Memory Device Hard Soft Repair Mode Collision Prevention

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Solution Overview

Problem

In memory devices, errors occur when soft repair data is the same as hard repair data, leading to simultaneous activation of redundancy word lines, causing data collisions in memory cells, which can result in incorrect repair operations.

Innovation Solution

A memory device with a non-volatile memory circuit for storing hard repair data, a data bus for transmitting repair data, and a control circuit that selectively activates and deactivates registers to prevent data collisions by comparing transmitted repair data with stored data and deactivating registers with matching data during the soft repair mode.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If soft repair data is stored in registers without checking for duplicates, then the repair operation can proceed quickly, but data collisions occur when soft repair data matches hard repair data, causing incorrect repair operations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverepair operation speedVSAvoidrepair operation accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The control circuit performs a preliminary check by comparing soft repair data with hard repair data stored in registers before activating redundancy word lines. This preliminary action prevents data collisions by identifying matching data in advance, ensuring reliable repair operations while maintaining efficient processing throughput

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The control circuit implements a feedback mechanism where the comparison result between soft and hard repair data determines whether to proceed with register activation. When a match is detected, the system provides feedback to prevent activation, thereby maintaining both speed and accuracy in repair operations

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Quantity of substance

If all registers are activated to store repair data, then more repair addresses can be accommodated, but the risk of data collisions and incorrect repair operations increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenumber of repair addressesVSAvoiddata collision errors

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The comparison mechanism converts the potentially harmful condition of duplicate repair data into a beneficial filtering process. By identifying matches between soft and hard repair data, the system prevents harmful data collisions while allowing legitimate duplicate addresses to be processed, thus maintaining high repair capacity without increasing error rates

Inventive Principle:

Principle #22Blessing in disguise (Convert harm into benefit)

Data Source

PatentUS9437330B2Memory device and memory system include hard repair mode and soft repair mode

Publication Date: 2016.09.06 SK HYNIX INC

AI summary

A memory device includes: a non-volatile memory circuit suitable for storing hard repair data; a data bus suitable for transmitting the hard repair data during a boot-up operation, and transmitting soft repair data during a soft repair mode; a plurality of registers suitable for storing repair data transmitted through the data bus and activated when the transmitted repair data is stored; a control circuit suitable for selecting a register to store the transmitted repair data among the plurality of the registers, and during the soft repair mode, deactivating a register that stores the same data as the transmitted repair data; and a memory bank suitable for performing a repair operation based on the data stored in a register that is activated among the plurality of the registers.