Sandisk Technologies Inc.

Yihang Liu

Jiahui Yuan

Sarath Chandran Puthenthermadam

Xiaochen Zhu

Jia Li

Peng Wang

Feng Gao

Bo Lei

Lito De La Rama

Zhenni Wan

Jie Liu

The memory device includes a memory block with a plurality of memory cells that are arranged in a plurality of word lines. The word lines are grouped in a plurality of layers. The memory device also includes circuitry that is configured to program the memory cells of a selected word line of the plurality of word lines. The circuitry is configured during programming to determine which layer of the plurality of layers the selected word line is located in. The circuitry is also configured to apply a programming voltage to the selected word line and apply pass voltages to a plurality of unselected word lines. For at least some of the unselected word lines, the pass voltage is a baseline pass voltage level that is adjusted by a layer-unique bias pass voltage.

VPASS auto layer compensation in a memory device

An apparatus is provided that includes a control circuit coupled to a plurality of non-volatile memory cells. The control circuit is configured to perform a program-verify iteration on a first set of the non-volatile memory cells and a second set of the non-volatile memory cells in a plurality of program loops, determine that at least one of the first set of the non-volatile memory cells and the second set of the non-volatile memory cells verification to a programmed state in a first number of program loops, and compare a difference between the first number of program loops and the second number of program loops to an adaptive maximum loop delta limit. The adaptive maximum loop delta limit varies as a function of temperature.

Early program termination with adaptive temperature compensation

During a read operation for memory cells connected a selected word line, a memory system adjusts the overdrive voltage applied to word lines adjacent the selected word line in order to compensate for margin degradation between the erased data state and the lowest programmed data state.

Non-volatile memory with overdrive voltage zoning to compensate for reduced margins

A non-volatile memory system separately performs a memory operation for multiple sub-blocks of a block in order from previously determined slowest sub-block of the block to a previously determined faster sub-block of the block. As a slower sub-block is more likely to fail, this order of is more likely to identify a failure earlier in the process thereby saving time and reducing potential for a disturb. In some embodiments, the proposed order of operation can be used in conjunction with a programming process that concurrently programs blocks in multiple planes using completion of programming of a fastest plane to a data state as a trigger to test for program failure of other planes to the data state.

Non-volatile memory with optimized operation sequence

To prevent loss of data due to a word line to memory hole short (or another defect), it is proposed to perform an erase process for a plurality of memory cells, detect that a subset of the plurality of memory cells are slow to erase, and prevent successfully programming for at least some of the memory cells that are slow to erase. This technique uses the erase process to predict future word line to memory hole shorts and prevent programming of memory cells predicted to have a future word line to memory hole short so no data will be lost when the short manifests.

Growing community of inventors

Santa Clara, CA, United States of America

Yihang Liu