Micron Technology Incorporated

Intel Corporation

Antonino Giuseppe La Spina

Marco Messina

Salvatore Giove

Vijay Malhi

Antonino Capri'

Violante Moschiano

Aliasgar S Madraswala

Michele Incarnati

Yogesh B Wakchaure

Walter Di Francesco

Bharat M Pathak

Naveen Prabhu Vittal Prabhu

Antonino Capri′

A memory device that has been programmed to store a single bit or multiple bits can perform a determination of a number of threshold voltages in one or more threshold voltage level regions. Based on the number of threshold voltages meeting or exceeding a threshold level, a page of bits can be read and if the bit error rate of the page of bits is below a threshold rate, the page of bits can be stored in the cells together with other bits stored in the cells and a provided additional page of bits. However, if the bit error rate of the page of bits is at or above the threshold rate, then the bit or bits stored in the cells can be error corrected and stored together with a provided additional page of bits.

Memory programming techniques

Various embodiments comprise apparatuses and methods to allow access to a memory device by an external device. A method includes receiving, at the memory device, a request from the external device to access a storage area of the memory device and performing an unlock procedure of the storage area. The unlock procedure includes sending a first code from the memory device to the external device, and receiving a second code at the memory device from the external device. The second code is to be generated by a first encryption process performed on the first code to obtain the second code. The storage area is temporarily unlocked to allow the external device to access the storage area based on a determination that the received second code has a predetermined relationship to the first code. Additional apparatuses and methods are described.

Security memory access method and apparatus

A memory device includes: at least one storage area for storing data; a protection control structure adapted to selectively allow an external device access to the at least one storage area of the memory, the storage area being not freely accessible by the external device if protected; a control logic adapted to identify an access request by the external device to the at least one storage area and cooperating with the protection control structure for managing an unlock procedure for selectively granting the external device at least temporary access rights to the storage area if protected; means for providing a first code to the external device in said unlock procedure; means for receiving a second code from the external device in response to said first code; means for verifying validity of the received second code. The means for verifying validity are adapted to ascertain a correspondence of the second code with the first code based on a predetermined relationship. The control logic instructs the protection control structure to grant access to the storage area if the validity of the received second code has been verified. The first code issued by the memory device to the external device upon receiving an access request is changed after performing predetermined number of unlock procedures.

Enhanced security memory access method and architecture

Growing community of inventors

Ramacca, Italy

Antonino Giuseppe La Spina