US 12,217,799 B2
Parallelized defect detection across multiple sub-blocks in a memory device
Paing Z. Htet, Union City, CA (US); Akira Goda, Tokyo (JP); Eric N. Lee, San Jose, CA (US); Jeffrey S. McNeil, Nampa, ID (US); Junwyn A. Lacsao, Folsom, CA (US); Kishore Kumar Muchherla, San Jose, CA (US); Sead Zildzic, Folsom, CA (US); and Violante Moschiano, Avezzano (IT)
Assigned to Micron Technology, Inc., Boise, ID (US)
Filed by Micron Technology, Inc., Boise, ID (US)
Filed on Mar. 10, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/119,997.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/322,293, filed on Mar. 22, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0307053 A1, Sep. 28, 2023
Int. Cl. G11C 16/08 (2006.01); G11C 16/04 (2006.01); G11C 16/10 (2006.01); G11C 16/26 (2006.01)
CPC G11C 16/08 (2013.01) [G11C 16/0433 (2013.01); G11C 16/102 (2013.01); G11C 16/26 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A memory device comprising:
a memory array comprising a block having a plurality of wordlines, a plurality of bitlines, and a plurality of strings, each string of the plurality of strings being connected to a respective bitline of the plurality of bitlines, wherein the block is divided into a plurality of sub-blocks comprising a first sub-block and a second sub-block, wherein each sub-block of the plurality of sub-blocks comprises a respective set of strings of the plurality of strings, and wherein each string of the set of strings is located at a sub-block position within its respective sub-block; and
control logic, operatively coupled with the memory array, to perform operations comprising:
selecting each sub-block of the plurality of sub-blocks;
causing a first voltage to be applied to a dummy wordline of the plurality of wordlines, wherein the first voltage activates a first set of dummy cells associated with the dummy wordline and having a first state and deactivates a second set of cells associated with the dummy wordline and having a second state different from the first state, wherein each sub-block of the plurality of sub-blocks comprises a single string of the set of strings corresponding to an open string connected to a respective dummy cell of the first set of dummy cells and remaining strings of the set of strings each corresponding to a closed string connected to a respective dummy cell of the second set of dummy cells, and wherein the open string of the first sub-block is located at a different sub-block position than the open string of the second sub-block; and
causing a second voltage to be applied to a selected wordline of the plurality of wordlines, wherein the second voltage causes data to be read out from each open string to a respective page buffer of a plurality of page buffers.