Associative Memories (content Addressable Memory-cam) Patents (Class 365/49.1)
  • Patent number: 11984163
    Abstract: A memory cell includes a first resistive memory element, a second resistive memory element electrically coupled with the first resistive memory element at a common node, and a switching element comprising an input terminal electrically coupled with the common node, the switching element comprising a driver configured to float during one or more operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2024
    Assignee: Hefei Reliance Memory Limited
    Inventors: Deepak Chandra Sekar, Gary Bela Bronner, Frederick A. Ware
  • Patent number: 11955186
    Abstract: A memory device for in-memory search is provided. The memory device includes a plurality of memory cells, and each of the memory cells stores a stored data and receives a search data, including a first transistor and a second transistor. The first transistor has a first threshold voltage and receives a first gate bias. The second transistor is connected to the first transistor, and the second transistor has a second threshold voltage and receives a second gate bias. The stored data is encoded according to the first threshold voltage and the second threshold voltage, and the search data is encoded according to the first gate bias and the second gate bias. There is a mismatch distance between the stored data and the search data. An output current generated by each of the memory cells is related to the mismatch distance.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: MACRONIX INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Po-Hao Tseng, Tian-Cih Bo
  • Patent number: 11955175
    Abstract: A memory system includes a memory device comprising a value data block a content addressable memory (CAM) block storing a plurality of stored search keys. The memory system further includes a processing device that receives an input search key, identifies, from the plurality of stored search keys in a CAM block of a memory device, multiple redundant copies of a stored search key that match the input search key, and determines a plurality of locations in a value data block, the plurality of locations corresponding to the multiple redundant copies, wherein one of the plurality of locations comprises a first timestamp and data representing a value associated with the input search key, and wherein a remainder of the plurality of locations comprises one or more additional timestamps.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Tyler L. Betz, Tecla Ghilardi, Violante Moschiano
  • Patent number: 11948656
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for counter management for memory systems are described. A memory system may include circuitry configured to test localized counters of the memory system, where the circuitry may be configured to test a set of memory cells storing a value of the counter. During testing, the memory system may activate a row of memory cells a quantity of times, and the circuitry may increment a test counter associated with a subset of the set of memory cells for each activation to determine whether the subset is associated with an error. If a flag generated by the circuitry indicating a test count does not match an expected value, there may be an error associated with the subset. The circuitry may be operable to configure one or more multiplexers to refrain from using the subset to store the value of the counter based on the flag.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Yuan He
  • Patent number: 11908899
    Abstract: A semiconductor metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) transistor with increased on-state current obtained through intrinsic bipolar junction transistor (BJT) of MOSFET has been described. Methods of operating the MOS transistor are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2024
    Assignee: Zeno Semiconductor, Inc.
    Inventors: Jin-Woo Han, Yuniarto Widjaja, Zvi Or-Bach, Dinesh Maheshwari
  • Patent number: 11871554
    Abstract: A semiconductor structure includes: a base substrate; an insulator, located on one side of the base substrate; bit lines, arranged in the insulator, the bit lines being distributed at intervals along first direction and extending along second direction; active bodies, located in the insulator, the active bodies being located on sides of respective bit lines facing away from the base substrate, orthographic projection of each active body on the base substrate at least partially coinciding with the orthographic projection of a respective bit line on the base substrate, and the active bodies being distributed at intervals along second direction; and word lines, located in the insulator and located on sides of respective bit lines facing away from the base substrate, the word lines being distributed at intervals along second direction and extending along first direction, and only one word line being arranged between two adjacent active bodies in second direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: CHANGXIN MEMORY TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: Tao Chen, ZhiCheng Shi
  • Patent number: 11837272
    Abstract: A method of operating a memory device is provided, comprising determining a number of operations corresponding to a memory location during a first timing period; and scheduling an extra refresh operation for the memory location after the first timing period when the determined number of operations exceeds a predetermined threshold. A memory device is provided, comprising a memory including a memory location; and circuitry configured to: determine a number of operations corresponding to the memory location during a first timing period; and schedule an extra refresh operation for the memory location after the first timing period when the determined number of operations exceeds a predetermined threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Inventor: Dean D. Gans
  • Patent number: 11810619
    Abstract: The plurality of CAM cells MC are configured to discriminate a match or mismatch between stored data stored in advance and search data. A match line is coupled to a plurality of CAM cells, and has a voltage level controlled based on discrimination results of the plurality of CAM cells. A first transistor and a second transistor are coupled in series between a common match output line and a predetermined power source. The first transistor is controlled to be turned ON or OFF based on a voltage level of the match line, and the second transistor is controlled to be turned ON or OFF by a search enabling signal asserted at the time of a search operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yohei Sawada, Masao Morimoto, Makoto Yabuuchi
  • Patent number: 11755897
    Abstract: Provided is an artificial neural network circuit including unit weight memory cells including weight memory devices configured to store weight data and weight pass transistors, unit threshold memory cells including a threshold memory device programmed to store a threshold and a threshold pass transistor, a weight-threshold column in which the plurality of unit weight memory cells and the plurality of unit threshold memory cells are connected, and a sense amplifier configured to receive an output signal of the weight-threshold column as an input and receive a reference voltage as another input.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2023
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Jae-Joon Kim, Hyungjun Kim, Yulhwa Kim
  • Patent number: 11687766
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for an artificial neural network are described. In one example, an artificial neuron in an artificial neural network may include a resistor coupled with an input line and configured to indicate a synaptic weight and a fuse coupled with the resistor. The artificial neuron may also include a selection component coupled with the fuse and configured to activate the fuse for programming the resistor, and a second selection component coupled with the resistor and an output line, the second selection component configured to select the resistor for a read operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: QUALCOMM INCORPORATED
    Inventors: Haining Yang, Periannan Chidambaram
  • Patent number: 11681468
    Abstract: A memory device including a memory array with a plurality of memory macros, a power supplying circuit, and a controller is provided. The power supplying circuit is coupled to the memory array. The controller is coupled to the memory array. The power supplying circuit is configured to provide power to perform write operations to a number of the memory macros at the same time. The number of the memory macros for the write operations performed at the same time is not higher than a maximum number of the memory macros. The controller obtains the maximum number of the memory macros for the write operations performed at the same time by the power supplying circuit. The controller re-arranges a schedule for a sequence of the write operations of the memory macros to generate a re-arranged schedule. The maximum number is taken as a threshold value. In the re-arranged schedule, a number of part of the memory macros for the write operations performed at the same time is equal to or less then the threshold value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroki Noguchi, Shih-Lien Linus Lu, Yu-Der Chih, Yih Wang
  • Patent number: 11683039
    Abstract: A NOT logic circuit is provided comprising: one or more memory devices; wherein a first memory address location of the one or more memory devices stores first content data, wherein the first content data includes a first ternary value and a corresponding first priority value, wherein the first ternary value includes a continuous sequence of X-state values that represent a first range of non-X ternary values; wherein a second memory address of the one or more memory device stores second content data that includes a second ternary value and a corresponding second priority value, wherein the second ternary value includes a continuous sequence of non-X state values represent a non-X ternary value that is within the first range of non-X ternary values; an interface is coupled to receive a ternary value from a processing device; comparator circuitry operable to compare a received ternary key with the outputted first ternary value and to compare the received ternary key with the outputted second ternary value; prior
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2022
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignee: DreamBig Semiconductor Inc.
    Inventors: Sohail A Syed, Hillel Gazit, Hon Luu, Pranab Ghosh
  • Patent number: 11626148
    Abstract: The present disclosure includes apparatuses and methods related to defining activation functions for artificial intelligence (AI) operations. An example apparatus can include a number of memory arrays and a controller, wherein the controller includes a number of activations function registers, wherein the number of activation function registers define activation functions for artificial intelligence (AI) operations performed by the apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2023
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Alberto Troia
  • Patent number: 11594272
    Abstract: Devices and methods for sensing a memory cell are described. The memory cell may include a ferroelectric memory cell. During a read operation, a first switching component may selectively couple a sense component with the memory cell based on a logic state stored on the memory cell to transfer a charge between the memory cell and the sense component. A second switching component, which may be coupled with the first switching component, may down convert a voltage associated with the charge to another voltage that is within an operation voltage of the sense component. The sense component may operate at a lower voltage than a voltage at which the memory cell operates to reduce power consumption in some cases.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Huy T. Vo, Adam S. El-Mansouri, Suryanarayana B. Tatapudi, John D. Porter
  • Patent number: 11587872
    Abstract: Configurations of metal layers of interconnect structures are disclosed herein that can improve memory performance, such as static random-access memory (SRAM) memory performance, and/or logic performance. For example, embodiments herein place bit lines in a metal one (M1) layer, which is a lowest metallization level of an interconnect structure of a memory cell, to minimize bit line capacitance, and configure bit lines as the widest metal lines of the metal one layer to minimize bit line resistance. In some embodiments, the interconnect structure has a double word line structure to reduce word line resistance. In some embodiments, the interconnect structure has a double voltage line structure to reduce voltage line resistance. In some embodiments, jogs are added to a word line and/or a voltage line to reduce its respective resistance. In some embodiments, via shapes of the interconnect structure are configured to reduce resistance of the interconnect structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2023
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventor: Jhon Jhy Liaw
  • Patent number: 11574680
    Abstract: The present invention provides a power efficient content-addressable memory (CAM) architecture that is implementable on FPGAs. The provided CAM architecture comprises an array of CAM cells having a width CW and a depth CD, and being grouped into a B number of memory banks. Each of the CAM cells is configured for storing a memory bit and comprises a plurality of flip-flops configured to store at least a masking bit indicating the ternary nature of the stored memory bit and a storing bit saving the binary information of the stored memory bit. The provided CAM architecture allows activating only one bank in multiple banks irrespective of nature of the data set and is updated in a single access and saves power consumption by only accessing the memory in the activated bank. The dynamic power consumption is reduced by 40% compared with the state-of-the-art FPGA-based CAMs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: City University of Hong Kong
    Inventors: Muhammad Irfan, Ray C. C. Cheung, Zahid Ullah
  • Patent number: 11568918
    Abstract: Embodiments of the disclosure are drawn to apparatuses, systems, and methods for analog row access rate determination. Accesses to different row addresses may be tracked by storing one or more received addresses in a slice of stack. Each slice includes an accumulator circuit which provides a voltage based on charge on a capacitor. When a row address is received, it may be compared to the row addresses stored in the stack, and if there is a match, the charge on the capacitor in the associated accumulator circuit is increased. Each slice may also include a voltage to time (VtoT) circuit which may be used to identify the highest of the voltages provided by the accumulator circuits. The row address stored in the slide with the highest voltage may be refreshed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Sujeet Ayyapureddi, Raghukiran Sreeramaneni
  • Patent number: 11567880
    Abstract: Aspects of the present disclosure relate to techniques for minimizing the effects of RowHammer and induced charge leakage. In examples, systems and methods for preventing access pattern attacks in random-access memory (RAM) are provided. In aspects, a data request associated with a page table may be determined to be a potential security risk and such potential security risk may be mitigated by randomly selecting a memory region from a subset of memory regions, copying data stored in a memory region associated with a page table entry in the page table to the second memory region, disassociating the second memory region from the subset of memory regions and associating the memory region associated with the page table to the second memory region, and updating the page table entry in the page table to refer to the second memory region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC
    Inventors: Stefan Saroiu, Alastair Wolman, Lucian Cojocar, Kevin Robert Loughlin
  • Patent number: 11561715
    Abstract: A memory module comprises a volatile memory subsystem, a non-volatile memory subsystem, and a module controller coupled to the volatile memory subsystem and to the non-volatile memory subsystem. The module controller is configurable to control data transfers between the volatile memory subsystem and the non-volatile memory subsystem. The module controller includes a data selection circuit configurable to pre-search data transferred from the non-volatile memory with respect to one or more search criteria before providing the pre-select data relevant to the one or more search criteria to the volatile memory subsystem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2023
    Assignee: Netlist, inc.
    Inventor: Hyun Lee
  • Patent number: 11551755
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a plurality of memory cells connected to a match line; a word line driver connected to a word line; a valid cell configured to store a valid bit indicating valid or invalid of an entry; a first precharge circuit connected to one end of the match line and configured to precharge the match line to a high level; and a second precharge circuit connected to the other end of the match line and configured to precharge the match line to a high level. The plurality of memory cells are arranged between the first precharge circuit and the second precharge circuit, and the second precharge circuit is arranged between the word line driver and the plurality of memory cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Makoto Yabuuchi
  • Patent number: 11532337
    Abstract: A multilevel content addressable memory, a multilevel coding method and a multilevel searching method are provided. The multilevel coding method includes the following steps. A highest decimal value of a multilevel-bit binary data is obtained. A length of a digital string data is set as being the highest decimal value of the multilevel-bit binary data. The multilevel-bit binary data is converted into the digital string data. If a content of the multilevel-bit binary data is an exact value, a number of an indicating bit in the digital string data is the exact value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2022
    Assignee: MACRONIX INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ming-Hsiu Lee, Po-Hao Tseng
  • Patent number: 11507377
    Abstract: An arithmetic processing circuit includes an fetch unit configured to generate fetch addresses, an address table configured to store a branch address and a first tag for each of a plurality of indexes, the indexes being a first bit string extracted from a fetch address by including at least one bit among instruction address bits whose values vary within one fetch line, the first tag being a second bit string situated at higher bit positions than the first bit string, an upper tag storage unit configured to store a second tag situated at higher bit positions than the first tag, and a branch determination unit configured to supply to the fetch unit the branch address retrieved from the address table, upon determining that the first tag retrieved from the address table and the second tag in the upper tag storage unit match respective portions of the fetch address.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: FUJITSU LIMITED
    Inventor: Ryohei Okazaki
  • Patent number: 11507725
    Abstract: Various examples of integrated circuit layouts with line-end extensions are disclosed herein. In an example, a method includes receiving an integrated circuit layout that contains: a first and second set of shapes extending in parallel in a first direction, wherein a pitch of the first set of shapes is different from a pitch of the second set of shapes. A cross-member shape is inserted into the integrated circuit layout that extends in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and a set of line-end extensions is inserted into the integrated circuit layout that extend from each shape of the first set of shapes and the second set of shapes to the cross-member shape. The integrated circuit layout containing the first set of shapes, the second set of shapes, the cross-member shape, and the set of line-end extensions is provided for fabricating an integrated circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hsien-Huang Liao, Tung-Heng Hsieh, Bao-Ru Young, Yung Feng Chang
  • Patent number: 11502867
    Abstract: A network device configured to perform scalable, in-network computations is described. The network device is configured to process pull requests and/or push requests from a plurality of endpoints connected to the network. A collective communication primitive from a particular endpoint can be received at a network device. The collective communication primitive is associated with a multicast region of a shared global address space and is mapped to a plurality of participating endpoints. The network device is configured to perform an in-network computation based on information received from the participating endpoints before forwarding a response to the collective communication primitive back to one or more of the participating endpoints.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignee: NVIDIA Corporation
    Inventors: Benjamin Klenk, Nan Jiang, Larry Robert Dennison
  • Patent number: 11475963
    Abstract: A semiconductor memory and a data protection method are provided. The semiconductor memory includes a memory array, a switch circuit, a control circuit and a power-down monitor circuit. The switch circuit is coupled to the memory array. The control circuit is coupled to the switch circuit. The power-down monitor circuit is coupled to the control circuit and a supply voltage. The power-down monitor circuit is configured to determine whether that the supply voltage drops below a first power-down detect level during a programming period, to output a trigger signal to the control circuit. The control circuit executes a reset sequence of the semiconductor memory according to the trigger signal. The first power-down detect level is lower than a minimum value of the supply voltage recorded in a datasheet of the semiconductor memory.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation
    Inventor: Munehiro Yoshida
  • Patent number: 11468933
    Abstract: This application relates to the field of storage technologies and discloses a content addressable memory, a data processing method, and a network device, to resolve a problem that an existing CAM has a relatively large area, and consumes relatively large power. The CAM includes bit units of M rows and N columns, each bit unit includes a first FeFET and a second FeFET, a source of the first FeFET is connected to a drain of the second FeFET, a source of the second FeFET is grounded, bit cells of a same column correspond to a same match line, and a drain of a first FeFET in each bit cell of a same column is connected to a match line corresponding to the column. Bit cells of a same row correspond to a same first bit line and a same second bit line, a gate of a first FeFET in each bit cell of a same row is connected to a first bit line corresponding to the row, and a gate of a second FeFET in each bit cell of a same row is connected to a second bit line corresponding to the row.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 11, 2022
    Assignee: HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jingzhou Yu, Linchun Wang
  • Patent number: 11409806
    Abstract: An apparatus for constructing Aho-Corasick automata according to the present invention includes a concatenative normal form transforming unit configured to receive a regular expression that is expressed using an operator including a concatenation and an alternation and transform the regular expression into concatenative normal forms (wherein each concatenative normal form is defined as a form in which character alternations are connected by concatenation); a trie generating unit configured to generate a trie from the concatenative normal forms by updating states and transitions of the trie (wherein each transition corresponds to a set of characters) while processing each concatenative normal form in order; and a failure link creating unit configured to create a failure link for each state of the trie by using a set of characters corresponding to each transition of the trie.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignee: SOMANSA CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Byung Hyun Ha, Tae Wan Kim, Il Hoon Choi
  • Patent number: 11404424
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are related to a memory cell including magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) devices. In one aspect, the memory cell includes a first layer including a first transistor and a second transistor. In one aspect, the first transistor and the second transistor are connected to each other in a cross-coupled configuration. A first drain structure of the first transistor may be electrically coupled to a first gate structure of the second transistor, and a second drain structure of the second transistor may be electrically coupled to a second gate structure of the first transistor. In one aspect, the memory cell includes a second layer including a first MTJ device electrically coupled to the first drain structure of the first transistor and a second MTJ device electrically coupled to the second drain structure of the second transistor. In one aspect, the second layer is above the first layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
    Inventors: Ping-Wei Wang, Jui-Lin Chen, Yu-Kuan Lin
  • Patent number: 11386946
    Abstract: Apparatuses and methods for tracking all row accesses in a memory device over time may be used to identify rows which are being hammered so that ‘victim’ rows may be identified and refreshed. A register stack may include a number of count values, each of which may track a number of accesses to a portion of the word lines of the memory device. Anytime a row within a given portion is accessed, the associated count value may be incremented. When a count value exceeds a first threshold, a second stack with a second number of count values may be used to track numbers of accesses to sub-portions of the given portion. When a second count value exceeds a second threshold, victim addresses may be provided to refresh the victim word lines associated with any of the word lines within the sub-portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 12, 2022
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Sujeet Ayyapureddi, Donald M. Morgan
  • Patent number: 11366763
    Abstract: A controller, a memory system and an operating method thereof are disclosed. The controller controls a nonvolatile memory device and the nonvolatile memory includes a first memory module configured to store a plurality of pieces of map data read from the nonvolatile memory device; and a second memory module configured to cache map data having locality among map data received from the first memory module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2022
    Assignee: SK hynix Inc.
    Inventor: Do Hun Kim
  • Patent number: 11354237
    Abstract: A multiport memory in which one of the ports is analog rather than digital is described. In one embodiment, the analog port functions as a read-only port and the digital port functions as a write only port. This allows the data in the core memory to be applied to an analog signal, while retaining a digital port having access to the core memory for rapid storage of data. One potential use of such a multiport memory is as a bridge between a digital computer and an analog computer; for example, this allows a digitally programmed two-port memory to derive a sum-of-products signal from a plurality of analog input signals, and a plurality of such multiport memories to be used in an analog neural network such as a programmable neural net implementing analog artificial intelligence (AI).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: SiliconIntervention Inc.
    Inventors: A. Martin Mallinson, Christian Leth Petersen
  • Patent number: 11334363
    Abstract: A matrix-multiplying-matrix operation method and a processing device for performing the same are provided. The matrix-multiplying-matrix method includes distributing, by a main processing circuit, basic data blocks of one matrix and broadcasting the other matrix to a plurality of the basic processing circuits. That way, the basic processing circuits can perform inner-product operations between the basic data blocks and the broadcasted matrix in parallel. The results are then provided back to main processing circuit for combining. The technical solutions proposed by the present disclosure provide short operation time and low energy consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: CAMBRICON TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION LIMITED
    Inventors: Shaoli Liu, Tianshi Chen, Bingrui Wang, Yao Zhang
  • Patent number: 11309029
    Abstract: A semiconductor device includes a memory string that includes a plurality of memory cells and is coupled between a source line and a bit line. A method for operating the semiconductor device may include: boosting a first channel region in a channel region of the memory string, wherein the channel region includes the first channel region at one side of the selected memory cell and a second channel region at the other side of the selected memory cell; applying a pre-program bias to a gate electrode of the selected memory cell, to inject electrons into a space region of the selected memory cell; and applying a program bias to the gate electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: SK hynix Inc.
    Inventors: Han Soo Joo, Bong Yeol Park, Ji Hyun Seo, Hee Youl Lee
  • Patent number: 11262913
    Abstract: Technologies for stochastic associative search operations in memory (e.g., a three-dimensional cross-point memory) using error correction codes include a compute device. The compute device has a memory including a matrix that stores individually addressable bit data and is formed by rows and columns. The compute device receives a request to retrieve a subset of the bit data stored in the matrix. The compute device identifies, based on a search performed on the columns in the matrix, one or more candidate data sets. Each candidate data set corresponds to one of the rows in the matrix. The compute device performs an error correction operation on the identified one or more candidate data sets to determine whether the identified one or more candidate data sets is an exact match with the subset of the bit data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Jawad B. Khan, Richard Coulson
  • Patent number: 11133065
    Abstract: A search pattern is generated based on an input search word comprising a first sequence of bits. The search pattern comprises a representation of the input search word and a representation of an inverse of the input search word. The search pattern is provided as input to search lines of a ternary content-addressable memory (TCAM) block. A subset of the search lines is set to a logical high state based on a first portion of the input search word being designated as don't-care bits. The search pattern causes at least one string in the CAM block to be conductive and provide a signal in response to a data entry stored on the string comprising a second portion of the input search word that excludes the don't-care bits. A location of the data entry is determined and output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 28, 2021
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Manik Advani, Tomoko Ogura Iwasaki
  • Patent number: 11106596
    Abstract: Methods, devices, and systems for determining an address in a physical memory which corresponds to a virtual address using a skewed-associative translation lookaside buffer (TLB) are described. A virtual address and a configuration indication are received using receiver circuitry. A physical address corresponding to the virtual address is output if a TLB hit occurs. A first subset of a plurality of ways of the TLB is configured to hold a first page size. The first subset includes a number of the ways based on the configuration indication. A physical address corresponding to the virtual address is retrieved from a page table if a TLB miss occurs, and at least a portion of the physical address is installed in a least recently used way of a subset of a plurality of ways the TLB, determined according to a replacement policy based on the configuration indication.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2021
    Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: John M. King, Michael T. Clark
  • Patent number: 11048758
    Abstract: A system for storing and looking up values via hash table is disclosed. The system comprises multiple hash tables, each hash table being associated with a different hashing function and a content addressable memory (CAM). One or more processors receive a request to store a value; generate hashes of the value via each of the hashing functions; determine whether there exists at least one hash table that has a vacancy for the value; and if the determination is positive, insert the value in one of the at least one hash tables having the vacancy, and if the determination is negative, insert the value in the CAM. The processors also receive a request to look up a value; determine whether any of the hash tables or the CAM contain the value; and return the determination of whether the any of the plurality of hash tables or the CAM contain the value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2021
    Assignee: Morgan Stanley Services Group Inc.
    Inventors: Changhoan Kim, Sunghyun Park
  • Patent number: 11037617
    Abstract: A method of operating a memory device is provided, comprising determining a number of operations corresponding to a memory location during a first timing period; and scheduling an extra refresh operation for the memory location after the first timing period when the determined number of operations exceeds a predetermined threshold. A memory device is provided, comprising a memory including a memory location; and circuitry configured to: determine a number of operations corresponding to the memory location during a first timing period; and schedule an extra refresh operation for the memory location after the first timing period when the determined number of operations exceeds a predetermined threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2021
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Dean D. Gans
  • Patent number: 11024375
    Abstract: According to one embodiment, there is provided a semiconductor storage device including N word lines, M bit lines, multiple memory cells, and a read circuit. N is an integer of four or greater. M is an integer of two or greater. The M bit lines intersect with the word lines. The multiple memory cells are placed at positions where the word lines and the bit lines intersect. The memory cell stores binary data. The read circuit is connected to the M bit lines. The read circuit is able to detect levels of a multi-ary signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 1, 2021
    Assignee: Toshiba Memory Corporation
    Inventor: Takeshi Sugimoto
  • Patent number: 10950288
    Abstract: A memory device with internal row hammer mitigation couples to a memory controller. The memory controller or host can assist with row hammer mitigation by sending additional refresh cycles or refresh commands. In response to an extra refresh command the memory device can perform refresh for row hammer mitigation instead of refresh for standard data integrity. The memory controller can keep track of the number of activate commands sent to the memory device, and in response to a threshold number of activate commands, the memory controller sends the additional refresh command. With the extra refresh command the memory device can refresh the potential victim rows of a potential aggressor row, instead of simply refreshing a row that has not been accessed for a period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Bill Nale, Christopher E. Cox
  • Patent number: 10916277
    Abstract: A memory device includes a memory cell array including a plurality of memory blocks and a storage block storing a plurality of pieces of option parameter information; a parameter determining circuit outputting a parameter information signal by measuring a skew of the memory device; a peripheral circuit performing a read operation on the storage block; and a control logic controlling the peripheral circuit to perform the read operation on a selected piece of option parameter information, among the plurality of pieces of option parameter information, in response to the parameter information signal, and setting an option parameter according to the selected piece of option parameter information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 9, 2021
    Assignee: SK hynix Inc.
    Inventor: Sang Oh Lim
  • Patent number: 10910055
    Abstract: The present invention provides a semiconductor device that can reduce the power consumption, including: a plurality of search memory cells arranged in a matrix; a plurality of match lines provided corresponding to each memory cell row to determine match/mismatch between data stored in the search memory cell and search data; a plurality of match line retention circuits provided corresponding to each of the match lines; a storage unit for storing information relating to the state of each of the match lines; and a selection circuit for selectively activating the match line retention circuits based on the information stored in the storage unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 2, 2021
    Assignee: RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Futoshi Igaue
  • Patent number: 10877836
    Abstract: A fault tolerant data processing network includes a number of nodes intercoupled through an interconnect circuit. The micro-architectures of the nodes are configured for sending and receiving messages via the interconnect circuit. In operation, a first Request Node sends a read request to a Home Node. In response, the Home Node initiates transmission of the requested data to the first Request Node. When the first Request Node detects that a fault has occurred, it sends a negative-acknowledgement message to the first Home Node. In response, the Home Node again initiates transmission of the requested data to the first Request Node. The requested data may be transmitted from a local cache of a second Request Node or transmitted by a Slave Node after being retrieved from a memory. The data may be transmitted to the first Request Node via the Home Node or directly via the interconnect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2020
    Assignee: Arm Limited
    Inventors: Zheng Xu, Jamshed Jalal
  • Patent number: 10866897
    Abstract: A method of storing data in a memory module including an in-module prefetcher, an in-module prefetch buffer, memory, and a memory controller, the method including sending address information from the in-module prefetcher to the memory controller and to the prefetch buffer, determining prefetch accuracy based on a comparison of the address information sent to the memory controller and the address information sent to the prefetch buffer, determining a prefetch mode based on the prefetch accuracy, and storing the data in the memory based on the prefetch mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2020
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Mu-Tien Chang, Dimin Niu, Dongyan Jiang, Hongzhong Zheng
  • Patent number: 10852972
    Abstract: There is provided a retrieval memory that can easily manage address information. A retrieval memory which retrieves whether or not inputted retrieval data matches entry data stored in a memory cell array and outputs address information corresponding to matched entry data includes a plurality of retrieval blocks and an output control unit for outputting the address information. The address information includes a block address for specifying at least one of the retrieval blocks and a logical address corresponding to entry data in the specified retrieval block. The output control unit outputs address information that is reset so that the address information corresponding to the entry data becomes continuous in an address space based on a size of the entry data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 1, 2020
    Assignee: RENESAS ELECTRONICS CORPORATION
    Inventor: Takeo Miki
  • Patent number: 10825521
    Abstract: To use larger capacity TCAMs while avoiding various packaging and power management issues of TCAMs, pre-processing can be performed on TCAM lookup requests to intelligently pipeline lookup requests according to a defined power budget that is based on TCAM and power supply specifications. Dividing lookup requests based on a power budget smooths the instantaneous current demand and dynamic power demand. This intelligent pre-processing of lookup requests allows lookup requests that satisfy a power budget based threshold to still complete within a single clock cycle while nominally reducing performance for those lookup requests that would not satisfy the power budget based threshold. When a lookup request will not satisfy the power budget based threshold, the lookup request is split into searches targeting different memory blocks of the TCAM.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2020
    Assignee: PALO ALTO NETWORKS, INC.
    Inventors: De Bao Vu, Matthew Robert Rohm, Subramani Ganesh, Savitha Raghunath, William Alan Roberson
  • Patent number: 10759384
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to pattern detection unit and associated method. The unit comprises a shift register configured to over-sample a multi-bit input signal such that each bit of the input signal is represented by a plurality of samples in the shift register; and a correlator configured to compare a target pattern with two or more sample-sets, each sample-set comprising a corresponding sample from each of the plurality of samples of each bit, and classify each compared sample-set as one of: an exact match; an inexact match; or a non-match to the target pattern in order to determine whether or not the input signal matches the target pattern.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: NXP B.V.
    Inventors: Stylianos Perissakis, Martin Posch
  • Patent number: 10763267
    Abstract: Various implementations described herein refer to an integrated circuit having a memory structure with a two-bitcell layout and a four cell poly pitch. The two-bitcell layout includes a first bitcell and a second bitcell with structural contours that are joined together in a coupling arrangement. The first bitcell and the second bitcell have multiple transistors that are arranged to store data during write operations and allow access of data during read operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2020
    Assignee: Arm Limited
    Inventors: Yew Keong Chong, Sriram Thyagarajan, Munish Kumar
  • Patent number: 10748607
    Abstract: A non-volatile memory device includes a memory cell array, a Y decoder, a program register, a sense amplifier, a verification circuit and a path control circuit. The memory cell array includes a first memory cell. The first memory cell is connected with a bit line. The Y decoder includes a first decoding element. The first decoding element is connected between the bit line and a data line. The program register is connected with the data line, and generates a control voltage to the first memory cell. The sense amplifier is connected with the data line, and generates a read data. The verification circuit is connected between the sense amplifier and the data line, and generates a rewrite data. The path control circuit is connected with the data line, and receives a write data and the rewrite data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2020
    Assignee: EMEMORY TECHNOLOGY INC.
    Inventor: Yu-Shan Chien
  • Patent number: 10725887
    Abstract: A method for operating a monitoring entity (ME) for a distributed system includes receiving, by the ME, an action message from a computing device which has information about an action it performed. The ME, generates, deletes and/or updates a node of a data structure stored in a memory of the ME to provide an updated state of the data structure, by: processing the information of the received message, and storing the processed information into the data structure. The data structure represents knowledge about behavior of the distributed system. Each node specifies a policy by a formula, a node is linked by a trigger to one other node only to specify dependencies between nodes except for nodes with a formula, monitored by the ME, and nodes with a same formula are mutually linked by triggers. Verdict information indicating an action violating a policy is computed based on the updated state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: NEC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Felix Klaedtke