Flash memory device and method of repairing defects and trimming voltages

• US 7,280,415 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2006
• Issued: 10/09/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Hwang, Sang-Won, Youn, Dong-Kyu
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, VU ANH
• Application Number:
  US11/380,749
• Publication Number:
  US 20070033449A1
• Time in Patent Office: 529 Days
• Field of Search: 365/189.09, 365/189.11, 365/225.7, 365/226
• US Class Current: 365/189.09
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 29/02 Detection or location of defective auxiliary circuits, e.g. defective refresh counters
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 29/021 in voltage or current generators
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 29/028 with adaption or trimming of parameters
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 29/76 using address translation or modifications
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 29/82 for EEPROMs

Abstract

A memory device includes a nonvolatile memory cell array including a plurality of memory cells with a portion of the memory cells to store fuse data, and a fuse register to store the fuse data from the memory cell array. An operation of the memory device is modified in response to the fuse register.

Claims

1. A memory device comprising:

a nonvolatile memory cell array including a plurality of memory cells, a portion of the memory cells to store fuse data; and

a fuse register to store the fuse data from the memory cell array;

wherein an operation of the memory device is modified in response to the fuse register.

2. The memory device of claim 1, further comprising a column selection circuit coupled to the memory cells, and operable to map an address corresponding to one of the memory cells to a redundant address corresponding to a redundant memory cell of the memory cells in response to the fuse data stored in the fuse register.

3. The memory device of claim 1, further comprising a wordline selection circuit coupled to the memory cells, and operable to map an address corresponding to one of the memory cells to a redundant address corresponding to a redundant memory cell of the memory cells in response to the fuse data stored in the fuse register.

4. The memory device of claim 1, further comprising a power circuit to generate an internal voltage for the memory device, the internal voltage set in response to the fuse data in the fuse register.

5. The memory device of claim 1, further comprising an error correction circuit to read the fuse data from the memory cell array and provide error corrected fuse data to the fuse register.

6. The memory device of claim 5, the error correction circuit further to correct a one bit error in the fuse data.

7. The memory device of claim 5, the error correction circuit further to read a redundant copy of the fuse data from the memory cell array if the fuse data read from the memory cell array had more that one bit error.

8. The memory device of claim 1, the memory cell array further to store error correction data for the fuse data with the fuse data.

9. The memory device of claim 1, the memory cell array further to store at least one redundant copy of the fuse data.

10. A method for configuring a memory device, comprising:

reading fuse data from a memory cell array;

storing the fuse data in a fuse register; and

mapping an address associated with a defective memory cell to an address associated with a redundant memory cell in response to the fuse data stored in the fuse register.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising reading error correction data associated with the fuse data in the fuse register.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising correcting errors in the fuse data before storing the fuse data.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein correcting errors in the fuse data further comprises correcting a one bit error in the fuse data.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein correcting errors in the fuse data further comprises reading a redundant copy of the fuse data from the memory cell.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein reading the fuse data further comprises:

searching for a copy of the fuse data having less than two bit errors from among a plurality of redundant copies of the fuse data stored in the memory cell array;

if the copy of the fuse data with less than two bit errors is found, providing the copy of the fuse data as the read fuse data; and

if the copy of the fuse data with less than two bit errors is not found, determining that the memory device is defective.

16. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

identifying an additional defective memory cell of the memory cell array; and

updating the fuse data with information on the additional defective memory cell.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

testing the memory device to identify defective memory cells; and

storing the fuse data in the memory cell array with information on the identified defective memory cells.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein storing the fuse data in the memory cell array further comprises storing multiple copies of the fuse data in the memory cell array.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein storing multiple copies of the fuse data further comprises storing multiple copies of the fuse data in at least one of multiple rows and multiple columns of the memory cell array.

20. The method of claim 10, further comprising trimming an internal voltage in response to the fuse data stored in the fuse register.

21. A method for configuring a memory device, comprising:

reading fuse data from a memory cell array;

storing the fuse data in a fuse register; and

trimming an internal voltage in response to the fuse data stored in the fuse register.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising correcting errors in the fuse data before storing the fuse data.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein correcting errors in the fuse data further comprises reading a redundant copy of the fuse data from the memory cell.

24. The method of claim 21, wherein trimming the internal voltage further comprises trimming the internal voltage to an optimum value.