IP Library Granted Patent US 12,500,608
Granted Patent B2
US 12,500,608 · App. 18/735,981 · Granted Dec 16, 2025

Command address fault detection

Inventors: Aaron P. Boehm (Boise, ID); Melissa I. Uribe (El Dorado Hills, CA)
Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
H03M13/1174G11C8/06H03M13/098
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,500,608
App. No.
18/735,981
Granted
Dec 16, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

Implementations described herein relate to command address fault detection. A memory device may receive, from a host device via a command address (CA) bus, a plurality of bits associated with a command signal or an address signal. The CA bus may be configured for communicating command signals and address signals between the memory device and the host device. The memory device may generate one or more parity bits based on the plurality of bits. The one or more parity bits may be generated using a parity generation process that is common to the memory device and the host device. The memory device may transmit, to the host device, the one or more parity bits.

Claims (42)

1 . A memory device, comprising:

one or more components configured to:

receive, from a host device via a command address bus, a command address word that includes a plurality of bits;

generate one or more parity bits based on applying a parity generation process to the command address word that is received via the command address bus; and

transmit, to the host device and via a unidirectional pin, an indication of the one or more parity bits.

2 . The memory device of claim 1 , wherein the unidirectional pin is a dedicated parity pin or a data pin.

3 . The memory device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more components are configured to receive the command address word over a plurality of unit intervals, and wherein a unit interval of the plurality of unit intervals corresponds to a clock cycle associated with the memory device.

4 . The memory device of claim 3 , wherein the one or more components are configured to generate the one or more parity bits after the command address word is received over the plurality of unit intervals.

5 . The memory device of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of unit intervals includes six unit intervals.

6 . The memory device of claim 3 , wherein one or more respective bits of the command address word are received at each unit interval of the plurality of unit intervals.

7 . The memory device of claim 1 , wherein the one or more components are configured to transmit the one or more parity bits over a plurality of unit intervals.

8 . The memory device of claim 1 , wherein:

a component of the one or more components, associated with generating the one or more parity bits, is connected to the command address bus via a plurality of command paths, and

the parity generation process provides diagnostic coverage for the plurality of command paths based on the component being connected to the command address bus via the plurality of command paths.

9 . A system, comprising:

a host device configured to:

generate a command address word that includes a plurality of bits;

transmit the command address word to a memory device via a command address bus;

generate a first set of parity bits based on applying a parity generation process to the command address word; and

compare the first set of parity bits and a second set of parity bits generated by the memory device; and

the memory device, wherein the memory device is configured to:

generate the second set of parity bits based on applying the parity generation process to the command address word; and

transmit, to the host device and via a unidirectional pin, an indication of the second set of parity bits.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the host device is further configured to:

determine that the command address word, as received by the memory device, is valid based on the first set of parity bits being identical to the second set of parity bits.

11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the host device is further configured to:

determine that the command address word, as received by the memory device, has one or more errors based on the first set of parity bits being different from the second set of parity bits.

12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the host device is further configured to perform a corrective action based on the command address word, as received by the memory device, having one or more errors.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the corrective action includes retransmitting the command address word to the memory device or initiating one or more safety procedures.

14 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the parity generation process is common to the host device and the memory device.

15 . A method performed by a memory device, comprising:

receiving, from a host device via a command address bus, a command address word that includes a plurality of bits;

generating one or more parity bits based on applying a parity generation process to the command address word that is received via the command address bus; and

transmitting, to the host device and via a unidirectional pin, an indication of the one or more parity bits.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the parity generation process is associated with a Hamming code or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC).

17 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

buffering the command address word prior to generating the one or more parity bits based on applying the parity generation process to the command address word.

18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the command address bus is a unidirectional bus for transmitting command address information from the host device to the memory device.

19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein transmitting the indication of the one or more parity bits comprises:

transmitting one parity bit, of the one or more parity bits, per clock cycle.

20 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

receiving the command address word over a plurality of unit intervals, wherein a unit interval of the plurality of unit intervals corresponds to a clock cycle associated with the memory device.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 26, 2024
From: BOEHM, AARON P.; URIBE, MELISSA I.
To: MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC.
Reel/Frame 067845/0103 →
Continuity (2)
Continuation 17814402 · Jul 22, 2022
Related Publication 20240322841A1 · Sep 26, 2024
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