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:
May. 03, 2016
Filed:
Apr. 25, 2014
Jon W. Weilemann, Ii, Austin, TX (US);
Richard K. Eguchi, Austin, TX (US);
Jon W. Weilemann, II, Austin, TX (US);
Richard K. Eguchi, Austin, TX (US);
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Austin, TX (US);
Abstract
Methods and systems are disclosed for imminent read failure detection based upon unacceptable wear for non-volatile memory (NVM) cells. In certain embodiments, a first failure time is recorded when a first diagnostic mode detects an uncorrectable error within the NVM cell array using a first set of read voltage levels below and above a normal read voltage level. A second failure time is recorded when a second diagnostic mode detects an uncorrectable error within the NVM cell array using a second set of read voltage levels below and above a normal read voltage level. The first and second failure times are then compared against a threshold wear time value to determine whether or not an imminent read failure is indicated. The diagnostic modes can be run separately for erased NVM cell distributions and programmed NVM cell distributions to provide separate wear rate determinations.