Wear Leveling Unit for Nonvolatile Memory Block Lifespan
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Solution Overview
Problem
Memory systems face reduced storage capacity and performance due to uneven wear of nonvolatile memory blocks, leading to premature degradation and shortened lifespan, as some blocks are used intensively while others remain underutilized.
Innovation Solution
A wear leveling unit is implemented to manage the access counts of memory blocks, identifying and managing 'hot' blocks with high wear levels by limiting their access and redistributing data to 'cold' blocks, thereby maintaining even wear across all blocks and extending the lifespan of the nonvolatile memory device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If data is stored in nonvolatile memory blocks without wear leveling management, then storage capacity is available, but uneven wear occurs leading to reduced lifespan
Solution Approach 1:
The wear leveling unit dynamically changes the parameter of accumulative access count by adding check counts to identify hot blocks, and adjusts reference levels adaptively to maintain uniform wear distribution across memory blocks, thereby extending device lifespan
2Duration of action of stationary object
If wear leveling management is implemented to maintain even wear, then lifespan is extended, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wear leveling unit operates autonomously to manage wear levels of memory blocks without requiring external intervention. It automatically monitors accumulative access counts, identifies hot blocks, and performs hot block management operations, enabling the system to self-regulate wear distribution and extend lifespan
3Reliability
If hot block management operations are performed frequently to maintain wear levels, then wear uniformity is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The wear leveling unit performs hot block management operations periodically based on accumulative access count thresholds and reference levels. By operating at scheduled intervals rather than continuously, it maintains wear uniformity while minimizing interference with normal storage operations and preserving productivity
Data Source
AI summary
A memory system may include a nonvolatile memory device and a wear leveling unit. The nonvolatile memory device includes a plurality of memory blocks. The wear leveling unit may be configured to intermittently increase an accumulative access count of a memory block among the memory blocks by a predetermined value, decide a wear level of the memory block based on the accumulative access count whenever the accumulative access count is increased, set the memory block to a hot block based on the wear level, and perform a hot block management operation on the hot block. The wear leveling unit may increase the accumulative access count in response to an access count reaching a predetermined value. The accumulative access count may be stored in the nonvolatile memory device, and the access count may be stored in a volatile memory device.