Nonvolatile memory and writing method
According to one embodiment, three bits stored in one memory cell of a nonvolatile memory correspond to three pages. In first page writing, a threshold voltage becomes within a first or second region base on a bit value. In second page writing, if being within the first region, it becomes within the first or fourth region; and if being within the second region, it becomes within the second or third region. In the third page writing, if being within the first region, it becomes within the first or sixth region; if being within the second region, it becomes within the second or seventh region; if being within the third region, it becomes within the third or eighth region; and if being within the fourth region, it becomes within the fourth or fifth region.
1. A nonvolatile memory comprising:
a word line;
a plurality of memory cells connected to the word line, each of the plurality of memory cells being configured to store data by correlating three bits with eight threshold regions, the eight threshold regions corresponding to first to eighth threshold regions defined in ascending order of threshold voltage, the three bits respectively corresponding to first to third pages, a threshold voltage of an unwritten state of the memory cells being set at the first threshold region; and
a control unit configured to:
when writing a first value to the first page of an unwritten memory cell, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the unwritten memory cell is within the fifth threshold region;
when performing writing of the second page of the memory cell after the writing of the first page of the memory cell,
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is a second value and a value to be written to the second page is the first value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the second threshold region, and
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is the first value and a value to be written to the second page is the first value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the seventh threshold region;
when performing writing of the third page of the memory cell after the writing of the second page of the memory cell,
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is the second value, a value corresponding to the second page of the memory cell is the second value, and a value to be written to the third page is the first value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the fourth threshold region,
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is the second value, a value corresponding to the second page of the memory cell is the first value, and a value to be written to the third page is the first value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the third threshold region,
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is the first value, a value corresponding to the second page of the memory cell is the second value, and a value to be written to the third page is the second value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the sixth threshold region,
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is the first value, a value corresponding to the second page of the memory cell is the first value, and a value to be written to the third page is the first value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the eighth threshold region; and
when reading out data from the first page, read out the data using a fourth read voltage, the fourth read voltage being a boundary voltage between the fourth threshold region and the fifth threshold region, and determining data of the first page on a basis of the read out data;
when reading out data from the second page, read out the data using a first, a third, and a sixth read voltage, the first read voltage being a boundary voltage between the first threshold region and the second threshold region, the third read voltage being a boundary voltage between the third threshold region and the fourth threshold region, the sixth read voltage being a boundary voltage between the sixth threshold region and the seventh threshold region, and determining data of the second page on a basis of the read out data; and
when reading out data from the third page, read out the data using a second, a fifth, and a seventh read voltage, the second read voltage being a boundary voltage between the second threshold region and the third threshold region, the fifth read voltage being a boundary voltage between the fifth threshold region and the sixth threshold region, the seventh read voltage being a boundary voltage between the seventh threshold region and the eighth threshold region, and determining data of the third page on a basis of the read out data.
2. The nonvolatile memory according to claim 1 , wherein the first value is “0”, and the second value is “1”.
3. The nonvolatile memory according to claim 1 , wherein the maximum number among a first number, a second number, and a third number is three, the first number being the number of boundaries of the threshold regions to determine data of the first page, the second number being the number of boundaries of the threshold regions to determine data of the second page, the third number being the number of boundaries of the threshold region to determine data of the third page.
4. The nonvolatile memory according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit is further configured to:
when reading out data from unwritten page that is one of the first to the third pages, output “0” as a reading result.
5. The nonvolatile memory according to claim 1 , wherein manage information about how many pages, of the first to third pages, for which writing has been performed to is not managed.
6. The nonvolatile memory according to claim 1 , wherein an interval between the first threshold region and the second threshold region is larger than an interval between any two other directly adjacent threshold regions among the eight threshold regions.
7. A nonvolatile memory comprising:
a word line;
a plurality of memory cells connected to the word line, each of the plurality of memory cells being configured to store data by correlating three bits with eight threshold regions, the eight threshold regions corresponding to first to eighth threshold regions defined in ascending order of threshold voltage, the three bits respectively corresponding to first to third pages, a threshold voltage of an unwritten state of the memory cells being set at the first threshold region; and
a control unit configured to:
when writing a first value to the first page of an unwritten memory cell, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the unwritten memory cell is within the third threshold region;
when performing writing of the second page of the memory cell after the writing of the first page of the memory cell,
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is a second value and a value to be written to the second page is the first value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the sixth threshold region, and
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is the first value and a value to be written to the second page is the first value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the fifth threshold region;
when performing writing of the third page of the memory cell after the writing of the second page of the memory cell,
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is the second value, a value corresponding to the second page of the memory cell is the second value, and a value to be written to the third page is the first value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the second threshold region,
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is the second value, a value corresponding to the second page of the memory cell is the first value, and a value to be written to the third page is the first value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the seventh threshold region,
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is the first value, a value corresponding to the second page of the memory cell is the first value, and a value to be written to the third page is the first value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the eighth threshold region, and
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is the first value, a value corresponding to the second page of the memory cell is the second value, and a value to be written to the third page is the second value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the fourth threshold region;
when reading out data from the first page, read out the data using a second, a fifth, and a seventh read voltage, the second read voltage being a boundary voltage between the second threshold region and the third threshold region, the fifth read voltage being a boundary voltage between the fifth threshold region and the sixth threshold region, the seventh read voltage being a boundary voltage between the seventh threshold region and the eighth threshold region, and determining data of the first page on a basis of the read out data;
when reading out data from the second page, read out the data using a fourth read voltage, the fourth read voltage being a boundary voltage between the fourth threshold region and the fifth threshold region, and determining data of the second page on a basis of the read out data; and
when reading out data from the third page, read out the data using a first, a third, and a sixth read voltage, the first read voltage being a boundary voltage between the first threshold region and the second threshold region, the third read voltage being a boundary voltage between the third threshold region and the fourth threshold region, the sixth read voltage being a boundary voltage between the sixth threshold region and the seventh threshold region, and determining data of the third page on a basis of the read out data.
8. The nonvolatile memory according to claim 7 , wherein the first value is “0”, and the second value is “1”.
9. The nonvolatile memory according to claim 7 , wherein the maximum number among a first number, a second number, and a third number is three, the first number being the number of boundaries of the threshold regions to determine data of the first page, the second number being the number of boundaries of the threshold regions to determine data of the second page, the third number being the number of boundaries of the threshold region to determine data of the third page.
10. The nonvolatile memory according to claim 7 , wherein the control unit is further configured to:
when reading out data from unwritten page that is one of the first to the third pages, output “0” as a reading result.
11. The nonvolatile memory according to claim 7 , wherein manage information about how many pages, of the first to third pages, for which writing has been performed to is managed.
12. The nonvolatile memory according to claim 7 , wherein an interval between the first threshold region and the second threshold region is larger than an interval between any two other directly adjacent threshold regions among the eight threshold regions.
13. A nonvolatile memory comprising:
a word line;
a plurality of memory cells connected to the word line, each of the plurality of memory cells being configured to store data by correlating three bits with eight threshold regions, the eight threshold regions corresponding to first to eighth threshold regions defined in ascending order of threshold voltage, the three bits respectively corresponding to first to third pages, a threshold voltage of an unwritten state of the memory cells being set at the first threshold region; and
a control configured to:
when writing a first value to the first page of an unwritten memory cell, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the unwritten memory cell is within the second threshold region;
when performing writing of the second page of the memory cell after the writing of the first page of the memory cell,
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is a second value and a value to be written to the second page is the first value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the fifth threshold region, and
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is the first value and a value to be written to the second page is the first value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the seventh threshold region;
when performing writing of the third page of the memory cell after the writing of the second page of the memory cell,
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is the second value, a value corresponding to the second page of the memory cell is the second value, and a value to be written to the third page is the first value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the fourth threshold region,
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is the second value, a value corresponding to the second page of the memory cell is the first value, and a value to be written to the third page is the second value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the sixth threshold region,
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is the first value, a value corresponding to the second page of the memory cell is the first value, and a value to be written to the third page is the first value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the eighth threshold region, and
if a value corresponding to the first page of the memory cell is the first value, a value corresponding to the second page of the memory cell is the second value, and a value to be written to the third page is the first value, perform programming such that the threshold voltage of the memory cell is within the third threshold region;
when reading out data from the first page, read out the data using a first, a third, and a sixth read voltage, the first read voltage being a boundary voltage between the first threshold region and the second threshold region, the third read voltage being boundary voltage between the third threshold region and the fourth threshold region, the sixth read voltage being boundary voltage between the sixth threshold region and the seventh threshold region, and determining data of the first page on a basis of the read out data;
when reading out data from the second page, read out the data using a fourth read voltage, the fourth read voltage being a boundary voltage between the fourth threshold region and the fifth threshold region, and determining data of the second page on a basis of the read out data; and
when reading out data from the third page, read out the data using a second, a fifth, and a seventh read voltage, the second read voltage being a boundary voltage between the second threshold region and the third threshold region, the fifth read voltage being a boundary voltage between the fifth threshold region and the sixth threshold region, the seventh read voltage being a boundary voltage between the seventh threshold region and the eighth threshold region, and determining data of the third page on a basis of the read out data.
14. The nonvolatile memory according to claim 13 , wherein the first value is “0”, and the second value is “1”.
15. The nonvolatile memory according to claim 13 , wherein the maximum number among a first number, a second number and a third number is three, the first number being the number of boundaries of the threshold regions to determine data of the first page, the second number being the number of boundaries of the threshold regions to determine data of the second page, the third number being the number of boundaries of the threshold region to determine data of the third page.
16. The nonvolatile memory according to claim 13 , wherein the control unit is further configured to:
when reading out data from unwritten page that is one of the first to the third pages, output “0” as a reading result.
17. The nonvolatile memory according to claim 13 , wherein manage information about how many pages, of the first to third pages, for which writing has been performed to is managed.
18. The nonvolatile memory according to claim 13 , wherein an interval between the first threshold region and the second threshold region is larger than intervals between the other threshold regions.