Memory system, program method thereof, and computing system including the same

• US 9,030,876 B2
• Filed: 12/23/2013
• Issued: 05/12/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Jang, Jun-Ho, Choi, In-Hwan, Chung, Woon-Jae, Yoon, Song-Ho, Ye, Kyung-Wook
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Anthan
• Application Number:
  US14/139,175
• Publication Number:
  US 20140112070A1
• Time in Patent Office: 505 Days
• Field of Search: 365/185.03, 365/185.12
• US Class Current: 365/185.12
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/1068 in sector programmable memories, e.g. flash disk G06F11/1072 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0246 in block erasable memory, e.g. flash memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/7208 Multiple device management, e.g. distributing data over multiple flash devices
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/5628 Programming or writing circuits; Data input circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/5671 using charge trapping in an insulator
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/10 Programming or data input circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/26 Sensing or reading circuits; Data output circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 29/52 Protection of memory contents; Detection of errors in memory contents

Abstract

Disclosed is a memory system and a method of programming a multi-bit flash memory device which includes memory cells configured to store multi-bit data, where the method includes and the system is configured for determining whether data to be stored in a selected memory cell is an LSB data; and if data to be stored in a selected memory cell is not an LSB data, backing up lower data stored in the selected memory cell to a backup memory block of the multi-bit flash memory device.

Claims

1. A method of programming a multi-bit flash memory device which includes memory cells, each memory cell configured to store multi-bit data, each data of the multi-bit data being included in at least one of a lower page and an upper page, the method comprising:

storing a first data into a lower page;

setting at least one page affecting the lower page to be a free; and

then storing a second data into a next page to the at least one page,

wherein the next page is a lower page not affecting the lower page in which the first data is stored during storing the second data, and wherein the first data stored in the lower page is not copied to any memory cell before completion of storing the second data in the next page.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first data and the second data is a type of meta data.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein when each memory cell is configured to store an LSB data and an MSB data, the lower page corresponds to a page to store the LSB data.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the next page does not store any data.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the lower page storing the first data and the lower page storing the second data are included in different memory cells.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein word lines of the each of the different memory cells are next to each other.