IP Library Granted Patent US 12,249,384
Granted Patent B2
US 12,249,384 · App. 18/368,086 · Granted Mar 11, 2025

Memory repair circuit, a memory repair method, and a memory device

Inventor: Hyunseok Kim (Suwon-si, KR)
Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
G11C29/12G06F3/0614G06F3/0653G06F3/0673
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,249,384
App. No.
18/368,086
Granted
Mar 11, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A memory repair circuit of a memory module including a plurality of memory packages, the memory repair circuit including: a test circuit configured to test the plurality of memory packages to obtain fail information in each of the plurality of memory packages; and a redundancy analysis circuit configured to: obtain a redundant address count in each of the plurality of memory packages, determine a repair order of the plurality of memory packages based on the fail information and the redundant address count, and perform a virtual repair on the plurality of memory packages in the repair order to determine an address to be repaired in each of the plurality of memory packages.

Claims (45)

1. A memory repair circuit of a memory module including a plurality of memory packages, the memory repair circuit comprising:

a test circuit configured to test the plurality of memory packages to obtain fail information in each of the plurality of memory packages; and

a redundancy analysis circuit configured to:

obtain a redundant address count in each of the plurality of memory packages,

determine a repair order of the plurality of memory packages based on the fail information and the redundant address count, the fail information including a first fail address in each of the plurality of memory packages and a fail bit count in the first fail address; and

perform a virtual repair on the plurality of memory packages in the repair order and determine a second fail address to be repaired in each of the plurality of memory packages.

2. The memory repair circuit of claim 1 , wherein the redundancy analysis circuit is further configured to perform the virtual repair by removing a fail bit or the first fail address within a range of the redundant address count.

3. The memory repair circuit of claim 2 , wherein the second fail address has a predetermined number of fail bits or more.

4. The memory repair circuit of claim 2 , wherein the redundancy analysis circuit is further configured to determine the repair order based on a value obtained by subtracting a sum of the fail bit count in each of the plurality of memory packages from the redundant address count in each of the plurality of memory packages.

5. The memory repair circuit of claim 4 , wherein the redundancy analysis circuit is further configured to determine the repair order as a descending order of the value.

6. The memory repair circuit of claim 2 , wherein the redundancy analysis circuit is further configured to determine the repair order based on a value obtained by subtracting a fail address count of each of the plurality of memory packages from the redundant address count of each of the plurality of memory packages.

7. The memory repair circuit of claim 6 , wherein the redundancy analysis circuit is further configured to determine the repair order as a descending order of the value.

8. The memory repair circuit of claim 2 , wherein the redundancy analysis circuit is further configured to:

select a target memory package from among the plurality of memory packages based on the repair order;

perform the virtual repair on the target memory package; and

lock the first fail address when a number of fail bits remaining across the plurality of memory packages is less than a threshold.

9. The memory repair circuit of claim 8 , wherein the redundancy analysis circuit is further configured to perform the virtual repair on the target memory package by removing a fail bit of an unlocked fail address in the target memory package, within a range of the redundant address count of the target memory package, and

wherein the unlocked fail address is the first fail address that is not locked when the number of fail bits remaining across the plurality of memory packages is greater than or equal to the threshold.

10. The memory repair circuit of claim 9 , wherein the redundancy analysis circuit is further configured to update the fail bit count of the target memory package by removing the fail bit of the fail address on which the virtual repair is performed.

11. The memory repair circuit of claim 8 , wherein the redundancy analysis circuit is further configured to perform the virtual repair by removing an unlocked fail address in the fail address of the target memory package within a range of the redundant address count of the target memory package.

12. The memory repair circuit of claim 11 , wherein the redundancy analysis circuit is further configured to update the fail bit count by removing a fail bit of the fail address on which the virtual repair is performed.

13. The memory repair circuit of claim 8 , wherein the threshold is determined based on an error correction code (ECC) applied to the memory module.

14. A memory device comprising:

a plurality of memory packages; and

a controller configured to:

determine a repair order of the plurality of memory packages based on fail information in each of the plurality of memory packages and a redundant address count in each of the plurality of memory packages, the fail information including a first fail address and a fail bit count in the first fail address; and

determine a second fail address to be repaired in each of the plurality of memory packages in the repair order.

15. The memory device of claim 14 ,

wherein the controller is further configured to determine the repair order as a descending order of a value obtained by subtracting a sum of the fail bit count in each of the plurality of memory packages from the redundant address count in each of the plurality of memory packages.

16. The memory device of claim 15 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

select a target memory package from among the plurality of memory packages based on the repair order;

remove a fail bit of an unlocked fail address among the first fail address of the target memory package within a range of the redundant address count of the target memory package; and

lock the first fail address when a sum of the fail bit count across the plurality of memory packages is less than a threshold.

17. The memory device of claim 15 ,

wherein the controller is further configured to determining the repair order as a descending order of a value obtained by subtracting the fail address count in each of the plurality of memory packages from the redundant address count in each of the plurality of memory packages.

18. The memory device of claim 17 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

select a target memory package from among the plurality of memory packages based on the repair order;

remove an unlocked fail address among the first fail address of the target memory package within a range of the redundant address count of the target memory package; and

lock the first fail address when a sum of the fail bit count across the plurality of memory packages is less than a threshold.

19. A method of repairing a memory module including a plurality of memory packages, the method comprising:

obtaining fail information in each of the plurality of memory packages;

obtaining a redundant address count in each of the plurality of memory packages;

determining a repair order of the plurality of memory packages based on the fail information and the redundant address count; and

determining an address to be repaired in each of the plurality of memory packages in the repair order.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the determining the repair order comprises determining the repair order as a descending order of a value obtained by subtracting a value based on the fail information in each of the plurality of memory packages from the redundant address count in each of the plurality of memory packages.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 14, 2023
From: KIM, HYUNSEOK
To: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 064900/0918 →
Priority Claims (1)
KR 10-2023-0015034 · Feb 3, 2023 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20240265987A1 · Aug 8, 2024
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