Patent · US Expired

Memory device and method for redundancy/self-repair

US7219271B2 · kind B2 · utility

55Cited by
44References
43Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 14, 2001
Grant dateMay 15, 2007
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 10, 2022

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG11C29/80
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

The preferred embodiments described herein provide a memory device and method for redundancy/self-repair. In one preferred embodiment, a memory device is provided comprising a primary block of memory cells and a redundant block of memory cells. In response to an error in writing to the primary block, a flag is stored in a set of memory cells allocated to the primary block, and the redundant block is written into. In another preferred embodiment, an error in writing to a primary block is detected while an attempt is made to write to that block. In response to the error, the redundant block is written into. In yet another preferred embodiment, a memory device is provided comprising a three-dimensional memory array and redundancy circuitry. In still another preferred embodiment, a method for testing a memory array is provided. Other preferred embodiments are provided, and each of the preferred embodiments described herein can be used alone or in combination with one another.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.