Electrically programmable three-dimensional memory
View Patent ↗One greatest advantage of the three-dimensional memory (3D-M) is its integratibility. In a electrically programmable three-dimensional integrated memory (EP-3DiM), an electrically programmable 3D-M (EP-3DM) is integrated with an embedded RWM and/or an embedded processor. Collectively, the EP-3DiM excels in speed, density/cost, programmability and data security.
1. An electrically programmable three-dimensional integrated memory (EP-3DiM), comprising:
a substrate circuit, said substrate circuit further comprising a substrate integrated circuit and an address-decoder, said substrate integrated circuit comprising an embedded RWM and/or an embedded processor;
at least an electrically programmable three-dimensional memory (EP-3DM) level, said EP-3DM level being stacked on top of said substrate circuit and connected with said substrate circuit through a plurality of inter-level connecting vias, said address-decoder decoding address for at least a portion of said EP-3DM level.
2. The EP-3DiM according to claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of said EP-3DM level stores software code.
3. The EP-3DiM according to claim 1 , wherein said embedded RWM stores data.
4. The EP-3DiM according to claim 1 , wherein
said embedded RWM comprises an embedded RAM, at least a portion of the input/output of said embedded RAM being eventually connected with at least a portion of the input/output of said address-decoder of said EP-3DM level.
5. The EP-3DiM according to claim 4 , wherein said embedded RAM stores a copy of software code from said EP-3DM level.
6. The EP-3DIM according to claim 5 , wherein said embedded RAM further comprises:
a first sector, said first sector storing said copy of software code; and
a second sector, said second sector storing data.
7. The EP-3DiM according to claim 1 , wherein
said embedded RWM comprises an embedded ROM, whereby said embedded ROM stores correctional data for said EP-3DM level; and
said substrate circuit further comprises means for selecting data from said EP-3DM level or from said embedded ROM.
8. The EP-3DiM according to claim 1 , wherein
said embedded RWM comprises an embedded ROM, whereby said embedded ROM stores upgrade codes for said EP-3DM level; and
said substrate circuit further comprises means for selecting data from said EP-3T)M level or from said embedded ROM.
9. The EP-3DiM according to claim 1 , wherein
at least a portion of said embedded RWM and at least a portion of said EP-3DM form a unified memory space; and
said substrate circuit further comprises a memory-space address-decoder, at least an output of said memory-space address-decoder being eventually connected with said embedded RWM and at least another output of said memory-space address-decoder being eventually connected with said EP-3DM.
10. The EP-3DiM according to claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of said EP-3DM level stores multimedia contents.
11. The EP-3DiM according to claim 1 , wherein said multimedia contents are selected from a group of multimedia contents consisting of digital text, digital images, digital audio, digital video.
12. The EP-3DIM according to claim 1 , wherein said processor is an embedded media-player.
13. The EP-3DIM according to claim 1 , wherein
said embedded processor is selected from a group consisting of D/A converter, decoder and decryption engine.
14. The EP-3DiM according to claim 1 , wherein at least one multimedia output of said EP-3DiM is in an analog form.
15. The EP-3DiM according to claim 1 , further comprises a key storage, whereby said key is used to decrypt at least a portion of the contents stored in said EP-3DM level.
16. An electrically programmable player-on-a-chip (EP-PonC), comprising:
a substrate circuit, said substrate circuit further comprising an embedded media-player;
at least an electrically programmable three-dimensional memory (EP-3DM) level, said EP-3DM level being stacked on top of said substrate circuit and connected with said substrate circuit through a plurality of inter-level connecting vms, at least a portion of said EP-3DM level storing multimedia contents;
whereby said embedded media-player can process said multimedia contents stored in said PP-3DM level.
17. The EP-PonC according to claim 16 , wherein said multimedia contents are selected from a group of multimedia contents consisting of digital text, digital images, digital audio, digital video.
18. The EP-PonCaccording to claim 16 , wherein
said embedded media-player comprises at least a processing block selected from D/A converter, decoder and decryption engine.
19. The EP-PonC according to claim 16 , wherein at least one multimedia output of said EP-PonC is in an analog form.
20. An electrically programmable computer-on-a-chip (EP-ConC), comprising:
a substrate circuit, said substrate circuit further comprising an embedded processor and an embedded RAM;
at least an electrically programmable three-dimensional memory (EP-3DM) level, said EP-3DM level being stacked on top of said substrate circuit and connected with said substraic circuit ibrough a plurality of inter-level connecting visa, at least a portion of said EP-3DM level storing software code;
whereby said embedded RAM can store at least a portion of said software code from said EP-3DM level, and said embedded processor can process data and code stored in said embedded RAM.