Device and method for resolving an LM flag issue
First Claim
1. A method performed by a memory controller of updating an upper limit of a reading threshold voltage window for a respective portion of a storage medium, the method comprising:
- during read patrol operations, adjusting one or more reading threshold voltages associated with the respective portion of the storage medium;
after adjusting the one or more reading threshold voltages, detecting a predefined lower-middle (LM) flag issue; and
in response to detecting the LM flag issue, performing a sequence of operations comprising;
for each memory cell of a plurality of memory cells in the respective portion of the storage medium;
performing a plurality of sensing operations, wherein the plurality of sensing operations includes sensing operations using a predefined range of offsets from a previously established reading threshold voltage; and
obtaining results from the plurality of sensing operations;
determining an updated upper limit of the reading threshold voltage window based on the results from the plurality of sensing operations performed on the plurality of memory cells in the respective portion of the storage medium; and
storing the updated upper limit of the reading threshold voltage window for the respective portion of the storage medium.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The reliability with which data can be read from a storage medium, such as flash memory storage medium, is enhanced by updating an upper limit of a reading threshold voltage window for a respective portion of the storage medium. For each memory cell in the respective portion of the storage medium, a memory controller is configured to perform a plurality of sensing operations and obtain results from the plurality of sensing operations, where the plurality of sensing operations includes sensing operations using a predefined range of offsets from a previously established reading threshold voltage. The memory controller is further configured to determine the updated upper limit of the reading threshold voltage window based on the-results from the plurality of sensing operations, and store the updated upper limit of the reading threshold voltage window for the respective portion of the storage medium.
-
Citations
29 Claims
-
1. A method performed by a memory controller of updating an upper limit of a reading threshold voltage window for a respective portion of a storage medium, the method comprising:
-
during read patrol operations, adjusting one or more reading threshold voltages associated with the respective portion of the storage medium; after adjusting the one or more reading threshold voltages, detecting a predefined lower-middle (LM) flag issue; and in response to detecting the LM flag issue, performing a sequence of operations comprising; for each memory cell of a plurality of memory cells in the respective portion of the storage medium; performing a plurality of sensing operations, wherein the plurality of sensing operations includes sensing operations using a predefined range of offsets from a previously established reading threshold voltage; and obtaining results from the plurality of sensing operations; determining an updated upper limit of the reading threshold voltage window based on the results from the plurality of sensing operations performed on the plurality of memory cells in the respective portion of the storage medium; and storing the updated upper limit of the reading threshold voltage window for the respective portion of the storage medium. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A memory controller for updating an upper limit of a reading threshold voltage window for a respective portion of a storage medium, the memory controller comprising:
-
a storage medium interface for coupling the memory controller to the storage medium; and one or more modules, including a management module that includes one or more processors and memory storing one or more programs configured for execution by the one or more processors, the one or more modules coupled to the storage medium interface and configured to; during read patrol operations, adjust one or more reading threshold voltages associated with the respective portion of the storage medium; after adjusting the one or more reading threshold voltages, detect a predefined lower-middle (LM) flag issue; and respond to detecting the LM flag issue by performing a sequence of operations comprising; for each memory cell of a plurality of memory cells in the respective portion of the storage medium; perform a plurality of sensing operations, wherein the plurality of sensing operations includes sensing operations using a predefined range of offsets from a previously established reading threshold voltage; and obtain results from the plurality of sensing operations; determine an updated upper limit of the reading threshold voltage window based on the results from the plurality of sensing operations performed on the plurality of memory cells in the respective portion of the storage medium; and store the updated upper limit of the reading threshold voltage window for the respective portion of the storage medium. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
-
-
27. A memory controller for updating an upper limit of a reading threshold voltage window for a respective portion of a storage medium, the memory controller comprising:
-
a storage medium interface for coupling the memory controller to the storage medium; and means for adjusting one or more reading threshold voltages associated with the respective portion of the storage medium during read patrol operations; means for detecting a predefined lower-middle (LM) flag issue after adjusting the one or more reading threshold voltages; and means for performing a sequence of operations in response to detecting the LM flag issue, the sequence of operations comprising; performing a plurality of sensing operations, for each memory cell of a plurality of memory cells in the respective portion of the storage medium, and obtaining results from the plurality of sensing operations, wherein the plurality of sensing operations includes sensing operations using a predefined range of offsets from a previously established reading threshold voltage; and determining an updated upper limit of the reading threshold voltage window based on the results from the plurality of sensing operations performed on the plurality of memory cells in the respective portion of the storage medium, and storing the updated upper limit of the reading threshold voltage window for the respective portion of the storage medium. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
-
Specification