Selective Codeword Scanning for Faster Memory Page Error Checks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Memory devices experience degradation in data storage quality due to bit errors, leading to inefficiencies in accessing and storing data, which existing technologies fail to address effectively.
Innovation Solution
A selective codeword media scan system that performs a media scan on a proper subset of codewords in a memory page to determine bit error count (BEC), allowing for rapid assessment and relocation of unreliable data to more reliable locations within the memory device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a media scan is performed on all codewords in a memory page, then data reliability assessment is thorough, but scan time and processing resources increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the media scan operation into two phases: a first media scan that reads and decodes a first subset of codewords (e.g., every nth codeword) to quickly assess overall page health, and a second media scan that reads all remaining codewords only if needed. This segmentation allows the system to perform reliability assessment without always scanning every codeword, thereby reducing scan time while maintaining adequate reliability monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by performing media scans on only a subset of codewords during the first scan phase, rather than scanning all codewords immediately. This partial scanning approach provides sufficient reliability information for most cases, avoiding the excessive time consumption of scanning every single codeword unless the page shows signs of deterioration.
2Reliability
If a media scan is performed on all codewords in a memory page, then comprehensive error detection is achieved, but processing resources are consumed excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the codeword population into a first subset for initial scanning and a second subset for conditional scanning. The first subset is scanned to determine if the page requires attention, and only then is the second subset scanned. This segmentation significantly reduces the processing resources consumed during routine reliability checks while maintaining comprehensive error detection capability when necessary.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial action by performing error detection on only a partial set of codewords during the first media scan phase. This partial detection is sufficient to identify pages with significant errors, avoiding the excessive processing resource consumption that would result from scanning all codewords on every page during each scan operation.
3Reliability
If frequent media scans are performed to monitor memory health, then data integrity is maintained, but system performance degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by performing media scans on only a subset of codewords during the first scan phase, which can be performed more frequently with minimal impact on system performance. This partial scanning maintains data integrity monitoring while avoiding the performance degradation that would result from frequent comprehensive scans of all codewords.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the media scan process into a lightweight first phase that scans only a subset of codewords and a heavier second phase that scans all remaining codewords. This segmentation allows the system to perform integrity checks more frequently using the lighter first phase, maintaining data integrity while preserving system performance, with the heavier second phase reserved for when the first phase indicates potential issues.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for performing a media scan operation in a memory device is described herein. The method includes initiating the media scan operation via a controller. The method also includes selecting one or more codewords that is a proper subset of a plurality of codewords in a page of memory via the controller. The method also includes determining a bit error count (BEC) of each of the one or more codewords via the controller. The method also includes comparing the BEC of each of the one or more codewords with a BEC threshold via the controller. The method further includes determining the BEC of each of the codewords of the page of memory via the controller in response to the BEC of one or more of the selected set of codewords being greater than the BEC threshold.