Non-volatile memory with error checking/correcting circuit and methods thereof for reading and writing data

Abstract

The invention discloses a non-volatile memory with an error checking/correcting (ECC) circuit and methods thereof for reading and writing data. Read-write operations are carried inside the memory, with ECC code words as the unit. The method for writing the data comprises the following steps: acquiring the head address and the end address of external input data and buffering the external input data; acquiring the bytes which are unnecessary to be replaced, namely write-back data, from a memory array of the non-volatile memory if part of the bytes in an ECC data set in which the external input data are included is unnecessary to be replaced; forming a new ECC data set with the external input data or the external input data and the write-back data and buffering the new ECC data set; generating a corresponding check bit for the new ECC data set; and writing the new ECC data set and the corresponding check bit into the memory array. The invention only erases the corresponding ECC code words during writing data and improves the memory flexibility and the utilization efficiency of the memory space.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to a non-volatile memory, in particular to a non-volatile memory with an error checking / correcting (Error Checking and Correcting, ECC) circuit and a reading and writing method thereof. Background technique [0002] With the rapid development of integrated circuits, the integration level of semiconductor memory is getting higher and higher, and the capacity is also getting larger. The ensuing problem is that the reliability and yield of semiconductor memory are facing serious challenges. For example, the signal-to-noise ratio decreases with the increase of integration, and the decrease of the charge of the storage node makes the storage unit more susceptible to the influence of cosmic rays. , The process deviation and material defects under the deep submicron technology lead to the reduction of the yield of the memory, etc. [0003] Error-correcting codes are a type of codes that can not only detect errors but also locate and cor...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, in the process of realizing the present invention, the inventor found that when reading and writing inside the memory, what the prior art uses is the ECC code word of multi-byte data bits, especially when writing new data to the internal storage array, it is It is operated with a larger space unit such as a page (Page, such as 128KB). If the amount of input data is less than one page (this situation is very common at present), it will increase the writing time and greatly reduce the storage flexibility. It is a waste of space for write operations, and unnecessary erase / program operations during the operation will greatly reduce the service life of the memory

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