Dynamic Memory Location Mapping for Reusable Spare Memory
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current memory technologies require large amounts of spare memory area to ensure reliability due to intermittent failures, which is costly.
Innovation Solution
Implement a method and system that maps faulty memory locations to spare memory areas temporarily and unmaps them when successful writes occur, allowing reuse of these locations, thereby reducing the need for extensive spare memory.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If large amounts of spare memory area are included to ensure reliability, then memory reliability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic mapping where faulty memory locations are temporarily mapped to spare memory areas during failures, and then unmapped and reused after successful writes. This transforms the static spare memory allocation into a dynamic system that adapts to actual failure conditions, reducing the need for large fixed spare memory areas while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent recovers faulty memory locations by attempting to rewrite them after mapping to spare areas. When a successful write is achieved, the location is unmapped and made available for reuse, effectively recovering it from a faulty state. This recovery mechanism reduces the permanent need for spare memory while ensuring reliability during failure periods.
2Reliability
If faulty memory locations are permanently mapped to spare memory areas, then reliability is maintained, but the spare memory area cannot be reused
Solution Approach 1:
The mapping relationship between faulty locations and spare memory areas is made dynamic rather than permanent. The system unmaps locations after successful rewrites, enabling the spare memory area to be reused for other purposes. This dynamic approach maintains reliability during failures while optimizing memory resource utilization over time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system recovers faulty memory locations by attempting to rewrite them after initial mapping to spare areas. When successful, the location is discarded from the faulty mapping and recovered for reuse, allowing the spare memory area to serve multiple locations sequentially rather than being permanently dedicated to one faulty location.
3Reliability
If intermittent failures occur in memory locations, then reliability decreases, but requiring large spare memory area increases cost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a recovery mechanism that attempts to rewrite faulty memory locations after mapping to spare areas. When the rewrite is successful, the location is recovered and made available for reuse. This approach addresses intermittent failures by providing temporary relocation during failures while maintaining the ability to recover and reuse locations, thereby reducing the need for large permanent spare memory areas.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of operating a memory circuit is disclosed. The memory circuit includes a memory array having a memory portion and a spare portion. The method includes receiving a first write command to a first memory address, where the first memory address has a status of being mapped to a first spare memory address, and where the first memory address corresponds to a first memory location in the memory portion and the first spare memory address corresponds to a first spare memory location in the spare portion. The method also includes performing, in response to the first write command, a first write operation by attempting to write first data to the first memory location, determining if the first write operation is successful, and unmapping, in response to the first write operation of being successful, the first memory address from the first spare memory address.