MEMORY SYSTEM AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE MEMORY SYSTEM

• US 20150309737A1
• Filed: 04/14/2015
• Published: 10/29/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Jae-Hong Kim
• Inventors: KIM, Jae-hong
• Granted Patent: US 9,477,410 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/00 Accessing, addressing or allocating within memory systems or architectures digital input from, or digital output to record carriers, e.g. to disk storage units, G06F3/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/00 Interconnection of, or transfer of information or other signals between, memories, input/output devices or central processing units interface circuits for specific input/output devices G06F3/00 ; multiprogram control therefor G06F9/46; multiprocessor systems G06F15/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0611 in relation to response time
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0625 Power saving in storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0659 Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0688 Non-volatile semiconductor memory arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/5642 Sensing or reading circuits; Data output circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/08 Address circuits; Decoders; Word-line control circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/26 Sensing or reading circuits; Data output circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 8/08 Word line control circuits, e.g. drivers, boosters, pull-up circuits, pull-down circuits, precharging circuits, for word lines

Abstract

According to example embodiments, a memory system includes a memory device and a memory controller configured to control the memory device. The memory device includes a plurality of memory cells. The memory controller includes a storage unit configured to sequentially store a plurality of commands received from a host, a distance determination unit configured to determine a distance between a program command and a read command, associated with the same word line, from among the plurality of commands stored in the storage unit, and a read voltage determination unit configured to determine a read voltage level corresponding to the read command based on the determined distance.

Claims

1. A memory system comprising:

a memory device including a plurality of memory cells; and

a memory controller configured to control the memory device,

the memory controller including a storage unit configured to sequentially store a plurality of commands received from a host,

the memory controller including a distance determination unit configured to determine a distance between a program command and a read command, associated with the same word line, from among the plurality of commands stored in the storage unit, and the memory controller including a read voltage determination unit configured to determine a read voltage level corresponding to the read command based on the determined distance.

2. The memory system of claim 1, wherein the distance determination unit is configured to determine whether the distance between the program command and the read command with respect to the same word line exceeds a threshold value.

3. The memory system of claim 2, wherein the threshold value is based on a speed at which a threshold voltage of a program-completed memory cell of the plurality of memory cells varies.

4. The memory system of claim 2, wherein

a threshold voltage of a program-completed memory cell of the plurality of memory cells decreases at a first speed during a time period between a program end time and a threshold time,

the threshold voltage decreases at a second speed after the threshold time, and

the first speed is faster than the second speed.

5. The memory system of claim 4, wherein the threshold value is based on the threshold time.

6. The memory system of claim 2, wherein

the read voltage determination unit is configured to select a first voltage level as the read voltage level if the distance exceeds the threshold value, and

the read voltage determination unit is configured to select to select a second voltage level that is higher than the first voltage level as the read voltage level if the distance does not exceed the threshold value.

7. The memory system of claim 6, wherein

the first voltage level is used to read a memory cell when a variation in a threshold voltage of a program-completed memory cell of the plurality of memory cells is relatively small, and

the second voltage level is used to read the memory cell when the variation in the threshold voltage of the program-completed memory cell of the plurality of memory cells is relatively large.

8. The memory system of claim 2, further comprising:

a correction unit configured to correct the threshold value based on types of the plurality of commands stored in the storage unit.

9. The memory system of claim 8, wherein the correction unit is configured to increase the threshold value according to a number of erase commands among the plurality of commands stored in the storage unit.

10. The memory system of claim 8, wherein the correction unit is configured to decrease the threshold value according to a number of read commands among the plurality of commands stored in the storage unit.

11. The memory system of claim 2, wherein the storage unit is configured to form a command queue configured to sequentially store the plurality of commands.

12. The memory system of claim 1, wherein

the distance determination unit is configured to estimate a first time between the program command and the read command with respect to the same word line, and

the distance determination unit is configured to determine whether the first time exceeds a threshold time.

13-15. -15. (canceled)

16. A memory system comprising:

a memory device including a plurality of memory cells connected to a plurality of word lines; and

a memory controller configured to control the memory device,

the memory controller being configured to sequentially store a plurality of commands received from a host,

the memory controller being configured to determine if the plurality of commands stored in the storage unit include a program command and a read command associated with a selected word line among the plurality of word lines,

the memory controller being configured to adjust a level of a read voltage applied to the selected word line during a read operation according to an interval based on the program command and the read command, and

the memory controller being configured to control the application of the read voltage to the selected word line during the read operation.

17. The memory system of claim 16, wherein

the memory controller is configured to increase a magnitude of the read voltage applied to the selected word line during the read operation from a first read voltage to a second read voltage if the interval based on the program command and the read command is less than or equal to a threshold time, and

the memory controller is configured apply the first read voltage to the selected word line during the read operation if the interval based on the program command and the read command is greater than the threshold time.

18. The memory system of claim 16, wherein

the memory controller is configured to increase a magnitude of the read voltage applied to the selected word line from a first read voltage to a second read voltage if the interval based on the program command and the read command is less than a threshold time, and

the memory controller is configured apply the first read voltage to the selected word line during the read operation if the interval based on the program command and the read command is greater than or equal to the threshold time.

19. The memory system of claim 16, wherein

the memory controller is configured to adjust the level of the read voltage applied to selected word line during the read operation based on a program state of a selected memory cell connected to the selected word line, and

the plurality of memory cells include the selected cell.

20. The memory system of claim 16, wherein

the plurality of memory cells are organized as a plurality of strings, and

each one of the plurality of strings includes several of the plurality of memory cells stacked on top of each other between at least one ground selection transistor and at least one string selection transistor.