IP Library Granted Patent US 11,335,402
Granted Patent B2
US 11,335,402 · App. 16/712,682 · Granted May 17, 2022

Systems and techniques for accessing multiple memory cells concurrently

Inventor: Federico Pio (Brugherio, IT)
Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
G11C13/003G11C13/0004G11C13/004G11C13/0061G11C13/0069G11C2013/0045
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,335,402
App. No.
16/712,682
Granted
May 17, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

Techniques are provided for accessing two memory cells of a memory tile concurrently. A memory tile may include a plurality of self-selecting memory cells addressable using a row decoder and a column decoder. A memory controller may access a first self-selecting memory cell of the memory tile using a first pulse having a first polarity to the first self-selecting memory cell. The memory controller may also access a second self-selecting memory cell of the memory tile concurrently with accessing the first self-selecting memory cell using a second pulse having a second polarity different than the first polarity. The memory controller may determine characteristics of the pulses to mitigate disturbances of unselected self-selecting memory cells of the memory tile.

Claims (35)

1. A method, comprising:

identifying a first memory cell of a memory tile to read;

identifying a second memory cell of the memory tile to read;

selecting a first polarity of a first read pulse to read the first memory cell and a second polarity of a second read pulse to read the second memory cell;

reading the first memory cell using the first read pulse; and

reading the second memory cell using the second read pulse concurrently with reading the first memory cell based at least in part on selecting the first polarity and the second polarity.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first polarity of the first read pulse is opposite the second polarity of the second read pulse.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

applying voltages to access lines coupled with the first memory cell and the second memory cell concurrently based at least in part on selecting the first polarity and the second polarity, wherein reading the second memory cell concurrently with the first memory cell is based at least in part on applying the voltages to the access lines.

4. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

partitioning the first read pulse into a first voltage to apply to a first access line and a second voltage to apply to a second access line, the first access line and the second access line coupled with the first memory cell;

identifying a magnitude and a polarity of the first voltage based at least in part on the first polarity of the first read pulse; and

identifying, based at least in part on the first polarity of the first read pulse and the first voltage, a magnitude of the second voltage different than the magnitude of the first voltage and a polarity of the second voltage different than the polarity of the first voltage, wherein applying the voltages is based at least in part on the partitioning and the identifying.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

identifying a first logic state stored on the first memory cell and a second logic state stored on the second memory cell based at least in part on reading the second memory cell concurrently with reading the first memory cell.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

coupling the first memory cell to a first type of sense component based at least in part on the first read pulse having the first polarity; and

coupling the second memory cell to a second type of sense component different than the first type based at least in part on the second read pulse having the second polarity.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first polarity and the second polarity are selected such that a voltage difference caused by the first read pulse or the second read pulse at a third memory cell of the memory tile does not satisfy a programming threshold of the third memory cell.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining that the first memory cell and the second memory cell are coupled with a common access line, wherein the first polarity and the second polarity are the same based at least in part on determining that the first memory cell and the second memory cell are coupled with the common access line.

9. An electronic memory apparatus, comprising:

a memory cell;

a digit line coupled with the memory cell;

a first sense component coupled with the digit line, the first sense component configured to identify a logic state stored on the memory cell based at least in part on a first read pulse having a first polarity; and

a second sense component coupled with the digit line, the second sense component configured to identify the logic state stored on the memory cell based at least in part on a second read pulse having a second polarity different than the first polarity.

10. The electronic memory apparatus of claim 9 , further comprising:

a first voltage source coupled with the digit line, the first voltage source configured to supply at least a part of the first read pulse having the first polarity; and

a second voltage source coupled with the digit line, the second voltage source configured to supply at least a part of the second read pulse having the second polarity.

11. The electronic memory apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising:

a switching component configured to selectively couple the digit line with the first voltage source or the second voltage source during an access operation.

12. The electronic memory apparatus of claim 9 , further comprising:

a switching component configured to selectively output a signal from the first sense component or the second sense component based at least in part on a type of read pulse applied to the memory cell during a read operation.

13. The electronic memory apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the memory cell comprises a chalcogenide material configured to use a non-uniform distribution of ions to indicate the logic state.

14. The electronic memory apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the memory cell is a self-selecting memory cell.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 24, 2019
From: PIO, FEDERICO
To: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 051362/0064 →