the storage device with the page offset information of the open block when a specific condition is satisfied.

9. The user device of claim 8, wherein the specific condition includes a condition in which a read-target block is an open block and a read operation is first performed after the user device is initialized, a condition in which a read-target block is an open block and a memory block is changed in the same concurrently addressable unit (CAU), or a condition in which a read-target block is an open block and a page offset of the read-target block is changed.

10. The user device of claim 1, wherein a memory cell array of the flash memory has a three-dimensional structure in which cell strings are formed in a direction perpendicular to a substrate.

11. An erase count transferring method of a user device which includes a storage device including a flash memory;

and a host connected to the storage device via an interface and adapted to drive a host flash translation layer (FTL), the erase count transferring method comprising;

transferring, from the host, a setting command mark to setup the storage device for a transfer of an erase count;

sending, from the host, a setting erase count corresponding to a storage address format;

transmitting, from the storage device, erase count data including an erase count of the flash memory; and

sending, from the host, a setting command end mark for ending a command setting.

12. The erase count transferring method of claim 11, wherein the erase count is a max erase count of erase counts of memory blocks in the flash memory.

13. The erase count transferring method of claim 11, wherein the host provides the erase count of the flash memory periodically or when the storage device is booted up.

14. The erase count transferring method of claim 11, wherein the storage device adjusts a read level of the flash memory using the erase count.

15. The erase count transferring method of claim 11, wherein the flash memory includes a plurality of block types, and wherein the erase count is a max erase count of each block type.

16. A reprogram information transferring method of a user device which includes a storage device including a flash memory;

and a host connected to the storage device via an interface and adapted to drive a host flash translation layer (FTL), the reprogram information transferring method comprising;

transferring, from the host, a program mark for indicating a transfer of information for a write operation;

sending, from the host, a storage address format for designating a storage location of program data in the flash memory; and

transmitting, from the host, a program end mark for reporting a program end,

wherein when the flash memory uses a reprogram method, the host provides the storage device with reprogram information included in the storage address format.

17. The reprogram information transferring method of claim 16, further comprising:

providing the storage device with the reprogram information using a program hint command field format.

18. The reprogram information transferring method of claim 17, wherein the program hint command field format includes a storage address format, and wherein the reprogram information is included in the storage address format.

19. The reprogram information transferring method of claim 17, wherein the program hint command field format is provided to the storage device prior to a transfer of a program command.

20. The reprogram information transferring method of claim 17, wherein the program hint command field format is formed of a program hint mark, a storage address format, and a program hint end mark, and wherein the program hint command field format does not include program data.

21-28. -28. (canceled)