IP Library Granted Patent US 9,952,925
Granted Patent B2
US 9,952,925 · App. 14/989,264 · Granted Apr 24, 2018

Error code calculation on sensing circuitry

Inventors: Perry V. Lea (Eagle, ID); Timothy P. Finkbeiner (Boise, ID)
Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
G06F11/1068G06F3/064G06F3/0619G06F3/0679G06F12/00G11C7/06G11C7/062G11C7/1006G11C7/1048G11C7/1087G11C7/12G11C11/4091G11C11/4096G11C29/52H03M13/09G11C29/46
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,952,925
App. No.
14/989,264
Granted
Apr 24, 2018
Kind
B2
Abstract

Examples of the present disclosure provide apparatuses and methods for error code calculation. The apparatus can include an array of memory cells that are coupled to sense lines. The apparatus can include a controller configured to control a sensing circuitry, that is coupled to the sense lines, to perform a number of operations without transferring data via an input/output (I/O) lines. The sensing circuitry can be controlled to calculate an error code for data stored in the array of memory cells and compare the error code with an initial error code for the data to determine whether the data has been modified.

Claims (57)

1. An apparatus comprising:

an array of memory cells that are coupled to sense lines; and

a controller configured to:

control a sensing circuitry, that is coupled to the sense lines, to perform a number of operations without transferring data via an input/output (I/O) line to:

calculate an error code for the data stored in the array of memory cells; and

compare the error code with an initial error code for the data to determine whether the data has been modified.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to perform AND operations, OR operations, SHIFT operations, and INVERT operations without transferring the data via an input/output (I/O) line.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the sensing circuitry comprises a sense amplifier and a compute component for each sensing component coupled to one of the sense lines.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the sense amplifier further comprises a primary latch and the compute component comprises a secondary latch.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the data comprises at least one of data and code storage.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the code storage comprises an operating system.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to provide instructions to the sensing circuitry that enable the sensing circuitry to perform the number of operations.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the controller informs a host that the data has been modified.

9. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the controller repetitively provides the instructions to the sensing circuitry at a given interval of time.

10. A method, comprising:

receiving at a controller a memory address range that corresponds to memory cells in an array;

accessing at the controller a first error code for data stored in the memory cells;

calculating on a sensing circuitry a second error code for the data, wherein an execution of a plurality of operations to calculate the second error code are distributed between an execution of a different plurality of operations;

determining at the controller whether the first error code and the second error code are a same error code; and

notifying a host that the first error code and the second error code are not the same error code.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the host is notified via a data collection system.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the data collection system comprises a high speed interface.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the data collection system comprises data collection memory cells that have an address that does not fall within the memory address range.

14. The method of claim 10 , further comprising stopping the execution of the plurality of operations and the different plurality of operations on the sensing circuitry in response to a determination that the first error code and the second error code are different error codes.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein:

the first error code comprises a first plurality of error codes, each of the first plurality of error codes corresponding to data stored in memory cells coupled to a particular access line; and

calculating the second error code comprises calculating a second plurality of error codes, each of the second plurality of error codes corresponding to data stored in the memory cells coupled to the particular access line.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein determining whether the first error code and the second error code are the same error code comprises determining whether associated error codes from the first plurality of error codes and the second plurality of error codes are equal to each other.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein notifying the host that the first error code and the second error code are not the same error code comprises:

identifying a portion of the memory address range that corresponds to the associated error codes that are not equal to each other; and

including the portion of the memory address range in the notification.

18. A method, comprising:

receiving at a controller a memory address range that corresponds to memory cells in an array;

accessing at the controller a first error code for data stored in the memory cells;

calculating on a sensing circuitry a second error code for the data, wherein a plurality of operations to calculate the second error code are executed without being interrupted;

determining at the controller whether the first error code and the second error code are a same error code; and

notifying a host that the first error code and the second error code are not the same error code.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the first error code and the second error code are message digests created by a hash function.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein the first error code and the second error code are cyclic redundancy checks (CRCs).

21. The method of claim 18 , further comprising halting the sensing circuitry in response to a determination that the first error code and the second error code are not the same error code.

22. The method of claim 18 , further comprising halting a host in response to a determination that the first error code and the second error code are not the same error code.

23. The method of claim 18 , further comprising executing a different plurality of operations on the sensing circuitry in response to a determination that the first error code and the second error code are not the same error code.

24. An apparatus comprising:

an array of memory cells that are coupled to sense lines and that store data;

a controller configured to:

refresh the data stored in the array of memory cells; and

control sensing circuitry;

the sensing circuitry coupled to the sense lines and configured to:

store the data in a sense amplifier as part of the refresh;

calculate a first error code for the data; and

compare the first error code with a second error code for the data to determine whether the data has been modified.

25. The method of claim 24 , wherein the refresh includes the calculation of the first error code and the comparison of the first error code with the second error code.

26. The method of claim 24 , wherein the data stored in the sense amplifier is used for refreshing the data and for comparing the first error code with the second error code.

27. The method of claim 24 , wherein the controller is configured to determine whether the data stored in the sense amplifier initiated in memory cells that have a memory address that falls within a memory address range.

28. The method of claim 27 , wherein the sensing circuitry is configured to calculate the first error code for the data and compare the first error code with a second error code based on a determination that the data stored in the sense amplifier initiated in memory cells that have the memory address that falls within the memory address range.

29. The method of claim 27 , wherein a host provided the memory address range.

30. The method of claim 24 , wherein the compare is performed at each refresh of the data.

Assignments (8)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 12, 2019
From: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.; MICRON SEMICONDUCTOR PRODUCTS, INC.
Reel/Frame 051028/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Oct 9, 2019
From: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 050937/0001 →
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Aug 23, 2018
From: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
To: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 047243/0001 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jul 13, 2018
From: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.; MICRON SEMICONDUCTOR PRODUCTS, INC.
To: JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 047540/0001 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE REPLACE ERRONEOUSLY FILED PATENT #7358718 WITH THE CORRECT PATENT #7358178 PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 038669 FRAME 0001. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE SECURITY INTEREST. Recorded Jun 8, 2017
From: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
To: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 043079/0001 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Jun 2, 2016
From: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
To: MORGAN STANLEY SENIOR FUNDING, INC., AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 038954/0001 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded May 12, 2016
From: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
To: U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 038669/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jan 6, 2016
From: LEA, PERRY V.; FINKBEINER, TIMOTHY P.
To: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 037421/0741 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20170192844A1 · Jul 6, 2017