MIPI NAC Error Code Communication for Memory Reliability
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current UniPro SM standards do not support the communication of specific error codes from memory components to hosts in mobile devices, limiting error identification and recovery capabilities, as they lack error identifier fields in NAC frames and do not contemplate the need for error information to be provided to hosts.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a method to communicate error information from memory components to host logic using negative acknowledgment control (NAC) messages with error codes, allowing for error identification and configuration of host-side operations, and enabling detection logic to differentiate between various error types and recover from specific errors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional UniPro SM standards are used for communication between memory components and hosts, then the communication protocol is simple and well-defined, but error identification and recovery capabilities are limited due to lack of error identifier fields in NAC frames
Solution Approach 1:
The error information is segmented into distinct error identifier fields within the NAC frame structure. Different error types are identified through separate fields (e.g., error type fields, error code fields) that can be independently processed and interpreted by the host, allowing for detailed error classification without requiring complete protocol redesign.
Solution Approach 2:
The error identification mechanism is nested within the existing NAC frame structure. Error identifier fields are integrated into the standard NAC frame format, allowing error information to be conveyed through the existing communication protocol without requiring a separate dedicated error communication channel.
2Reliability
If error information is added to NAC frames to improve error handling, then error recovery capabilities are enhanced, but the existing protocol structure is extended beyond conventional UniPro SM standards
Solution Approach 1:
The NAC frame structure is enhanced to serve multiple functions: it continues to convey traditional negative acknowledgment information while simultaneously carrying error identifier fields. This multi-functional approach allows the same frame structure to provide both standard UniPro SM error handling and enhanced error identification capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The protocol implementation is designed to be dynamic, allowing the host to interpret error identifier fields based on the specific error conditions detected. The system can adapt its error handling behavior based on the error type identified, providing flexible response mechanisms that work within the enhanced protocol framework.
3Measurement precision
If detection logic is enhanced to differentiate between various error types, then error recovery precision is improved, but the complexity of processing error information increases
Solution Approach 1:
Different error types are identified through locally distinct fields within the NAC frame. Each error type has specific identifier fields (e.g., different error type bits, error code values) that can be independently processed by the host's detection logic, allowing for precise error differentiation without requiring complex analysis of the entire frame structure.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
Techniques and mechanisms to identify an error to a host that controls a memory component based on communications based on a Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI) Unified Protocol specification. In an embodiment, the memory component detects an error based on a data frame sent to the memory component from the host. In response to detecting the error, the memory device sends to the host a negative acknowledgment control (NAC) message including a negative acknowledgment identifier and an error code identifying an error type of the detected error. The NAC message is based on a NAC frame structure defined by the MIPI Unified Protocol specification. In another embodiment, the host receives the NAC message and stores error information based on the error code of the NAC message. The stored error information is accessible for purposes such as performance evaluation of the host and debugging.