Sandisk Technologies Inc.

Sandisk Corporation

Sandisk Il Ltd.

Toru Miwa

Gerrit Jan Hemink

Ken Oowada

Takuya Ariki

Yan Li

Yupin K Fong

Masatoshi Nishikawa

Shih-Chung Lee

Manabu Sakai

Naoki Ookuma

Xiang Yang

Idan Alrod

Hiroyuki Ogawa

Jiahui Yuan

Hiroki Yabe

Abu Naser Zainuddin

Koichiro Hayashi

Eran Sharon

Jun Wan

Yingda Dong

Masaaki Higashitani

Nima Mokhlesi

Man Lung Mui

Aaron Lee

Cynthia Hsu

Farookh Moogat

Hardwell Chibvongodze

Kota Funayama

Fanglin Zhang

Ryoichi Honma

Yuki Fujita

Yee Lih Koh

Hiroaki Koketsu

Masahito Takehara

Kazuki Yamauchi

Johann Alsmeier

Fumiaki Toyama

Tien-Chien Kuo

Tz-Yi Liu

Yuki Mizutani

Po-Shen Lai

Takashi Murai

Kazutaka Yoshizawa

Hiroyuki Mizukoshi

Vijay Chinchole

Masahide Matsumoto

Yibo Yin

Henry Zhang

Makoto Yoshida

Jayesh Pakhale

Nisha Padattil Kuliyampattil

Spyridon Georgakis

Eron Sharon

A memory apparatus and method of operation are provided. The apparatus includes memory cells connected to word lines and configured to retain a threshold voltage corresponding to one of a plurality of data states. A control means ramps up and applies a read voltage to unselected ones of the word lines while applying verification pulses of program verify voltages each associated with one of the plurality of data states to selected ones of the word lines to determine whether the memory cells connected thereto have the threshold voltage above each of the verify voltages associated with the plurality of data states targeted during a program-verify operation. The control means delays ramping of at least one of the selected ones of the word lines and the unselected ones of the word lines by a predetermined period of time in response to the memory apparatus operating in a predetermined mode.

Program verify word line ramping delay for lower current consumption mode

A memory system programs memory cells connected to a selected word line by applying doses of programming and performing program-verify between doses. An efficient and low current program-verify operation includes: while scanning the results of a previous program-verify operation, ramp up voltages on the select lines for the next program-verify operation without waiting for the scan to complete and ramp up voltages on unselected word lines for the next program-verify operation following a step signal (so that voltage applied to the unselected word lines rise in steps) without waiting for the scan to complete.

Non-volatile memory with lower current program-verify

A non-volatile memory system is configured to program non-volatile memory cells by applying doses of programming to the memory cells and performing a program-verify operation following each dose of programming. Each dose of programming and the corresponding program-verify operation following the dose of programming is referred to as a program loop. The program-verify operation comprises applying a verify reference voltage to a selected word line and applying an overdrive voltage to unselected word lines. To reduce the amount of current used, the memory system includes a loop dependent reduction in the ramp-up rate of the overdrive voltage applied to unselected word lines during program-verify.

Non-volatile memory with loop dependant ramp-up rate

A semiconductor wafer includes pairs of semiconductor dies having test pads which are electrically coupled to each other to enable testing of pairs of semiconductor dies together at the same time. In this way, even wafers having large numbers of semiconductor dies can be tested with a semiconductor test assembly in a single touch-down test process.

Semiconductor wafer configured for single touch-down testing

A multi-stage method for programming an n-bit memory cell array using a fixed number of data latches is disclosed. The fixed number of data latches may be a reduced number of data latches in sense amplifier and data latch (SADL) peripheral circuitry than is required by existing programming techniques. As such, the die area taken up by the SADL circuitry can be reduced, which in turn, reduces overall chip area. The multi-stage programming method may include utilizing a first data latch to receive and store program page data and utilizing a second data latch to store bit information indicating which cells are to be targeted for the multi-stage programming. At each program stage, a respective program loop may be performed with respect to each threshold voltage distribution generated during a prior program stage to create two new threshold voltage distributions from the prior distribution.

Data latch programming algorithm for multi-bit-per-cell memory devices

To reduce spikes in the current used by a NAND memory die during a write operation using smart verify, different amounts of delay are introduced into the loops of the programing algorithm. Depending on the number of verify levels following a programming pulse, differing amounts of wait time are used before biasing a selected word line to the verify levels or levels. For example, if only a single verify level is used, a shorter delay is used than if two verify levels are used.

Loop dependent word line ramp start time for program verify of multi-level NAND memory

Apparatuses and techniques are described for programming data in memory cells while concurrently storing backup data. One or more initial pages of data are programmed into both a primary block and a first backup block in a first program pass. A power loss then occurs which can corrupt the data or otherwise prevent reading of the one or more initial pages of data from the primary block. The one or more initial pages of data are read from the first backup block and used to perform a second program pass in which one or more additional pages of data are programmed into the primary block. Single bit per cell data can be stored in a second backup block to decode the one or more initial pages of data as read from the first backup block.

Programming memory cells with concurrent redundant storage of data for power loss protection

Apparatuses and techniques are described for programming data in memory cells while concurrently storing backup data. Initial pages of multiple bit per cell data are encoded to obtain at least first and second pages of single bit per cell data. The initial pages of multiple bit per cell data are programmed into a primary set of memory cells, while concurrently the first and second pages of single bit per cell data are programmed into first and second backup sets of memory cells, respectively. In the event of a power loss, the first and second pages of single bit per cell data are read from the first and second backup sets of memory cells, and decoded to recover the initial pages of multiple bit per cell data.

Programming memory cells with concurrent storage of multi-level data as single-level data for power loss protection

Technology is disclosed herein for concurrently programming the same data pattern in multiple sets of non-volatile memory cells. Voltage are applied to bit lines in accordance with a data pattern. A select voltage is applied to drain select gates of multiple sets of NAND strings. The system concurrently applies a program pulse to control gates of a different set of selected memory cells in each respective set of the multiple sets of the NAND strings while the select voltage is applied to the drain select gates of the multiple sets of the NAND strings and the voltages are applied to the plurality of bit lines to concurrently program the data pattern into each set of the selected memory cells.

Concurrent programming of multiple cells for non-volatile memory devices

Apparatuses, systems, and methods are disclosed for concurrently programming non-volatile storage cells, such as those of an SLC NAND array. The non-volatile storage cells may be arranged into a first block comprising a first string of storage cells that intersects with a first word line at a first storage cell, a second block comprising a second string of storage cells that intersects with a second word line at a second storage cell, a bit line electrically connectable to the first string and the second string, and controller configured to apply a programming pulse, at an elevated voltage, to the first word line and second word line to concurrently program the first and second storage cells.

A non-volatile memory apparatus is provided and includes a substrate having a major surface extending longitudinally. A stack of first and second sets of word lines and insulating layers extends along and over the major surface longitudinally and alternating with and overlying one another vertically to define a device region. The first and second sets of word lines each respectively extends longitudinally beyond a first and second side of the device region a decreasing longitudinal distance from the device region as a vertical distance from the major surface increases to define first and second stepped contact regions. Word line contacts extend vertically in the first and second stepped contact regions. The second set of word lines in the first stepped contact region do not contact the word line contacts and the first set of word lines in the second stepped contact region do not contact the word line contacts.

Word line architecture for three dimensional NAND flash memory

A non-volatile memory device comprising a memory cell region having a plurality of co-planar memory cell planes arranged in a plane parallel to a semiconductor substrate, with each memory cell plane comprising a plurality of sub-planes disposed adjacent one another along an axis that is parallel to the substrate. Further, each memory cell plane comprises a plurality of sense amplifier regions arranged along the axis in an alternating pattern with the sub-planes such that adjacent to each sub-plane is a sense amplifier region and each sense amplifier region is operable with respect to at least a fraction of the bit lines of the two sub-planes immediately adjacent the sense amplifier region.

Memory plane structure for ultra-low read latency applications in non-volatile memories

A random access memory is provided including a plane structure comprising a plurality of sense amplifiers, each including a local data latch, a pair of local busses connected to each of the data latches, a differential data bus, and a pair of redrivers connected between the pair of local busses and the differential data bus.

Differential dbus scheme for low-latency random read for NAND memories

A memory device comprising a semiconductor substrate in which a memory cell region and a peripheral circuitry region are defined, wherein the memory cell region has a plurality of non-volatile memory cells arranged in one or more arrays and the peripheral circuitry region has at least one sense amplifier region comprised of at least one low voltage transistor. Further, a deep N-well region is formed in the substrate, wherein the memory cell region and the peripheral circuitry region are placed on the deep N-well region such that, in the event that a high erase voltage (VERA) is applied to the memory cell region during an erase operation, the high erase voltage is applied to all terminals of the at least one low voltage resistor, thereby protecting the low voltage transistor by preventing it from experiencing a large voltage difference between its terminals.

Area effective erase voltage isolation in NAND memory

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Yokohama, Japan

Toru Miwa