Electronic system having memory with a physical block having a sector storing data and indicating a move status of another sector of the physical block

• US 8,793,430 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2013
• Issued: 07/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Estakhri, Petro, Iman, Berhanu, Ganjuei, Ali R.
• Primary Examiner(s): MACKALL, LARRY T
• Application Number:
  US14/037,592
• Publication Number:
  US 20140032823A1
• Time in Patent Office: 306 Days
• Field of Search: 711/103, 711/E12.008
• US Class Current: 711/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1008 in individual solid state devices G06F11/1004 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1068 in sector programmable memories, e.g. flash disk G06F11/1072 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/023 Free address space management
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0246 in block erasable memory, e.g. flash memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/7201 Logical to physical mapping or translation of blocks or pages
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0613 in relation to throughput
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/064 Management of blocks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0679 Non-volatile semiconductor memory device, e.g. flash memory, one time programmable memory [OTP]
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/08 Address circuits; Decoders; Word-line control circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/102 External programming circuits, e.g. EPROM programmers; In-circuit programming or reprogramming; EPROM emulators
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 29/765 in solid state disks
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 29/82 for EEPROMs
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 8/12 Group selection circuits, e.g. for memory block selection, chip selection, array selection

Abstract

In an embodiment, only one sector of a plurality of sectors in a physical block of a plurality of physical blocks has a sector status location configured to store information that indicates a move status of an other sector of the plurality sectors of the physical block of the plurality of physical blocks, where the only one sector of the plurality of sectors in the physical block of the plurality of physical blocks is configured to store a sector of data in addition to the information that indicates the move status.

Claims

1. An electronic system, comprising:

a non-volatile memory organized into a plurality of physical blocks, wherein a physical block of the plurality of physical blocks comprises a plurality of sectors;

wherein only one sector of the plurality of sectors in the physical block of the plurality of physical blocks comprises a sector status location configured to store information that indicates a move status of an other sector of the plurality sectors in the physical block of the plurality of physical blocks;

wherein the only one sector of the plurality of sectors in the physical block of the plurality of physical blocks is configured to store a sector of data in addition to the information that indicates the move status.

2. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein, upon power-up, the electronic system is configured to read the information from the sector status location and store it in a volatile memory of the electronic system.

3. The electronic system of claim 2, wherein the volatile memory of the electronic system is accessible without accessing the physical block of the plurality of physical blocks.

4. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein, upon power-up, the electronic system is configured to read the information from the sector status location and store it in a table of the electronic system.

5. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the only one sector of the plurality of sectors in the physical block of the plurality of physical blocks is further configured to store a logical block address corresponding to the physical block of the plurality of physical blocks.

6. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the sector status location comprises a bit indicative of whether the other sector of the plurality sectors of the physical block has been moved.

7. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein, upon power-up, the electronic system is configured to read the information from the sector status location and store it in a space manager of the electronic system.

8. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the electronic system is configured to copy the information that indicates the move status of the other sector from a volatile memory of the electronic system to the sector status location.

9. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the electronic system is configured to copy the information that indicates the move status of the other sector from a space manager of the electronic system to the sector status location.

10. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the sector status location replicates a move status field in a row of a table of the electronic system.

11. The electronic system of claim 10, wherein the move status field has an entry corresponding to the only one sector of the plurality of sectors in the physical block of the plurality of physical blocks and an entry corresponding to the other sector of the plurality sectors in the physical block of the plurality of physical blocks.

12. The electronic system of claim 11, wherein the entry corresponding to the only one sector of the plurality of sectors in the physical block of the plurality of physical blocks and the entry corresponding to the other sector of the plurality sectors in the physical block of the plurality of physical blocks are respectively addressable by different logical block addresses.

13. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the only one sector of the plurality of sectors in the physical block of the plurality of physical blocks that comprises the sector status location comprises a flag configured to indicate whether the physical block of the plurality of physical blocks needs to be erased before it is used.

14. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the electronic system comprises a digital system.

15. The electronic system of claim 1, wherein the electronic system comprises a controller coupled to the non-volatile memory.

16. The electronic system of claim 15, further comprising a host coupled to the controller.

17. A method of operating an electronic system, comprising:

determining if a first sector in a first physical block of memory cells contains a sector of previously written data;

if it is determined that the first sector in the first physical block of memory cells contains a sector of previously written data, writing a sector of data intended for the first sector in the first physical block of memory cells in a sector of a second physical block of memory cells while leaving the sector of previously written data in the first sector in the first physical block of memory cells; and

storing, in a move status location in a second sector in the first physical block of memory cells, move status information indicating that the first sector in the first physical block of memory cells has moved;

wherein the second sector in the first physical block of memory cells is the only sector in the first physical block of memory cells that has a move status location configured to store move status information of sectors other than the second sector of the first physical block of memory cells in addition to storing a sector of data.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the move status location in the second sector is configured to store move status information of the second sector.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein storing move status information comprises copying the move status information to the move status location in the second sector in the first physical block of memory cells from a controller.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein storing move status information comprises copying the move status information to the move status location in the second sector in the first physical block of memory cells from a space manager.

21. The method of claim 17, further comprising reading the move status information, indicating that the first sector in the first physical block of memory cells has moved, from the second sector in the first physical block of memory cells into a volatile memory upon power-up of the electronic system.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein writing the sector of data intended for the first sector in the first physical block of memory cells in the sector of the second physical block of memory cells comprises determining that second physical block of memory cells is available to be written to.

23. The method of claim 17, further comprising setting a flag field in the first sector in the first physical block of memory cells to indicate that the first sector in the first physical block of memory cells has moved.

24. An electronic system, comprising:

a controller; and

a non-volatile memory coupled to the controller;

wherein the controller is configured to determine if a first sector in a first physical block of the non-volatile memory contains a sector of previously written data;

wherein the controller is configured to cause a sector of data intended for the first sector in the first physical block to be written in a sector of a second physical block of the non-volatile memory while leaving the sector of previously written data in the first sector in the first physical block if the controller determines that the first sector in the first physical block contains the sector of previously written data;

wherein the controller is configured to cause move status information, indicating that the first sector in the first physical block has moved, to be stored in a move status location in a second sector in the first physical block; and

wherein the second sector in the first physical block is the only sector in the first physical block that has a move status location configured to store move status information of sectors other than the second sector of the first physical block of memory cells in addition to storing a sector of data.

25. The electronic system of claim 24, wherein the move status location in the second sector is configured to store move status information of the second sector.