Intel Ndtm US LLC

Intel Corporation

Intel Corproation

Sagar Upadhyay

Aliasgar S Madraswala

Shantanu R Rajwade

Pranav Chava

Ali Khakifirooz

Bhaskar Venkataramaiah

Pranav Kalavade

Xin Guo

Yogesh B Wakchaure

Tarek Ahmed Ameen Beshari

Ahsanur Rahman

Xiang Yang

Chang Wan Ha

David J Pelster

Ye Zhang

David B Carlton

Neelesh Vemula

Mark Anthony Golez

Binh Ngo

Pratyush Chandrapati

Sagar S Sidhpura

Archana Tankasala

Radhika Chinnammagari

Jiantao Zhou

Methods and apparatus for Enhanced IO Interface for PLC program and program-suspend-resume operations. A NAND memory device includes blocks of single-level cell (SLC) memory and multi-level cell (MLC) memory storing n-bits per cell such as quad-level cell (QLC) or penta-level cell (PLC) memory. The NAND memory device further includes a plurality of page buffer latches and logic to copy data from a set of n SLC pages in a block of SLC memory into n respective page buffer latches and copy data from the respective page buffer latches to an MLC page (e.g., QLC or PLC page) in a block of MLC memory. These operations can be extended for NAND memory devices having multiple planes with blocks of SLC and QLC/PLC memory. QLC/PLC program and program-resume operations are supported with optional ECC correction operations.

Enhanced IO interface for plc program and program-suspend-resume operations

A storage device charges bitlines in preparation for a program pulse. To charge the bitlines, the storage device connects the bitlines to an external regulator instead of an internal regulator to prepare them for the program pulse. The system can charge all bitlines to the external regulator high voltage reference before changing to the internal regulator for bitline stabilization before the program pulse.

Efficient bitline stabilization for program inhibit in NAND arrays

Systems, apparatuses, and methods may provide for technology that groups a plurality of wordline drivers together and supports these grouped wordline drivers via a shared multiplexer, a shared level shifter, and/or one or more shared multi-well level shifters. In one example, such technology includes a shared multiplexer and a first and second grouped global wordline driver coupled to the shared multiplexer. The shared multiplexer is to access data state information from a plurality of memory cells. The first grouped global wordline driver is to output a first plurality of wordlines associated with a first plane. The second grouped global wordline driver is to output a second plurality of wordlines associated with a second plane, where the second plane is different than the first plane.

Grouped global wordline driver with shared bias scheme

For a nonvolatile (NV) storage media such as NAND (not AND) media that is written by a program and program verify operation, the system can apply a smart prologue operation. A smart prologue operation can selectively apply a standard program prologue, to compute program parameters for a target subblock. The smart prologue operation can selectively apply an accelerated program prologue, applying a previously-computed program parameter for a subsequent subblock of a same block of the NV storage media. Application of a prior program parameter can reduce the need to compute program parameters for the other subblocks.

Smart prologue for nonvolatile memory program operation

Dynamic program caching reduces latency of a program operation on multi-level cell (MLC) memory having at least three pages and programmable with multiple threshold voltage levels, such as a Triple Level Cell (TLC) NAND. A controller determines that the program operation can be initiated without loading all pages into the memory. In response, the NAND loads a first page and then executes portions of the program operation in parallel, at least in part, with loading subsequent pages. The NAND behavior is modified to monitor data loading completion times, to copy pages from a cache register to a data register as needed, and to resume program operation if a shutdown occurs. The portions of the program operation include a program prologue operation and a pulse verify loop for the first voltage level (L1) of the MLC memory.

Dynamic program caching

Systems, apparatuses and methods may provide for technology that conducts a pulse-verify loop sequence from a first program level in targeted NAND memory cells to a next-to-last program level in the memory cells, wherein the pulse-verify loop sequence includes an issuance of a program pulse and one or more verify pulses to the memory cells on a per program level basis, and wherein successive program pulses differ from one another by a gate step voltage amount. The technology may also issue a last level program pulse to the memory cells at a last program level, issue a single verify pulse to the memory cells after the last level program pulse, and issue a gate step pulse to the memory cells at a variable program level, wherein the variable program level differs from the last program level by an amount that is greater than the gate step voltage amount.

Dynamic gate steps for last-level programming to improve write performance

Skip program verify for dynamic start voltage (DSV) sampling reduces latency of a program operation on multi-level cell (MLC) memory having at least two pages and programmable with multiple threshold voltage levels, such as a Triple Level Cell (TLC) NAND device. The NAND device skips program verifies corresponding to higher levels of voltage thresholds during DSV sampling. As a result, the NAND device can reduce a total program time (tPROG) to program the MLC memory, and determine the dynamic start program voltage more quickly. The NAND device can improve an effective TLC NAND tPROG by as much as 2% without impacting the placement of the first sub-block being programmed. The skipped program verifies corresponding to the higher levels of voltage thresholds are resumed as soon as DSV sampling is complete.

Skip program verify for dynamic start voltage sampling

Systems, apparatuses, and methods provide for technology that stores a sampled dynamic start voltage value based on a fast to program plane. A current multi-plane program operation is received corresponding to a current cell block and wordline pair associated with a current enabled plane of a plurality of enabled planes. A block list is scanned based on the current cell block and wordline pair. The block list includes a plurality of entries including a reference start voltage corresponding to a reference cell block and wordline pair associated with a reference enabled plane. Additionally, the reference start voltage is reused as a dynamic start voltage in response to finding a match between the current cell block and wordline pair as compared to the reference cell block and wordline pair. Such a match is performed only for a least enabled plane of the plurality of enabled planes.

Block list management for wordline start voltage

Systems, apparatuses and methods may provide for technology that resumes a program operation with respect to NAND memory during a first tier in response to a suspension counter reaching a first threshold and resumes the program operation with respect to the NAND memory during a second tier in response to the suspension counter reaching a second threshold. The technology may also resume the program operation with respect to the NAND memory during a third tier in response to the suspension counter reaching a third threshold. Additionally, the technology may service one or more read operations with respect to the NAND memory until the suspension counter reaches the first threshold during the first tier, until the suspension counter reaches the second threshold during the second tier, and until the suspension counter reaches the third threshold during the third tier.

Progressive program suspend resume

Provided are an apparatus, memory device, and method for using variable voltages to discharge electrons from a memory array during verify recovery operations. In response to verifying voltages in memory cells of the non-volatile memory array programmed during a programming pulse applying charges to the storage cells, a memory controller concurrently applies voltages on wordlines of the non-volatile memory array to clear the non-volatile memory array of electrons and applies voltages to the bitlines to perform bitline stabilization.

Using variable voltages to discharge electrons from a memory array during verify recovery operations

In one aspect of programmed state verification in accordance with the present description, the voltage levels on bitlines of non-target storage cells are each boosted by applying a non-zero offset or delta value, &#x394;V, to the bitlines of non-target storage cells during a precharge subinterval. A bitline verification voltage applied to a bitline of a target storage cell causes the voltage of the bitline to ramp up from the boosted &#x394;V value. As a result, starting from an initial value which is the higher or boosted &#x394;V value, the bitline voltage ramps up more quickly during the precharge subinterval to the bitline verification voltage level to improve system performance. In addition, the bitline verification voltage applied to bitlines of target storage cells during the precharge subinterval, can be at a relatively high value to maintain the accuracy of program state verification.

Boosted bitlines for storage cell programmed state verification in a memory array

A data structure is maintained for performing a program operation that is allowed to be suspended to perform reads in a NAND device, where the data structure indicates a plurality of tiers, where each tier of the plurality of tiers has a number of allowed suspends of the program operation while executing in the tier, and where a sum of the number of allowed suspends for all tiers of the plurality of tiers equals a maximum allowed number of suspends of the program operation. In response to performing a resume of the program operation, after performing a read following a suspend of the program operation, a determination is made of a tier of the plurality of tiers for the program operation and a subsequent suspend of the program operation is performed only after a measure of progress of the program operation has been exceeded in the determined tier.

Method, system, and apparatus for multi-tiered progressive memory program operation suspend and resume

Embodiments of the present disclosure may relate to a memory controller that may include a memory interface and a logic circuitry component coupled with the memory interface. In some embodiments, the logic circuitry component is to program one or more NAND cells of a multi-level NAND memory array via the memory interface with a first set of data in a first pass, determine a first temperature of the multi-level NAND memory array in association with the first pass, determine a second temperature of the multi-level NAND memory array, determine a temperature difference between the second temperature and the first temperature, and perform one or more operations based at least in part on a result of the determination of the temperature difference. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.

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Folsom, CA, United States of America

Sagar Upadhyay