IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,706,127
Granted Patent B2
US 12,706,127 · App. 18/516,769 · Granted Aug 11, 2026

Memory device heating in cold environments

Inventors: Christopher Joseph Bueb (Folsom, CA); Poorna Kale (Folsom, CA); Aravind Ramamoorthy (Rocklin, CA)
Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
G11C7/04G11C7/20H10N70/861
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,706,127
App. No.
18/516,769
Filed
Nov 21, 2023
Granted
Aug 11, 2026
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2824
USPC
365/211
Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for memory device heating in cold environments are described. A memory system may use system components to accelerate the heating of a non-volatile memory device that stores boot data associated with a boot up procedure at a host system. For example, the memory system may determine that a temperature associated with the memory system fails to satisfy a threshold. Based on the temperature failing to satisfy the threshold, a controller of the memory system may perform a heating procedure that increases a heat of and emitted by the controller (e.g., a heating element coupled with the controller) to accelerate the heating of the non-volatile memory device. The memory system may read the boot data from the non-volatile memory device based on the heating procedure and transmit the boot data to the host system.

Claims (50)

1 . A method, comprising:

storing boot data to a non-volatile memory device from among a plurality of non-volatile memory devices within a memory system based at least in part on the non-volatile memory device being located within a threshold physical distance of a controller of the memory system;

initiating, at a memory system, a procedure to transmit the boot data to a host system, the boot data associated with a boot up procedure at the host system;

determining, based at least in part on initiating the procedure, that a temperature of an environment associated with the memory system fails to satisfy a threshold;

performing, by the controller, a heating procedure based at least in part on the temperature failing to satisfy the threshold;

reading the boot data from the non-volatile memory device of the memory system based at least in part on the heating procedure; and

transmitting the boot data to the host system.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the heating procedure comprises:

adjusting a current drawn by the controller from a first current to a second current, wherein the second current is greater than the first current and causes the controller to emit more heat than is emitted using the first current.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the heating procedure comprises:

transitioning the controller from a first power mode to a second power mode, the first power mode associated with a first power consumption that is less than a second power consumption associated with the second power mode.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein performing the heating procedure comprises:

driving a current through a heating element coupled with the controller.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the heating element is positioned adjacent to a portion of the non-volatile memory device that stores the boot data.

6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the heating element is positioned within a threshold physical distance from a portion of the non-volatile memory device that stores the boot data.

7 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the heating element comprises a resistor.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

selecting the non-volatile memory device to store the boot data based at least in part on an indication that the boot data is associated with the boot up procedure.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

storing the boot data to the non-volatile memory device based at least in part on the non-volatile memory device being a physically nearest non-volatile memory device to the controller of a set of non-volatile memory devices included in the memory system.

10 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

selecting the non-volatile memory device to store the boot data based at least in part on an indication that the boot data is associated with the boot up procedure.

11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the temperature fails to satisfy the threshold comprises:

receiving a value of the temperature from a temperature sensor included in the memory system; and

comparing the value of the temperature to the threshold.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the temperature sensor is included within the non-volatile memory device or the controller.

13 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

terminating, by the controller, the heating procedure based at least in part on the temperature satisfying a second threshold, the second threshold being greater than the threshold.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises a deep learning accelerator (DLA), a compute express link (CXL) controller, or a combination thereof.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the non-volatile memory device comprises not-and (NAND) memory cells, ferroelectric non-volatile memory cells, chalcogenide-based memory cells, or a combination thereof.

16 . An apparatus, comprising:

a non-volatile memory device; and

a controller coupled with the non-volatile memory device, wherein the controller is configured to cause the apparatus to:

store boot data to a non-volatile memory device from among a plurality of non-volatile memory devices within a memory system based at least in part on the non-volatile memory device being located within a threshold physical distance of a controller of the memory system;

initiate, at the apparatus, a procedure to transmit the boot data to a host system, the boot data associated with a boot up procedure at the host system;

determine, based at least in part on initiating the procedure, that a temperature of an environment associated with the apparatus fails to satisfy a threshold;

perform, by the controller, a heating procedure based at least in part on the temperature failing to satisfy the threshold;

read the boot data from the non-volatile memory device based at least in part on the heating procedure; and

transmit the boot data to the host system.

17 . The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein performing the heating procedure is configured to cause the apparatus to:

adjust a current drawn by the controller from a first current to a second current, wherein the second current is greater than the first current and causes the controller to emit more heat than is emitted using the first current.

18 . The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein performing the heating procedure is configured to cause the apparatus to:

transition the controller from a first power mode to a second power mode, the first power mode associated with a first power consumption that is less than a second power consumption associated with the second power mode.

19 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to:

store boot data to a non-volatile memory device from among a plurality of non-volatile memory devices within a memory system based at least in part on the non-volatile memory device being located within a threshold physical distance of a controller of the memory system;

initiate, at the memory system, a procedure to transmit the boot data to a host system, the boot data associated with a boot up procedure at the host system;

determine, based at least in part on initiating the procedure, that a temperature of an environment associated with the memory system fails to satisfy a threshold;

perform, by the controller of the memory system, a heating procedure based at least in part on the temperature failing to satisfy the threshold;

read the boot data from the non-volatile memory device of the memory system based at least in part on the heating procedure; and

transmit the boot data to the host system.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Mar 8, 2024
From: BUEB, CHRISTOPHER JOSEPH; KALE, POORNA; RAMAMOORTHY, ARAVIND
To: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 066704/0510 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63427379 · Nov 22, 2022
Related Publication 20240170029A1 · May 23, 2024
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