IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,738,324
Granted Patent B2
US 12,738,324 · App. 18/654,302 · Granted Sep 15, 2026

Memory system performing read operation using read voltage

Inventor: Hiroyuki Nagashima (Yokohama, JP)
Assignee: Kioxia Corporation
G11C16/26G06F11/1048G11C11/5628G11C11/5642G11C16/0483G11C16/14G11C16/24G11C16/34G11C16/3418G06F11/3466G06F2201/88
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,738,324
App. No.
18/654,302
Granted
Sep 15, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

According to one embodiment, a memory system includes a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, a voltage generation unit and a control unit. The nonvolatile semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array having a plurality of blocks each including a plurality of memory cells, and a voltage generation unit configured to change a read level of the memory cell. The control unit controls write, read, and erase of the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device. The control unit changes the read level between a start of use of the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and a timing after an elapse of a time.

Claims (28)

1 . A memory system comprising:

a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device including a plurality of memory cells, and

a control circuit configured to:

send a first command, to the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, to read data stored in the memory cells using a first voltage corresponding to a voltage between a first threshold voltage and a second threshold voltage, and

send a second command, to the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, to read the data using a second voltage that is lower than the first voltage and corresponding to the voltage between the first threshold voltage and the second threshold voltage, after a first time has elapsed from a previous access to the memory cells.

2 . The memory system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to send a third command, to the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, to read the data using a third voltage that is higher than the first voltage, after a second time has elapsed from the previous access to the memory cells, the second time being shorter than the first time.

3 . The memory system of claim 1 , wherein in a case where an error is detected on data read in a read operation according to the second command, the control circuit is configured to execute a refresh operation on the data read in the read operation according to the second command.

4 . The memory system of claim 1 , wherein the control circuit is configured to perform an error correction on data read in a read operation according to the second command.

5 . The memory system of claim 1 , wherein a value of the second voltage vary according to a temperature in the memory system.

6 . The memory system of claim 1 , wherein in a case where an error is detected on data read in a read operation according to the first command, the control circuit is configured to send a fourth command, to the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, to read the data using a fourth voltage that is lower than the first voltage.

7 . The memory system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of memory cells is configured to store data of three or more values.

8 . The memory system of claim 1 , wherein the nonvolatile semiconductor memory includes a NAND flash memory.

9 . The memory system of claim 1 , further comprising a memory configured to store a firmware for an operation of the control circuit.

10 . The memory system of claim 9 , wherein the memory includes a DRAM.

11 . A memory system comprising:

a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device including a plurality of memory cells, and

a control circuit configured to:

send a first command, to the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, to read data stored in the memory cells using a first voltage corresponding to a voltage between a first threshold voltage and a second threshold voltage, and

send a second command, to the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, to read the data using a second voltage that is higher than the first voltage and corresponding to the voltage between the first threshold voltage and the second threshold voltage, after a first time has elapsed from a previous access to the memory cells.

12 . The memory system of claim 11 , wherein in a case where an error is detected on data read in a read operation according to the second command, the control circuit is configured to execute a refresh operation on the data read in the read operation according to the second command.

13 . The memory system of claim 11 , wherein the control circuit is configured to perform an error correction on data read in a read operation according to the second command.

14 . The memory system of claim 11 , wherein a value of the second voltage vary according to a temperature in the memory system.

15 . The memory system of claim 11 , wherein in a case where an error is detected on data read in a read operation according to the first command, the control circuit is configured to send a third command, to the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, to read the data using a third voltage that is lower than the first voltage.

16 . The memory system of claim 11 , wherein in a case where an error is detected on data read in a read operation according to the first command, the control circuit is configured to send a fourth command, to the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, to read the data using a fourth voltage that is higher than the first voltage.

17 . The memory system of claim 11 , wherein each of the plurality of memory cells is configured to store data of three or more values.

18 . The memory system of claim 11 , wherein the nonvolatile semiconductor memory includes a NAND flash memory.

19 . The memory system of claim 11 , further comprising a memory configured to store a firmware for an operation of the control circuit.

20 . The memory system of claim 19 , wherein the memory includes a DRAM.

Priority Claims (1)
JP 2009-255314 · Nov 6, 2009 · national
Continuity (10)
Continuation 17967006 · Oct 17, 2022
Continuation 17137547 · Dec 30, 2020
Continuation 16502302 · Jul 3, 2019
Continuation 15982024 · May 17, 2018
Continuation 15673512 · Aug 10, 2017
Continuation 15343484 · Nov 4, 2016
Continuation 14565522 · Dec 10, 2014
Continuation 13462022 · May 2, 2012
Continuation PCTJP2010069608 · Nov 4, 2010
Related Publication 20240282389A1 · Aug 22, 2024
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