NAND Memory Program Suspend Control with Channel Equalization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Nonvolatile memory devices experience reliability issues and increased power consumption due to repeated suspend and resume operations during program operations, leading to data integrity loss and inefficiency.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a channel equalization operation in nonvolatile memory devices to balance channel voltages before and after suspend and resume commands, particularly during program operations, to maintain data reliability and reduce power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the nonvolatile memory device suspends and resumes program operations to handle read requests, then read access speed is improved, but data reliability deteriorates due to repeated suspend and resume iterations
Solution Approach 1:
The control circuit performs channel equalization operation before the bit line setup operation of each program loop when suspend and resume commands are received. This preliminary action ensures that the channel voltage is equalized prior to each program operation, preventing data reliability degradation from repeated suspend-resume iterations while maintaining read access speed benefits
2Productivity
If the nonvolatile memory device performs multiple suspend and resume operations during program operation, then read request responsiveness is improved, but power consumption increases due to repeated operations
Solution Approach 1:
The channel equalization operation is performed as a preliminary action before each program loop's bit line setup operation. By equalizing the channel voltage in advance, the control circuit avoids the need for repeated suspend and resume operations, thereby reducing power consumption while maintaining read request responsiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The control circuit maintains continuous program operation by performing channel equalization before each program loop rather than suspending and resuming. This continuous approach eliminates the overhead of repeated suspend-resume cycles, reducing power consumption while preserving read request responsiveness
3Reliability
If the nonvolatile memory device performs channel equalization operation before each program loop, then data reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control circuit integrates the channel equalization operation into the existing program loop structure, making the control circuit multi-functional. The same control circuit that manages program operations also performs channel equalization, avoiding the need for separate dedicated equalization hardware and thus minimizing the increase in device complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A nonvolatile memory device which includes a memory cell array and a control circuit. The memory cell array includes a target memory block and a non-target memory block. The control circuit starts a program operation on a target memory cell, and the program operation includes a plurality of program loops. The control circuit performs a channel equalization operation of equalizing a channel voltage of a cell string associated with the target memory cell, in response to receiving a suspend command according to a read request for one of the target memory block and the non-target memory block before a bit line setup operation of each of the plurality of program loops is completed and receiving a resume command according to the suspend command.