Flash memory apparatus with a heating system for temporarily retired memory portions

• US 8,341,335 B2
• Filed: 09/17/2008
• Issued: 12/25/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: DensBits Technologies Ltd. (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Weingarten, Hanan, Levy, Shmuel, Katz, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Chace, Christian P
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thammavong, Prasith
• Application Number:
  US12/596,446
• Publication Number:
  US 20100064096A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,560 Days
• Field of Search: 711/103
• US Class Current: 711/103
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/0246 in block erasable memory, e.g. flash memory
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2212/1032 Reliability improvement, data loss prevention, degraded operation etc
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 16/349 Arrangements for evaluating degradation, retention or wearout, e.g. by counting erase cycles

Abstract

Flash memory apparatus including a plurality of memory portions, and a controller operative to reserve for data retention purposes, for at least a first duration of time, only certain portions from among said plurality of memory portions including allocating data, during the first duration of time, only to the certain portions, thereby to define at least one of the plurality of memory portions other than the certain portions as a retired memory portion for the first duration of time.

Claims

1. Flash memory apparatus including:

a plurality of memory portions;

a controller operative to reserve for data retention purposes, for at least a first duration of time, only certain portions from among said plurality of memory portions;

wherein the controller is arranged to;

allocate data, during said first duration of time, only to said certain memory portions, thereby to define at least one of the plurality of memory portions other than to said certain portions as a retired memory portion for said first duration of time; and

a heating system heating at least one retired memory portion;

wherein said plurality of memory portions comprises at least two flash memory devices and wherein said heating system comprises at least one heater configured and arranged to selectively heat only a subset of said at least two flash memory devices and wherein said controller selectively defines all memory portions included in said sub set as retired memory portions.