Memory Controller Read Retry Voltage Estimation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Data storage devices using memory devices often experience read failures due to errors caused by interference or wear, leading to reduced reliability and increased error rates.
Innovation Solution
A data storage system that includes a nonvolatile memory device and a memory controller capable of reading data, detecting errors, correcting them, and estimating a read retry voltage based on error correction data to improve read operation reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If error correction algorithms are performed for every read operation, then read failure rate is reduced, but processing time and computational complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by estimating the read retry voltage before actual read operations occur. The memory controller predicts the optimal voltage level based on historical data and error patterns, preparing the read operation parameters in advance to prevent errors before they happen, rather than reacting after errors occur.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the memory controller continuously monitors read operation outcomes and adjusts voltage levels accordingly. Error correction data from previous operations is fed back into the system to refine future read retry voltage estimates, creating a adaptive process that learns from past performance.
2Reliability
If read retry operations are performed multiple times, then data reliability is improved, but access speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes the voltage parameter during read operations. Instead of using a fixed read voltage, the memory controller adjusts the voltage level based on the specific memory cell characteristics and error patterns detected, optimizing the balance between read speed and reliability for each individual operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The read operation parameters, particularly voltage levels, are made dynamic rather than static. The system adapts voltage settings in real-time based on monitored performance metrics, allowing the read operation to optimize between speed and reliability based on actual hardware conditions rather than following a fixed protocol.
3Reliability
If higher read retry voltage is applied, then error correction capability is improved, but risk of data distortion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system carefully controls voltage parameter changes to stay within safe operating ranges. By estimating optimal voltage levels based on historical data and memory cell characteristics, the system increases voltage only when and where necessary for error correction, while avoiding excessive voltage that could cause data distortion or cell damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces purely mechanical/voltage-based read operations with a more intelligent system that incorporates error correction algorithms and predictive voltage estimation. This substitution allows the system to achieve better error correction without proportionally increasing voltage risk, as the correction is performed through computational methods rather than solely through higher voltage.
Data Source
AI summary
Operating a data storage device may include reading a first data group, detecting errors in the first data group, correcting the errors in the first data group, if the errors detected in the first data group can be corrected, and estimating a read retry estimation voltage for a subsequent read retry operation of a second data group that is different than the first data group and associated with the data storage device based on error correction data associated with the correcting the errors of the first data group.