Adaptive context disbursement for improved performance in non-volatile memory systems

• US 9,141,291 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2013
• Issued: 09/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SanDisk Technologies LLC (Western Digital Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sandisk Technologies Incorporated (Western Digital Corporation)
• Inventors: Tuers, Daniel, Ataklti, Yosief, Mahohar, Abhijeet, Weinberg, Yoav
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, THAN VINH
• Application Number:
  US14/090,247
• Publication Number:
  US 20150149694A1
• Time in Patent Office: 665 Days
• Field of Search: 711/103, 711/158, 711/167
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/1605 based on arbitration arbitration in handling access to a common bus or bus system G06F13/36
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/061 Improving I/O performance
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0629 Configuration or reconfiguration of storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0659 Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0679 Non-volatile semiconductor memory device, e.g. flash memory, one time programmable memory [OTP]

Abstract

A controller circuit for a non-volatile memory of one or more memory circuits is described. The controller is connectable by a port with the memory circuits through a bus structure and can operate the memory circuits according to one or more threads. The controller includes a command processing section to issue high level commands for execution in the memory circuits and a memory circuit interface module to issue in sequence by the port to the memory circuits a series of instruction derived from the high level commands. A queue manager on the controller derives the series of instructions from the high level commands. When deriving a series of instruction from a set of high level data access commands, the queue manager can modify the timing for the issuance to the memory circuit interface module of memory circuit check status instructions based upon feedback from the memory circuit interface module and the state of earlier instruction in the series.

Claims

1. A controller circuit for a memory system including the controller circuit and one or more memory circuits, in which the controller circuit controls the transfer of data between the memory circuits and a host connected to the memory system and manages the storage of data on the memory circuits, the controller circuit comprising:

a port by which the controller circuit is connectable to the one or more memory circuits through a bus structure;

a command processing section to issue high level commands for execution in the memory circuits;

a memory circuit interface module to issue in sequence by the port to one or more of the memory circuits a series of instruction derived from the high level commands; and

a queue manager to derive the series of instructions from the high level commands, wherein, when deriving a series of instruction from a set of high level data access commands, the queue manager modifies timing for the issuance to the memory circuit interface module of memory circuit check status instructions based upon feedback from the memory circuit interface module and the state of earlier instruction in the series derived from the set of high level data access commands.

2. The controller circuit of claim 1, wherein the queue manager modifies timing for the issuance to the memory circuit interface module of memory circuit check status instructions the queue manager based on one or more timers.

3. The controller circuit of claim 2, wherein the queue manager starts one of the timers in response to the queue manager transferring an access instruction to the memory circuit interface module.

4. The controller circuit of claim 2, wherein the queue manager starts one of the timers in response to the memory circuit interface module issuing an access instruction to one of the memory circuits.

5. The controller circuit of claim 4, wherein the queue manager further starts another one of the timers in response to the queue manager transferring an access instruction to the memory circuit interface module.

6. The controller circuit of claim 2, wherein the queue manager sets a value of one or more of the timers based upon a corresponding instruction with which the corresponding timer is associated.

7. The controller circuit of claim 6, wherein the queue manager further sets the value of one or more of the timers based upon the remaining value of one or more previously set timers.

8. The controller circuit of claim 1, wherein the set of high level data access commands is a sequence of write commands.

9. The controller circuit of claim 1, wherein the set of high level data access commands is a sequence of read commands.

10. The controller circuit of claim 1, wherein the memory circuit interface module issues instructions by the port for a first plurality of memory circuits managed as a single thread in which a instructions for the first plurality of memory circuits are interleavable.

11. The controller circuit of claim 1, wherein the controller circuit manages the memory circuits as a plurality of N threads, each thread corresponding to one or more of the memory circuits, wherein the controller circuit additionally includes (N−

1) memory circuit interface modules that issues instructions by the port, each of the memory circuit interface modules assigned to a corresponding one of the N threads.

12. The controller circuit of claim 11, wherein the memory circuit interface is common to the N threads.

13. The controller circuit of claim 12, where the memory circuit includes a plurality of N memory circuit interface module each corresponding to one of the N threads.

14. The controller circuit of claim 1, wherein the queue manager orders subsequent instructions in the series in response to replies from the one or more memory circuits to the check status instructions.

15. The controller circuit of claim 1, wherein the wherein the one or more memory circuits'"'"' responses to the check status instructions include a true ready response.

16. The controller circuit of claim 1, wherein the wherein the one or more memory circuits'"'"' responses to the check status instructions include a cache ready response.