Method and apparatus of build-in self-diagnosis and repair in a memory with syndrome identification
US7228468B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 30, 2004 |
| Grant date | Jun 5, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 18, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11C2029/3602
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for a memory build-in self-diagnosis and repair with syndrome identification. It uses a fail-pattern identification and a syndrome-format structure to identify faulty rows, faulty columns and single faulty word in the memory during the testing process, then exports the syndrome information. Based on the syndrome information, a redundancy analysis algorithm is applied to allocate the spare memory elements repairing the faulty memory cells. It has a sequencer with enhanced fault syndrome identification, a build-in redundancy-analysis circuit with improved redundancy utilization, and an address reconfigurable circuit with reduced timing penalty during normal access. The invention reduces the occupation time and the required capture memory space in the automatic test equipment. It also increases the repair rate and reduces the required area overhead.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.