Flash Memory Parameter Detection Without Strap Pins
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Solution Overview
Problem
The complexity in configuring flash memory systems increases due to varying characteristic parameters across different flash memory manufacturers and models, requiring specific data formats and settings through OTP memory or strap pins, which complicates data access and system design.
Innovation Solution
A method for detecting flash memory characteristic parameters by reading and analyzing P-byte data from the flash memory module, which includes a data area, a tag area, and an ECC area, without relying on OTP memory or strap pins, by iteratively adjusting addresses and using check codes to determine correct data and configure the flash memory controller.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If OTP memory or strap pin is used to store characteristic parameters, then the flash memory can be configured correctly, but the device complexity and configuration difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The flash memory module performs self-identification by autonomously reading its own characteristic parameters from its internal structure (SFCG block, tag area, ECC area) without requiring external configuration mechanisms like OTP memory or strap pins. The system automatically detects page size, block size, and other parameters through reading and analyzing the memory's content, enabling the memory to configure itself rather than requiring external configuration infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the characteristic parameter storage function from external configuration mechanisms (OTP memory, strap pins) and relocates it to the flash memory's internal structure. By reading parameters from the SFCG block, tag area, and ECC area within the flash memory itself, the system eliminates the need for separate configuration hardware and simplifies the overall device architecture.
2Adaptability or versatility
If different flash memories with varying characteristic parameters are supported, then the adaptability improves, but the configuration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts configuration parameters based on the detected flash memory characteristics. By reading the actual page size, block size, and other parameters from the flash memory during initialization, the system automatically modifies the controller's operating parameters to match the specific flash memory type, enabling universal compatibility without manual configuration for each memory variant.
Solution Approach 2:
The flash memory controller is designed with universal functionality to handle multiple flash memory types through automatic parameter detection. The same controller can correctly interface with different flash memory manufacturers and models by first reading their characteristic parameters and then configuring itself accordingly, eliminating the need for separate configuration procedures for each memory type.
3Reliability
If manual configuration of strap pin and data format is required, then the data can be correctly read, but the manufacturing cost and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The characteristic parameters are pre-stored within the flash memory module itself in designated areas (SFCG block, tag area, ECC area) during manufacturing. This preliminary action eliminates the need for post-manufacturing configuration operations, as the parameters are already in place and can be immediately read and used during system initialization, significantly improving configuration efficiency while maintaining data read correctness.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a method for detecting a flash memory module and an associated SoC. The method reads data in a flash memory module with a specific data format, and then determining a plurality of characteristic parameters of the flash memory module and a size of a page by decoding and checking the data. Therefore, the SoC does not need to design a one-time-programmable memory or strap pins, so as to reduce the manufacturing cost of the SoC.