Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Kiheung Kim

Sanguhn Cha

Sungchul Park

Junhyung Kim

Hyojin Jung

Kyungho Lee

Taeyoung Oh

Kyungsoo Ha

Jongcheol Kim

Sunghye Cho

Sungrae Kim

JunHyung Kim

Kijun Lee

Myungkyu Lee

Kyung-Soo Ha

Sungyong Cho

Hyeran Kim

Hyongryol Hwang

Changyong Lee

Yesin Ryu

Hyungi Kim

Hangyun Jung

A semiconductor memory device, including a memory cell array; a row hammer management circuit configured to: count a number of accesses based on an active command, and based on a first command applied after the active command, perform an internal read-update-write operation to read the count data from the count cells of a target memory cell row, and to write updated count data in the count cells of the target memory cell row; and a column decoder configured to: access a first memory cell using a first bit-line; and store data in the first memory cell using a first voltage, or perform an internal write operation to store the count data in the first memory cell using a second voltage greater than the first voltage during an internal write time interval smaller than a reference write time interval.

Semiconductor memory device and memory system including the same

A semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array and a column access circuit. The memory cell array includes a plurality of sub-array blocks and each of the sub-array blocks includes volatile memory cells. The column access circuit receives a plurality of data units, each of which includes normal data and meta data having a ratio of k:, which is associated with managing the normal data, allocates p column selection lines associated with transferring the data units to the bit-lines to a plurality of normal data and a plurality of meta data in the data units with the ratio of k:, and stores a sub unit of a first normal data among the plurality of normal data and a sub unit of a first meta data in a first region and a second region of a first sub-array block of the plurality of sub-array blocks, respectively.

Semiconductor memory device and method for storing meta data in sub-array blocks of memory cell array

A semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array, a row hammer management circuit and a control logic circuit. The memory cell array includes a plurality of memory cell rows. The row hammer management circuit counts the number of instances of access of each of the memory cell rows, such as in response to the receipt of an active command, to store the counted values in count cells of each of the memory cell rows as count data and, in response to a first command, initiates an internal read-update-write operation to read the count data, to update the read count data, and to write the updated count data in the count cells. The control logic circuit may performs an internal write operation to write the updated count data in the count cells during a second write time interval that is smaller than a first write time interval associated with a normal write operation.

Semiconductor memory device and methods of operation

A semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array including a plurality of memory cell rows, a row hammer management circuit and a control logic circuit. The row hammer management circuit stores counted values in count cells of each of the plurality of memory cell rows as count data based on an active command applied to the control logic circuit at a first time point, and performs an internal read-update-write operation to read the count data from the count cells of a target memory cell row from among the plurality of memory cell rows, to update the count data that was read to obtain updated count data, and to write the updated count data in the count cells of the target memory cell row in response to a precharge command applied at a second time point after a first command that is applied to the control logic circuit.

A semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array including a plurality of memory cell rows and a row hammer management circuit. The row hammer management circuit stores counted values in count cells of each of the plurality of memory cell rows as count data, and performs an internal read-update-write operation to read the count data from the count cells of a target memory cell row from among the plurality of memory cell rows, to update the count data that was read to obtain updated count data, and to write the updated count data in the count cells of the target memory cell row. The row hammer management circuit includes a hammer address queue. The row hammer management circuit changes the updated count data randomly, based on an event signal indicating a state change of the hammer address queue.

A semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array, an error correction code (ECC) circuit, a fault address register, a scrubbing control circuit and a control logic circuit. The memory cell array includes memory cell rows. The scrubbing control circuit generates scrubbing addresses based on refresh operations performed on the memory cell array. The control logic circuit controls the ECC circuit such that the ECC circuit performs an error detection operation on a plurality of sub-pages in a first memory cell row to count a number of error occurrences, and determines whether to correct a codeword in which an error is detected based on the number of error occurrences. An uncorrected or corrected codeword is written back, and a row address of the first memory cell row may be stored in the fault address register as a row fault address based on the number of error occurrences.

Semiconductor memory devices and methods of operating semiconductor memory devices

A semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array, an error correction code (ECC) circuit, a fault address register and a control logic circuit. The memory cell array includes a plurality of memory cell rows. The scrubbing control circuit generates scrubbing addresses for performing a scrubbing operation on a first memory cell row based on refresh row addresses for refreshing the memory cell rows. The control logic circuit controls the ECC circuit such that the ECC circuit performs an error detection and correction operation on a plurality of sub-pages in the first memory cell row to count a number of error occurrences during a first interval and determines a sub operation in a second interval in the scrubbing operation based on the number of error occurrences in the first memory cell row.

A semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array, a row hammer management circuit and a refresh control circuit. The row hammer management circuit automatically stores random count data in count cells of each of a plurality of memory cell rows during a power-up sequence of the semiconductor memory device and determines counted values by counting a number of times of access associated with each of the plurality of memory cell rows in response to an active command from an external memory controller and stores the counted values in the count cells of each of the plurality of memory cell rows as count data. The refresh control circuit receives a hammer address and performs a hammer refresh operation on one or more of the plurality of memory cell rows that are physically adjacent to a memory cell row that corresponds to the hammer address.

Semiconductor memory devices and memory systems including the same

A memory system includes a memory module having a plurality of memory devices therein. A memory controller is configured to transmit commands and addresses to the memory module in synchronization with a clock, input/output data to and from the memory module in synchronization with a data transfer clock, and perform system error correction operations on data read from the memory module. The plurality of memory devices perform on-die error correction operations, which are different from each other according to a physical location of the stored read data.

Memory systems having memory devices therein with enhanced error correction capability and methods of operating same

A semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array including a plurality of memory cell rows, a row hammer management circuit and a refresh control circuit. The row hammer management circuit counts the number of times of access associated with each of the plurality of memory cell rows in response to an active command from an external memory controller to store the counted values in each of the plurality of memory cell rows as count data, determines a hammer address associated with at least one of the plurality of memory cell rows, which is intensively accessed more than a predetermined reference number of times, based on the counted values, and performs an internal read-update-write operation. The refresh control circuit receives the hammer address and to perform a hammer refresh operation on victim memory cell rows which are physically adjacent to a memory cell row corresponding to the hammer address.

A semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array, a sense amplifier circuit and a random code generator. The memory cell array is divided into a plurality of sub array blocks arranged in a first direction and a second direction crossing the first direction. The sense amplifier circuit is arranged in the second direction with respect to the memory cell array, and includes a plurality of input/output (I/O) sense amplifiers. The random code generator generates a random code which is randomly determined based on a power stabilizing signal and an anti-fuse flag signal. A second group of I/O sense amplifiers selected from among a first group of I/O sense amplifiers performs a data I/O operation by data scrambling data bits of main data. The first group of I/O sense amplifiers correspond to a first group of sub array blocks accessed by an access address.

Semiconductor memory device and a method of operating the semiconductor memory device

A semiconductor memory device includes a memory cell array, an error correction code (ECC) engine, a scrubbing control circuit and a control logic circuit. The memory cell array includes memory cell rows, and each of the memory cell rows including volatile memory cells. The scrubbing control circuit generates scrubbing addresses for performing a normal scrubbing operation on the memory cell rows with a first period based on refresh row addresses for refreshing the memory cell rows. The control logic circuit controls the ECC engine the scrubbing control circuit to distribute a scrubbing operation on weak codewords dynamically within the refresh operation such that a dynamic allocated scrubbing (DAS) operation is performed with a second period smaller than the first period. An error bit is detected in each of the weak codewords during the normal scrubbing operation or normal read operation on at least one of the memory cell rows.

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Suwon-si, South Korea

Kiheung Kim