一种用于NAND闪存的奇偶位线块编程补偿算法

为改善数据保持干扰和编程干扰对NAND闪存可靠性的影响,提出了一种新的奇偶位线块编程补偿算法。该算法利用编程干扰效应来补偿由数据保持引起的阈值漂移,修复NAND闪存因数据保持产生的误码,提高了NAND闪存的可靠性。将该算法应用于编程擦除次数为3k次的1x-nm MLC NAND闪存。实验结果表明,在数据保持时间为1年的条件下,与传统奇偶交叉编程算法相比,采用该补偿算法的NAND闪存的误码降低了93%;与读串扰恢复算法相比,采用该补偿算法的NAND闪存的误码下降了38%。     

Least Squares Based Coupling Cancelation for MLC NAND Flash Memory with a Small Number of Voltage Sensing Operations

The cell-to-cell interference (CCI) becomes the major source of distortion in NAND Flash memory as the feature size continuously decreases. As a result, removing the interference is crucial to ensure storage reliability while increasing the memory density. Along with the CCI, data retention also becomes a problem because only a small number of charges are stored at each cell. In this research, we propose a CCI cancelation algorithm that can remove or mitigate the CCI even when the data retention noise is fairly large. The coefficients for the proposed CCI canceler are adaptively found by minimizing the estimation error of the CCI, and the least squares method is used for the optimization. To reduce the number of voltage sensing operations, optimal multi-level memory sensing schemes for the proposed CCI canceler are studied. The developed algorithm is applied to both simulated and real NAND Flash memory, and it is demonstrated that the CCI canceler significantly lowers the bit error rate (BER) of multi-level cell (MLC) NAND Flash memory.     

基于FPGA和NAND Flash的存储器ECC设计与实现

针对以NAND Flash为存储介质的高速大容量固态存储器,在存储功能实现的过程中可能出现的错“位”现象,在存储器的核心控制芯片,即Xilinx公司Virtex-4系列FPGA XC4VLX80中,设计和实现了用于对存储数据进行纠错的ECC算法模块。在数据存入和读出过程中,分别对其进行ECC编码,通过对两次生成的校验码比较,对发生错误的数据位进行定位和纠正,纠错能力为1 bit/4 kB。ECC算法具有纠错能力强、占用资源少、运行速度快等优点。该设计已应用于某星载存储系统中,为存储系统的可靠性提供了保证。     

A Low Cost Multi-Tiered Approach to Improving the Reliability of Multi-Level Cell Pram

Phase change RAM (PRAM) is a promising memory technology because of its fast read access time, very low standby power and high storage density. Multi-level Cell (MLC) PRAM, which has been introduced to further improve the storage density, comes at a price of lower reliability. This paper focuses on a cost-effective solution for improving the reliability of MLC-PRAM. As a first step, we study in detail the causes of hard and soft errors and develop error models to capture these effects. Next we propose a multi-tiered approach that spans architecture, circuit and system levels to increase the reliability. At the architecture level, we use a combination of Gray code encoding and 2-bit interleaving to partition the errors so that a lower strength error control coding (ECC) scheme can be used for half of the bits. We use subblock flipping and threshold resistance tuning to reduce the number of errors in the remaining bits. For even higher reliability, we use a simple BCH based ECC on top of these techniques. We show that the proposed multi-tiered approach enables us to use ECC with 2-error correction capability (t?=?2) instead of one with t?=?8 to achieve a block failure rate (BFR) of 10^?8. We propose to use a non-iterative algorithm to implement the BCH t?=?2 decoder because of its small latency. We evaluate the latency and energy overhead of the proposed scheme using CACTI and the IPC performance using GEM5. We show that for SPEC CINT 2006 and DaCapo benchmarks, the proposed system can achieve BFR = 10^?8 with 2.2 % IPC reduction and 7 % additional energy compared to a memory without any error correction capability.     

Reliability issues and modeling of Flash and post-Flash memory (Invited Paper)

Flash memory, in particular NAND, has been an enabling technology for portable applications for the last two decades. The strength of Flash is its excellent scaling capability, allowing an ever increasing density at a decreasing cost and maintained reliability. However, the geometrical scaling of the cell exacerbates charge loss and fluctuation effects. On the other hand, new post-Flash memory technologies are being proposed, with different storage concepts and reliability physics. This review discusses the major reliability issues for Flash, with emphasis on the physical mechanisms and modeling. The reliability of charge trap and resistive memories, such as phase change and resistive switching memories, is addressed.     

基于NAND Flash的海量存储器的设计

针对存储系统中对存储容量和存储带宽的要求不断提高,设计了一款高性能的超大容量数据存储器。该存储器采用NAND Flash作为存储介质,单板载有144片芯片,分为3组,每组48片,降低了单片的存储速度,实现了576 Gbyte的海量存储。设计采用FPGA进行多片NAND Flash芯片并行读写来提高读写带宽,使得大容量高带宽的存储器得以实现。针对NAND Flash存在坏块的缺点,提出了相应的管理方法,保证了数据的可靠性。     

Memory Reliability Improvement Based on Maximized Error-Correcting Codes

Error-correcting codes (ECC) offer an efficient way to improve the reliability and yield of memory subsystems. ECC-based protection is usually provided on a memory word basis such that the number of data-bits in a codeword corresponds to the amount of information that can be transferred during a single memory access operation. Consequently, the codeword length is not the maximum allowed by a certain check-bit number since the number of data-bits is constrained by the width of the memory data interface. This work investigates the additional error correction opportunities offered by the absence of a perfect match between the numbers of data-bits and check-bits in some widespread ECCs. A method is proposed for the selection of multi-bit errors that can be additionally corrected with a minimal impact on ECC decoder latency. These methods were applied to single-bit error correction (SEC) codes and double-bit error correction (DEC) codes. Reliability improvements are evaluated for memories in which all errors affecting the same number of bits in a codeword are independent and identically distributed. It is shown that the application of the proposed methods to conventional DEC codes can improve the mean-time-to-failure (MTTF) of memories with up to 30 %. Maximized versions of the DEC codes are also proposed in which all adjacent triple-bit errors become correctable without affecting the maximum number of triple-bit errors that can be made correctable.     

Soft errors in floating gate memory cells: A review

Soft errors due to neutrons and alpha particles are among the main threats for the reliability of digital circuits operating at terrestrial level. These kinds of errors are typically associated with SRAMs and latches or DRAMs, and less frequently with non-volatile memories. In this paper we review the studies on the response of NAND and NOR Flash memories to ionizing particles, focusing on both single-level and multi-level cell architectures, manufactured in technologies down to a feature size of 25 nm. We discuss experimental error rates obtained with accelerated tests and identify the relative importance of neutron and alpha contributions. Technology scaling trends are finally discussed and modelled.     

ELIMINATING SPEED PENALTIES IN ECC PROTECTED MEMORY DESIGNS USING “BIT BYPASSING” TECHNIQUES

In deep sub-micron ICs,growing amounts of on-die memory and scaling effects make embedded memories more vulnerable to reliability problems,such as soft errors induced by radiation.Error Correction Code （ECC） along with scrubbing is an efficient method for protecting memories against these errors.However,the latency of coding circuits brings speed penalties in high performance applications.This paper proposed a ＂bit bypassing＂ ECC protected memory by buffering the encoded data and adding an identifying address for the input data.The proposed memory design has been fabricated on a 130 nm CMOS process.According to the measurement,the proposed scheme only gives the minimum delay overhead of 22.6％,compared with other corresponding memories.Furthermore,heavy ion testing demonstrated the single event effects performance of the proposed memory achieves error rate reductions by 42.9 to 63.3 times.     

A compact on-chip ECC for low cost flash memories

A compact on-chip error correcting circuit (ECC) for low cost flash memories has been developed. The total increase in chip area is 2%, including all cells, sense amplifiers, logic, and wiring associated with the ECC. The proposed on-chip ECC, employing 10 check bits for 512 data bits, has been implemented on an experimental 64M-bit NAND flash memory. The cumulative sector error rate has been improved from 10^-4 to 10^-10. By transferring read data from the sense amplifiers to the ECC twice, 522-Byte temporary buffers, which are required for the conventional ECC and occupy a large part of the ECC area, have been eliminated. As a result, the area for the circuit has been drastically reduced by a factor of 25. The proposed on-chip ECC has been optimized in consideration of balance between the reliability improvement and the cell area overhead. The power increase has been suppressed to less than 1 mA     

一种高可靠大容量星载存储器的设计与研究

凭借着存储密度大和存储速率高的特点,基于NANDFlash的大容量存储器在星载存储领域得到了广泛的应用,由于NAND Flash本身存在缺陷,基于NAND Flash的大容量存储器在恶劣环境下的可靠性难以保证.提出了通过FPGA设计SRAM对关键数据三模冗余读取和缓冲、NAND Flash阵列热备份和数据的回放校验以及合理的坏块管理等措施,实现了高可靠性的大容量存储器.实验说明该系统不会因为外在偶然因素而造成数据的不完整,而且整个存储系统的成本开销相对于目前的星载存储器也非常低.     

A Zeroing Cell-to-Cell Interference Page Architecture With Temporary LSB Storing and Parallel MSB Program Scheme for MLC NAND Flash Memories

A new MLC NAND page architecture is presented as a breakthrough solution for sub-40-nm MLC NAND flash memories and beyond. To reduce cell-to-cell interference which is well known as the most critical scaling barrier for NAND flash memories, a novel page architecture including temporary LSB storing program and parallel MSB program schemes is proposed. A BL voltage modulated ISPP scheme was used as parallel MSB programming in order to reduce cell-to-cell interference caused by the order in which the cells are programmed. By adopting the proposed page architecture, the number of neighbor cells that are programmed after programming a selected cell in BL direction as well as their amount of T/th shift during programming can be suppressed largely without increasing memory array size. Compared to conventional architecture it leads to a reduction of BL-BL cell-to-cell interference by almost 100%, and of WL-WL and diagonal cell-to-cell interferences by 50% at the 60 nm technology node. The proposed architecture enables also to improve average MLC program speed performance by 11% compared with conventional architecture, thanks to its fast LSB program performance.     

A 146-mm/sup 2/ 8-gb multi-level NAND flash memory with 70-nm CMOS technology

An 8-Gb multi-level NAND Flash memory with 4-level programmed cells has been developed successfully. The cost-effective small chip has been fabricated in 70-nm CMOS technology. To decrease the chip size, a one-sided pad arrangement with compacted core architecture and a block address expansion scheme without block redundancy replacement have been introduced. With these methods, the chip size has been reduced to 146 mm/sup 2/, which is 4.9% smaller than the conventional chip. In terms of performance, the program throughput reaches 6 MB/s at 4-KB page operation, which is significantly faster than previously reported and very competitive with binary Flash memories. This high performance has been achieved by the combination of the multi-level cell (MLC) programming with write caches and with the program voltage compensation technique for neighboring select transistors. The read throughput reaches 60 MB/s using 16I/O configuration.     

软件错误检测与纠正技术可靠性研究

基于信息冗余的错误检测与纠正（Error Detection and Correction,EDAC）技术是常见的系统级抗单粒子翻转（Single Event Upsets,SEU）的容错方法,软件实现的EDAC技术是硬件EDAC技术的替代方案,通过软件编程,在现有存储段上增加具有纠错功能的编码（Error-correcting Codes,ECC）来实现存储区错误的检测和纠正。分析了软件EDAC方案中,纠错编码的纠错能力及编码效率、刷新间隔、需保护代码量等因素对可靠性的影响,分析和仿真实验结果表明,对于单个粒子引起的存储器随机错误,提高单个码字的纠错能力及编码效率、增大刷新间隔对可靠性的影响不大,而通过缩短任务执行的代码量来提高刷新间隔,以及压缩需保护代码的总量,对可靠性有较大改进。分析结论能够指导工程实践中,在实现资源、实时性、可靠性之间进行优化选择。      

大容量NAND Flash K9T1G08UOM在网络存储中的应用

针对嵌入式系统对存储的需求，提出了基于大容量NAND Flash的存储方案。简要介绍NAND Flash器件K9T1G08UOM及其编程特点，并讨论了网络存储应用的存储策略和数据可靠性方面的考虑，设计并实现了网络数据流的NAND Flash存储。     

一种多通道NAND Flash阵列的坏块管理方案

针对多通道NAND Flash阵列对可靠性的要求,提出一种坏块管理方案,优化坏块信息的存储和查询方法,把坏块和替换块地址映射表存储在FRAM中。测试数据证明,方案可以实现多通道NAND Flash阵列的坏块管理,保证了存储的可靠性。优化的坏块表及查询方法缩短了坏块查询时间,FRAM节省了有效块地址映射时间, 同时FRAM的铁电效应,进一步提高了数据存储的可靠性。     

NAND Flash与AT91RM9200的接口设计

以三星公司的与非型闪存(NAND Flash)器件K9K8G08U0A为例,介绍了NAND Flash的存储结构和接口信号以及AT91RM9200对NAND Flash的接口支持,分析了NAND Flash两种接口方式的优缺点,阐述了AT91RM9200对NAND Flash的初始化过程,重点以表格形式说明了接口时序的设计,最后对坏块的概念和ECC校验算法原理做了简单的介绍。NAND Flash的复用I/O接口为更新更高密度的器件提供了相同的引线,使得系统的扩展性大大提高。     

基于FPGA和NAND Flash的嵌入式存储系统设计

为了有效解决恶劣工作环境下对体积有特殊要求的数据存储问题,设计了基于FPGA和NAND Flash的小尺寸嵌入式存储系统。系统选用FPGA为控制核心,以NAND Flash作为存储介质,采用LVDS接口存储和回放数据,通过以千兆网与计算机通信,以文件方式管理数据,并采用坏块管理和ECC技术保证数据完整性。实测表明,该系统具有高带宽、体积小等特点,同时具有实时存储、回放、加载、卸载和管理功能,并可在恶劣环境下稳定工作。     

6G移动网络中闪存系统的性能优化方案:比特重映射

第6代移动通信技术(6G)网络所产生的海量数据对数据存储带来了全新挑战,推动着存储技术的迅猛发展。与非门(NAND)闪存存储器具有读写速度快,可靠性高等优点,故在6G网络中具有广泛的应用前景。为了提高NAND闪存的可靠性,针对两种不同位线结构的错误特性,该文分别提出基于全位线结构的等精度重映射方案和基于奇偶位线结构的不等精度的重映射方案。仿真结果表明,两种新型比特重映射方案有效提升了闪存的误码性能。基于此,该文所提重映射技术可被视作6G网络中可靠而高效的存储优化技术。     

Novel ultrahigh-density flash memory with a stacked-surrounding gate transistor (S-SGT) structured cell

In order to overcome the limitation of cell area of 4F/sup 2/ per bit in conventional NAND flash memory cells, stacked-surrounding gate transistor (S-SGT) structured cell is proposed. This newly structured cell achieves a cell area of 4F/sup 2//N per bit, where N is the number of stacked memory cells in one silicon pillar, without using multibit per memory cell technology. The S-SGT structured cell consisting of two stacked memory cells in one silicon pillar achieves a cell area per bit of less than 50% of the smallest reported NAND structured cell. The novel S-SGT structured cells are fabricated by vertical self-aligned processes using a 0.2 /spl mu/m design rule. The S-SGT structured cell can be programmed and erased by uniform injection and uniform emission of Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling electrons over the whole channel area of the memory cell, respectively, which is the same program and erase mechanism as in conventional NAND structured cell. This high performance S-SGT structured cell is applicable to high-density nonvolatile memories for 16 G/64 G bit Flash memories and beyond.