Non-Volatile Memory Write Method Reducing Operational Stress
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for writing data in non-volatile memory units stress the memory unit due to the high number of erase and program operations required, especially when power-off protection is needed, which limits the memory's lifespan and increases operational stress.
Innovation Solution
A method that compares stored memory words with intended words to be stored, skipping unnecessary erase and program operations by checking for complementary values, thereby reducing the number of operations and minimizing stress on the memory unit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If erase and program operations are executed for every write operation to ensure data integrity and power-off protection, then data safety is improved, but the number of operations increases significantly causing increased stress on the memory unit
Solution Approach 1:
The patent compares the new data to be written with the existing data in the memory unit before executing erase and program operations. By performing this preliminary comparison, the system identifies which operations are actually necessary, avoiding unnecessary erase and program operations while maintaining data integrity and power-off protection where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of applying erase and program operations uniformly to entire memory pages, the patent applies these operations selectively only to specific memory cells where data changes are actually required. This localized approach reduces the total number of operations and minimizes stress on the memory unit while maintaining data safety where changes occur.
2Reliability
If erase and program operations are executed for every write operation to maintain data consistency, then data integrity is improved, but the memory unit lifespan deteriorates due to increased operational stress
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs a preliminary comparison between new data and existing data before executing write operations. This advance check identifies which memory cells actually require updates, allowing the system to skip unnecessary erase and program operations on cells where data remains unchanged, thereby extending memory unit lifespan while maintaining data integrity for cells that do require updates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent effectively discards unnecessary erase and program operations that would not change the data state. By identifying and skipping operations on memory cells where the new data matches the existing data, the system recovers memory cell stress and extends the overall lifespan of the memory unit while preserving data integrity where changes are needed.
3Reliability
If additional erase and program operations are executed for power-off protection to preserve data during unexpected power off, then data protection is improved, but the number of writing operations increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs a preliminary comparison to identify which memory cells actually contain data that needs protection. By comparing new data with existing data before write operations, the system determines the minimal set of memory cells that require erase and program operations for power-off protection, reducing the total number of writing operations while maintaining protection where necessary.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of applying power-off protection operations uniformly to entire memory pages, the patent applies protection selectively only to specific memory cells where data changes occur. This localized approach ensures power-off protection for modified data while avoiding unnecessary operations on unchanged data, thereby reducing the total number of writing operations.
4Adaptability or versatility
If erase operation is executed before program operation to enable data overwriting, then program operation capability is improved, but the number of erase operations increases causing increased stress on memory unit
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs a preliminary comparison between new data and existing data to determine whether an erase operation is actually necessary before executing the program operation. By identifying memory cells where the new data differs from existing data, the system executes erase operations only when needed to enable overwriting, maintaining program operation capability while reducing unnecessary erase operations and associated stress on the memory unit.
Data Source
AI summary
Method for writing data in a non volatile memory unit comprising memory pages, each page (mp) including a predetermined number of memory cells, each memory cell (mc) storing a memory word (mw), the memory word (mw) comprising a predetermined sequence (pre) of digital values also indicated as value (1) and complementary value (0), the method providing an erase operation for erasing all the memory words (mw) in the memory page (mp), setting the predetermined sequence of digital values to a sequence of complementary values (0), and a program operation for storing in the memory cell (mc) a word (mw1) to be stored, setting a sequence (post) of digital values of the word to be stored (mw1) in the memory cell (mc). The method provides the steps of: for each memory cell (mc) of the memory page (mp), comparing the memory word (mw) stored with the word (mw1) to be stored and returning a positive check if complementary values (0) of the sequence (post) corresponds to complementary values (0) of the predetermined sequence (pre); if the check is negative, executing the erase operation. For each memory cell (mc), comparing the memory word (mw) stored with the word (mw1) to be stored and executing the program operation only if the word (mw1) to be stored is different from the memory word stored (mw); repeating the steps for each memory page (mp) wherein the data must be stored.