Micron Technology Incorporated

Anthony R Cabrera

Nicholas T Hendrickson

Marco Giovanni Fontana

Massimo Montanaro

Robert Melcher

Gerald A Kreifels

Methods of wear leveling in a memory, and memories configured to perform such methods, are useful in extending cycling endurance in memories. Such methods include transferring data from a first block of the memory to a second block of the memory, erasing the first block, transferring data from a third block of the memory to the first block, erasing the third block, transferring data from the second block to the third block, swapping logical addresses for the first block and the third block with each other, and erasing the second block. Transferring data from the third block to the first block excludes a sub-sector of the third block that is to be erased.

Sub-sector wear leveling in memories

Methods of operating a memory device include performing a first memory operation having an associated timing requirement; after completing the first memory operation, determining whether a timing margin between completion of the first memory operation and expiration of its associated timing requirement exceeds a length of time to perform a particular portion of a second memory operation; and performing the particular portion of the second memory operation between completion of the first memory operation and the expiration of its associated timing requirement if it is determined that the timing margin between completion of the first memory operation and expiration of its associated timing requirement exceeds the length of time to perform the particular portion of the second memory operation.

Operation management in a memory device

Multiple segment operations having non-volatile state trackers in memory devices are disclosed. Operations are segmented in multiple segments and selectively performed to avoid violating timing requirements within a memory device. In at least one embodiment, a memory device operation is segmented into a plurality of segments and selectively performed within time frames of other memory device operations. Non-volatile state trackers maintain state values corresponding to each segment of multiple segmented operations.

Methods and memories for wear leveling by sub-sectors of a block are provided. In one such method, data are transferred from a first block of the memory to a second block of the memory, excluding a sub-sector of the first block that is to be erased, logical addresses for the first block and the second block are swapped with each other, the first block is erased, data are transferred from a third block to the first block, logical addresses for the first block and the third block are swapped with each other, and the third block is erased.

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Folsom, CA, United States of America

Anthony R Cabrera