Sandisk Patent Applications

DUAL-WAY SENSING SCHEME FOR BETTER NEIGHBORING WORD-LINE INTERFERENCE

Granted: March 7, 2024
Application Number: 20240079068
A storage device is disclosed herein. The storage device comprises: a non-volatile memory, where the non-volatile memory includes a block of N wordlines partitioned into a plurality of sub-blocks and the plurality of sub-blocks includes a first sub-block of a first subset of the block of N wordlines and a second sub-block of a second subset of the block of N wordlines; and control circuitry coupled to the block of N wordlines. The control circuitry is configured to: perform a program…

PRECHARGE SCHEME DURING PROGRAMMING OF A MEMORY DEVICE

Granted: March 7, 2024
Application Number: 20240079062
The memory device includes at least one memory block with source and drain sides and a plurality of memory cells arranged in a plurality of word lines. The word lines are arranged in a plurality of independently programmable and erasable sub-blocks. Control circuitry is configured to program the memory cells of a selected sub-block and determine a location of the within the at least one memory block and determine a programming condition of at least one unselected sub-block. The control…

FOGGY-FINE DRAIN-SIDE SELECT GATE RE-PROGRAM FOR ON-PITCH SEMI-CIRCLE DRAIN SIDE SELECT GATES

Granted: March 7, 2024
Application Number: 20240079061
A memory apparatus and method of operation are provided. The apparatus includes drain-side select gate transistors for coupling to a drain-side of memory holes of memory cells and configured to retain a transistor threshold voltage. The memory holes are arranged in rows comprising strings. A control means is configured to program drain-side select gate transistors of the memory holes to an initial transistor threshold voltage using pulses increasing in magnitude by a first transistor…

BUNDLE MULTIPLE TIMING PARAMETERS FOR FAST SLC PROGRAMMING

Granted: March 7, 2024
Application Number: 20240078028
Technology is disclosed herein for managing timing parameters when programming memory cells. Timing parameters used sub-clocks in an MLC program mode may also be used for those same sub-clocks in a first SLC program mode. However, in a second SLC program mode a different set of timing parameters may be used for that set of sub-clocks. Using the same set of timing parameters for the MLC program mode and the first SLC program mode saves storage space. However, the timing parameters for the…

PLANE LEVEL DEDICATED STARTING PROGRAM VOLTAGE TO REDUCE PROGRAM TIME FOR MULTI-PLANE CONCURRENT PROGRAM OPERATION

Granted: February 29, 2024
Application Number: 20240071525
A memory apparatus and operating method are provided. The apparatus includes memory cells connected to word lines and disposed in memory holes and configured to retain a threshold voltage. The memory holes are organized in rows grouped in strings and the strings comprise a plurality of blocks which comprise planes. A control means is configured to program the memory cells connected to one of the word lines and associated with one of the strings in each of the plurality of planes and…

NAND MEMORY WITH DIFFERENT PASS VOLTAGE RAMP RATES FOR BINARY AND MULTI-STATE MEMORY

Granted: February 29, 2024
Application Number: 20240071544
To reduce spikes in the current used by a NAND memory die, different ramp rates are used for the pass voltage applied to unselected word lines during a program operation depending on whether data is stored in a multi-level cell (MLC) format or in a single level cell (SLC) format. These ramp rates can be determined through device characterization and stored as parameter values on the memory die. Different ramp rate interval values can also be used for the pass voltage applied to…

ADAPTIVE GIDL VOLTAGE FOR ERASING NON-VOLATILE MEMORY

Granted: February 29, 2024
Application Number: 20240071533
An apparatus is provided that includes a block of memory cells having a NAND string that includes a first select transistor, and a control circuit coupled to the block of memory cells. The control circuit is configured to perform an erase operation on the block of memory cells by determining a first count of a number of times that the block of memory cells previously has been programmed and erased, determining based on the first count a first drain-to-gate voltage of the first select…

NON-VOLATILE MEMORY WITH TIER-WISE RAMP DOWN AFTER PROGRAM-VERIFY

Granted: February 29, 2024
Application Number: 20240071529
Memory cells are arranged as NAND strings to form a block divided into sub-blocks, and each NAND string includes a dummy memory cell connected to a dummy word line. Memory cells are programmed by applying programming pulses to a selected word line in a selected sub-block with program-verify performed between pulses. Unselected NAND strings are inhibited from programming by boosting channels of the unselected NAND strings in the selected sub-block from a positive pre-charge voltage to a…

ADAPTIVE NEGATIVE WORD LINE VOLTAGE

Granted: February 29, 2024
Application Number: 20240071527
A storage device comprises: a non-volatile memory including control circuitry and an array of memory cells formed using a set of word lines and a set of bit lines. A controller, coupled to the non-volatile memory, configured to: determine, based on a stage of a product lifetime of the non-volatile memory, a negative word line setting for implementing during performance of a first operation; perform the first operation, the first operation including adjusting, based on the negative word…

ADVANCED WINDOW PROGRAM-VERIFY

Granted: February 29, 2024
Application Number: 20240071526
A memory apparatus and operating method are provided. The apparatus includes memory cells connected to word lines and disposed in strings and configured to retain a threshold voltage corresponding to data states. A control means is configured to program and verify the memory cells during a program operation. The memory cells associated with predetermined ones of the data states are not verified until the memory cells associated with specific prior ones of the data states finish…

HYBRID SMART VERIFY FOR QLC/TLC DIE

Granted: February 29, 2024
Application Number: 20240071524
Technology is disclosed herein for smart verify in a memory system that has a four bit per cell program mode (or X4 mode) and also a three bit per cell program mode (or X3 mode). The X3 mode uses a three-bit gray code that is based on a four-bit gray code of the X4 mode. The memory system skips verify of states in the X3 mode, while using a considerable portion of the programming logic from the X4 mode. In one X3 mode the memory system skips B-state verify while the number of memory…

IN-PLACE WRITE TECHNIQUES WITHOUT ERASE IN A MEMORY DEVICE

Granted: February 29, 2024
Application Number: 20240071509
The techniques include a memory device receiving a data write instruction. The memory device programs the memory cells of the memory blocks to a one bit per memory cell (SLC) format with a first and second SLC data states. In response to the data programmed to the memory cells of the memory blocks reaching an SLC limit prior to completion of the data write instruction, without erasing the memory cells, the memory device programs at least some of the memory cells from the SLC format to a…

IN-PLACE WRITE TECHNIQUES WITHOUT ERASE IN A MEMORY DEVICE

Granted: February 29, 2024
Application Number: 20240071508
The memory device includes a plurality of memory blocks, each including a plurality of memory cells arranged in a plurality of word lines. Control circuitry is in communication with the plurality of memory blocks. In operation, the control circuitry receives a data write instruction and programs the memory cells of the memory blocks to a one bit per memory cell (SLC) format. In response to the data programmed to the memory cells of the memory blocks in the SLC format reaching an SLC…

WORD LINE DEPENDENT PASS VOLTAGE RAMP RATE TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE OF NAND MEMORY

Granted: February 29, 2024
Application Number: 20240071493
To reduce spikes in the current used by a NAND memory die, different ramp rates for different regions, or zones, of word lines are used for the pass voltage applied to unselected word lines during a program operation. The properties of the word lines, such as their resistance and capacitance (RC) values, vary across the NAND memory array. By determining the RC values of the word lines across the array, the word lines can be broken into multiple zones based on these properties. The zones…

MIXED BITLINE LOCKOUT FOR QLC/TLC DIE

Granted: February 29, 2024
Application Number: 20240071482
Technology is disclosed herein for mixed lockout verify. In a first programming phase, prior to a pre-determined data state completing verification, a no-lockout program verify is performed. After the pre-determined data state has completed verification, a lockout program verify is performed. The no-lockout verify may include charging all bit lines associated with the group to a sensing voltage to perform. The lockout verify may include selectively charging to the sensing voltage only…

NON-VOLATILE MEMORY WITH SHARED DATA TRANSFER LATCHES

Granted: February 29, 2024
Application Number: 20240071433
An apparatus includes a control circuit that is configured to connect to an array of non-volatile memory cells. The control circuit includes a first plurality of data latches configured to connect to non-volatile memory cells of a first plane and a second plurality of data latches configured to connect to non-volatile memory cells of a second plane. The control circuit also includes a shared data transfer data latch configured for transfer of data with the first plurality of data latches…

IN-PLACE WRITE TECHNIQUES WITHOUT ERASE IN A MEMORY DEVICE

Granted: February 29, 2024
Application Number: 20240069803
The memory device has a plurality of memory blocks including a plurality of memory cells arranged in a plurality of word lines. The memory device also includes control circuitry that is in communication with the plurality of memory blocks. The control circuitry is configured to receive a data write instruction. The control circuitry is further configured to program the memory cells of the memory blocks to an SLC format. In response to the data programmed to the memory cells of the memory…

NON-VOLATILE MEMORY WITH EARLY DUMMY WORD LINE RAMP DOWN AFTER PRECHARGE

Granted: February 15, 2024
Application Number: 20240055059
Non-volatile memory cells are programmed by pre-charging channels of unselected non-volatile memory cells connected to a selected data word line, boosting the channels of unselected non-volatile memory cells connected to the selected data word line after the pre-charging and applying a program voltage pulse to selected non-volatile memory cells connected to the selected data word line while boosting. The pre-charging includes applying pre-charge voltages to one set of data word lines and…

DYNAMIC WORD LINE RECONFIGURATION FOR NAND STRUCTURE

Granted: February 15, 2024
Application Number: 20240055051
Technology is disclosed herein reconfiguring word lines as either data word lines or dummy word lines. In a sub-block mode reconfigurable word lines are used as dummy word lines that provide electrical isolation between data word lines in a block. The block may be divided into an upper tier, a middle tier, and a lower tier, with the reconfigurable word lines within the middle tier. In a full-block mode the reconfigurable group of the word lines are used as data word lines. Because the…

NON-VOLATILE MEMORY WITH NARROW AND SHALLOW ERASE

Granted: February 8, 2024
Application Number: 20240046996
In a non-volatile memory, to achieve a shallow and tight erased threshold voltage distribution, a process is performed that includes erasing a group of non-volatile memory cells, identifying a first set of the bit lines that are connected to non-volatile memory cells of the group that are erased past a lower limit for erased non-volatile memory cells and identifying a second set of the bit lines that are connected to non-volatile memory cells of the group that are not erased past the…