Silicon Motion, Inc.

Fu-Jen Shih

Yen-Hung Chen

Chia-Ching Huang

Yu-Da Chen

Wen-Chi Chao

A data storage device includes an interface circuit to process reception signals received from a peer device and transmission signals to be transmitted to the peer device. The interface circuit includes at least one signal processing circuit to perform an error recovery procedure when an error has occurred in the data storage device. When performing the error recovery procedure, the signal processing circuit performs an operation of periodic line reset to repeatedly transmit a line reset signal to the peer device within a predetermined period until the predetermined period expires or another line reset signal representing an acknowledgment of the line reset signal has been received from the peer device.

Data storage device and method for performing error recovery

An interface circuit includes multiple signal processing devices and a monitor and calibration module. A process monitor monitors a current or a voltage of a test element to generate a process detection result. A temperature monitor monitors an environment temperature to generate a temperature monitored result. A calibration circuit performs calibration operation on a signal processing device according to a preferred reference value subset to adjust a characteristic value of the signal processing device. A compensation control mechanism operation logic selects the preferred reference value subset from multiple reference value subsets according to the process detection result and the temperature monitored result and generates a calibration control signal to control the calibration operation of the calibration circuit. The compensation control mechanism operation logic includes a subset handle interface which generates a subset read control signal and transmits the subset read control signal to a corresponding storage circuit.

Interface circuit and memory controller

An interface circuit includes multiple signal processing devices and a monitor and calibration module including multiple monitoring circuits, multiple calibration circuits and a compensation control mechanism operation logic. The monitoring circuits monitor a reception signal, a transmission signal, a power supplying voltage and a ground voltage to correspondingly generate monitored results. The calibration circuits perform a calibration operation on at least one signal processing device to adjust a characteristic value of the signal processing device. The compensation control mechanism operation logic generates a calibration control signal to control the calibration operation of the calibration circuits based on the monitored results and includes a compensation control mechanism selection circuit which selects a corresponding compensation control mechanism according to the monitored results and set it as a currently-operating compensation control mechanism to control the hardware circuits to operate in compliance with the currently-operating compensation control mechanism.

A method for calibrating a characteristic value of a signal processing device comprised in SerDes inside of an interface circuit of a memory controller includes: monitoring a current of a voltage of a test element to generate a process detection result by a monitor and calibration module; monitoring an environment temperature to generate a temperature monitored result by the monitor and calibration module; selecting a reference value subset from multiple reference value subsets as a preferred reference value subset for a calibration operation based on the process detection result and the temperature monitored result; and performing the calibration operation on the signal processing device by at least one calibration circuit of the monitor and calibration module according to the preferred reference value subset to adjust the characteristic value of the signal processing device.

Interface circuit, memory controller and method for calibrating signal processing devices in an interface circuit

A data storage device includes at least one signal processing circuit to perform an error recovery procedure when an error has occurred in the data storage device. When performing the error recovery procedure, the signal processing circuit determines which type of line reset is to be performed according to a device identifier. When the device identifier satisfies a predetermined condition, the signal processing circuit performs an operation of periodic line reset to repeatedly transmit a line reset signal to the peer device in a predetermined period until the predetermined period expires or another line reset signal representing an acknowledgment of the line reset signal is received from the peer device; and when the device identifier does not satisfy the predetermined condition, the signal processing circuit performs an operation of one-shot line reset to transmit the line reset signal to the peer device for only one time.

An interface circuit includes multiple signal processing devices and a monitor and calibration module. The monitor and calibration module includes multiple monitor circuits, multiple calibration circuits, a compensation accelerator and a processor. The monitor circuits monitor at least one of an amplitude, a frequency and jitter in at least one of a reception signal and a transmission signal to correspondingly generate a monitored result and monitor at least one of power supplying voltage and ground voltage to correspondingly generate a monitored result. The compensation accelerator collects the monitored results and generates a calibration control signal corresponding to each calibration circuit according to calibration commands. The processor generates the calibration commands based on the monitored results. The calibration circuits perform a corresponding calibration operation on the corresponding signal processing device in response to the calibration control signal to adjust a characteristic value of the signal processing device.

An interface circuit includes a signal processing circuit including multiple signal processing devices and a monitor and calibration module. The monitor and calibration module includes multiple monitor circuits, a processor and a calibration circuit. The monitor circuits monitor at least one of an amplitude, a frequency and a jitter in at least one of a reception signal and a transmission signal to correspondingly generate a monitored result and monitor at least one of power supplying voltage and ground voltage to correspondingly generate a monitored result. The processor collects the monitored results and determines a calibration operation based on the monitored results. The calibration circuit is coupled to the processor and at least one signal processing device and performs the calibration operation on the signal processing device to adjust a characteristic value of the signal processing device.

An interface circuit includes a signal processing circuit configured to process a reception signal received from a host device and a transmission signal to be transmitted to the host device. The signal processing circuit includes multiple signal processing devices and a calibration device. The calibration device is coupled to the signal processing devices and configured to sequentially calibrate a characteristic value of each signal processing device in a calibration procedure.

A method, for calibrating signal processing devices in an interface circuit coupled to a host device, comprises: negotiating with the host device in a link up process about an operation mode for the interface circuit to operate in a calibration procedure; and calibrating a characteristic value of a first signal processing device and a characteristic value of a second signal processing device in the calibration procedure. The first signal processing device is disposed on a receiving signal processing path and configured to process a received signal and the second signal processing device is disposed on a transmitting signal processing path and configured to process a transmitting signal, and the interface circuit is configured to operate based on the operation mode in the calibration procedure.

Interface circuit, memory controller and method for calibrating signal processing devices in an interface circuit of a memory controller

A method and apparatus for performing on-system phase-locked loop (PLL) management in a memory device are provided. The method may include: utilizing a processing circuit within the memory controller to set multiple control parameters among multiple parameters stored in a register circuit of a transmission interface circuit within the memory controller, for controlling parameter adjustment of a PLL of the transmission interface circuit; utilizing a trimming control circuit to perform the parameter adjustment of the PLL according to the multiple control parameters, to adjust a set of voltage parameters among the multiple parameters, for optimizing a control voltage of a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO); and during the parameter adjustment of the PLL, utilizing the trimming control circuit to generate and store multiple processing results in the register circuit, for being sent back to the processing circuit, to complete the parameter adjustment of the PLL, thereby achieving the on-system PLL management.

Method and apparatus for performing on-system phase-locked loop management in memory device

An electronic device includes a data storage device and a host device. The host device is coupled to the data storage device via a predetermined interface and includes a processor. The processor dynamically adjusts a data transfer speed of the predetermined interface according to a data processing speed required by data to be read from or written to the data storage device.

Methods for controlling data transfer speed of a data storage device and an electronic device utilizing the same

The invention introduces a non-transitory computer program product for adjusting equalization when executed by a processing unit of a storage device. The non-transitory computer program product includes program code to: activate an eye-diagram analyzer to adjust a parameter of an equalizer according to magnitudes corresponding to an eye-diagram, which are generated by the eye-diagram analyzer, and repeatedly adjust a parameter of the equalizer after a symbol decoding error is detected until an adjustment failure is detected or successive waveforms output from the equalizer belong to an eye open state. The symbol decoding error is detected during a reception of host data from a host side according to a command issued by the host side, which is defined in Universal Flash Storage (UFS) specification.

Computer program product and method and apparatus for adjusting equalization

The invention introduces a non-transitory computer program product for adjusting equalization when executed by a processing unit of a storage device. The non-transitory computer program product includes program code to: repeatedly adjust a parameter of an equalizer after a symbol decoding error is detected until an adjustment failure is detected or successive waveforms output from the equalizer belong to an eye open state.

The invention introduces a method for reducing data errors in transceiving of a flash storage interface, performed by a processing unit of a first side, comprising: continuously monitoring data frames and/or control frames from a second side; and triggering a TX (transmission) data rate adjustment when information of the data frame and/or the control frame indicates that the lowest layer of the second side detects errors from received data.

Growing community of inventors

Taipei, Taiwan

Fu-Jen Shih