IP Library Granted Patent US 11,790,975
Granted Patent B2
US 11,790,975 · App. 17/536,803 · Granted Oct 17, 2023

Memory controller and memory system

Inventor: Woongrae Kim (Gyeonggi-do, KR)
Assignee: SK hynix Inc.
G11C11/40615G11C7/04G11C11/4076G11C11/40622
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,790,975
App. No.
17/536,803
Granted
Oct 17, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

A memory controller includes: a security level setting circuit suitable for setting a security level by monitoring a risk of a row hammer attack; and a refresh management command control circuit suitable for controlling the number of times that a refresh management command is to be applied to a memory per unit time according to the security level.

Claims (54)

1. A memory controller comprising:

a security level setting circuit suitable for setting a security level by monitoring a risk of a row hammer attack; and

a refresh management command control circuit suitable for controlling the number of times that a refresh management command is to be applied to a memory per unit time according to the security level.

2. The memory controller of claim 1 , further comprising:

a normal refresh command control circuit suitable for controlling the number of times that a refresh command is to be applied to the memory per unit time according to the security level.

3. The memory controller of claim 1 , wherein the security level setting circuit sets the security level by monitoring at least one of active information, cache miss information, and uncorrectable error information.

4. The memory controller of claim 1 , wherein the refresh management command control circuit

controls the number of times that the refresh management command is to be applied to the memory per unit time so that the refresh management command is applied to the memory whenever the number of activations reaches a threshold value, and

wherein the threshold value is adjusted according to the security level.

5. The memory controller of claim 4 , wherein the threshold value is received from the memory, and

wherein the threshold value transferred from the memory to the refresh management command control circuit is adjusted according to the security level.

6. The memory controller of claim 2 , wherein the normal refresh command control circuit increases the number of times that the refresh command is to be applied to the memory per unit time as the security level becomes higher.

7. The memory controller of claim 2 , wherein the normal refresh command control circuit

controls the number of times that the refresh command is to be applied to the memory per unit time according to a temperature of the memory when the security level is low, and

controls the number of times that the refresh command is to be applied to the memory per unit time to a maximal level, regardless of the temperature of the memory, when the security level is high.

8. The memory controller of claim 7 , wherein the normal refresh command control circuit receives information about the number of times that the refresh command is to be applied to the memory per unit time according to the temperature of the memory.

9. The memory controller of claim 2 , further comprising:

a host interface suitable for communicating with a host;

a scheduler suitable for scheduling an operation of the memory;

a command generator suitable for generating a command to be applied to the memory;

an error correction circuit suitable for correcting an error; and

a memory interface suitable for communicating with the memory.

10. A memory controller comprising:

a security level setting circuit suitable for setting a security level by monitoring a risk of a row hammer attack; and

a normal refresh command control circuit suitable for controlling the number of times that a refresh command is to be applied to a memory per unit time according to the security level.

11. The memory controller of claim 10 , wherein the normal refresh command control circuit increases the number of times that the refresh command is to be applied to the memory per unit time, as the security level becomes higher.

12. The memory controller of claim 11 , wherein the normal refresh command control circuit

controls the number of times that the refresh command is to be applied to the memory per unit time according to a temperature of the memory when the security level is low, and

controls the number of times that the refresh command is to be applied to the memory per unit time to a maximal level, regardless of the temperature of the memory, when the security level is high.

13. A memory system comprising:

a memory; and

a memory controller suitable for controlling the memory,

wherein the memory controller includes:

a security level setting circuit suitable for setting a security level by monitoring a risk of a row hammer attack; and

a refresh management command control circuit suitable for controlling the number of times that a refresh management command is to be applied to the memory per unit time according to the security level.

14. The memory system of claim 13 , further comprising:

a normal refresh command control circuit suitable for controlling the number of times that a refresh command is to be applied to the memory per unit time according to the security level.

15. The memory system of claim 13 , wherein the security level setting circuit sets the security level by monitoring at least one of active information, cache miss information, and uncorrectable error information.

16. The memory system of claim 13 , wherein the refresh management command control circuit

controls the number of times that the refresh management command is applied to the memory per unit time so that the refresh management command is to be applied to the memory whenever the number of activations reaches a threshold value, and

wherein the threshold value is adjusted according to the security level.

17. The memory system of claim 16 , wherein the threshold value is transferred from the memory to the refresh management command control circuit, and

wherein the threshold value transferred from the memory to the refresh management command control circuit is adjusted according to the security level.

18. The memory system of claim 14 , wherein the normal refresh command control circuit

controls the number of times that the refresh command is to be applied to the memory per unit time according to a temperature of the memory when the security level is low, and

controls the number of times that the refresh command is to be applied to the memory per unit time to a maximal level, regardless of the temperature of the memory, when the security level is high.

19. The memory system of claim 18 , wherein the normal refresh command control circuit transfers

information about the number of times that the refresh command is to be applied to the memory per unit time according to the temperature of the memory, to the normal refresh command control circuit.

20. A memory system comprising:

a memory; and

a memory controller suitable for controlling the memory,

wherein the memory controller includes:

a security level setting circuit suitable for setting a security level by monitoring a risk of a row hammer attack; and

a normal refresh command control circuit suitable for controlling the number of times that a refresh command is to be applied to the memory per unit time according to the security level.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 29, 2021
From: KIM, WOONGRAE
To: SK HYNIX INC.
Reel/Frame 058264/0186 →
Priority Claims (1)
KR 10-2021-0026556 · Feb 26, 2021 · national
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63123666 · Dec 10, 2020
Related Publication 20220189535A1 · Jun 16, 2022
Cited By (1)
US 12,211,543