The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 24, 2015
Filed:
Jan. 20, 2014
Applicant:
Round Rock Research, Llc, Parsippany, NJ (US);
Inventors:
Assignee:
Round Rock Research, LLC, Parsippany, NJ (US);
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G06F 12/00 (2006.01); G11C 16/16 (2006.01); G06F 12/02 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
G11C 16/16 (2013.01); G06F 12/0246 (2013.01); G06F 2212/7202 (2013.01); G11C 2211/5641 (2013.01);
Abstract
Apparatus and methods are disclosed, such as those that provide dynamic block allocations in NAND flash memory between single-level cells (SLC) and multi-level cells (MLC) based on characteristics. In one embodiment, a memory controller dynamically switches between programming and/or reprogramming blocks between SLC mode and MLC mode based on the amount of memory available for use. When memory usage is low, SLC mode is used. When memory usage is high, MLC mode is used. Dynamic block allocation allows a memory controller to obtain the performance and reliability benefits of SLC mode while retaining the space saving benefits of MLC mode.