Pipelined programming of non-volatile memories using early data
US7120051B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 14, 2004 |
| Grant date | Oct 10, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 3, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11C16/32
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention presents techniques whereby a memory system interrupts a programming process and restarts it including additional data. More specifically, when a memory system programs data into a group of cells together as programming unit, programming can begin with less than the full data content which the group can hold. In one embodiment, the present invention allows overlapped programming of upper and lower data pages, where once the memory begins programming the lower logical data page, if data is received for the upper page assigned to the same physical page, programming is interrupted and recommenced with the concurrent programming of both the upper and the loser pages. In a complimentary embodiment, when a page contains multiple sectors of data, programming of the physical page can begin when one or more, but less than all, of the sectors forming the corresponding logical page have been received, stopped and restarted to include additional sectors of the page.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.