Patents by Inventor Riccardo Muzzetto

Riccardo Muzzetto has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20220020416
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for a source follower-based sensing architecture and sensing scheme are described. In one example, a memory device may include a sense circuit that includes two source followers that are coupled to each other and to a sense amplifier. A method of operating the memory device may include transferring a digit line voltage to one of the source followers and transferring a reference voltage to the other source follower. After transferring the digit line voltage and the reference voltage, the source followers may be enabled so that signals representative of the digit line voltage and the reference voltage are transferred from the outputs of the source followers to the sense amplifier for sensing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2021
    Publication date: January 20, 2022
    Inventors: Hyun Yoo Lee, Suryanarayana B. Tatapudi, Huy T. Vo, Ferdinando Bedeschi, Umberto Di Vincenzo, Riccardo Muzzetto
  • Publication number: 20220020412
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for read operations based on a dynamic reference are described. A memory device may include a set of memory cells each associated with a capacitive circuit including a first and second capacitor. After receiving a read command, the memory device may couple each capacitive circuit with a respective memory cell (e.g., to transfer a charge stored by each respective memory cell to a capacitive circuit) and may couple the second capacitor of each capacitive circuit to a reference voltage bus. Thus, a reference voltage on the reference voltage bus may be based on an average charge across the second capacitors of each capacitive circuit. The memory device may then compare a charge stored by the first and second capacitors of each capacitive circuit with the reference voltage bus and may output a set of values stored by the set of memory cells based on the comparing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Publication date: January 20, 2022
    Inventors: Ferdinando Bedeschi, Umberto Di Vincenzo, Riccardo Muzzetto, Angelo Visconti
  • Publication number: 20220020448
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for method for setting a reference voltage for read operations are described. A memory device may perform a first read operation on a set of memory cells using a first reference voltage and detect a first codeword based on performing the first read operation using the first reference voltage. The memory device may compare a first quantity of bits of the first codeword having a first logic value (e.g., a logic value ‘1’) with an expected quantity of bits having the first logic value (e.g., the expected quantity of logic value ‘1’s stored by the set of memory cells). The memory device may determine whether to perform a second read operation on the set of memory cells using a second reference voltage different than the first reference voltage (e.g., greater or less than the first reference voltage) based on the comparing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2021
    Publication date: January 20, 2022
    Inventors: Ferdinando Bedeschi, Umberto Di Vincenzo, Riccardo Muzzetto
  • Publication number: 20210398581
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for a read algorithm for a memory device are described. When performing a read operation, the memory device may access a memory cell to retrieve a value stored by the memory cell. The memory device may compare a set of reference voltages with a signal output by the memory cell based on accessing the memory cell. Thus, the memory device may determine a set of candidate values stored by the memory cell, where each candidate value is associated with one of the reference voltages. The memory device may determine and output the value stored by the memory cell based on determining the set of candidate values. In some cases, the memory device may determine the value stored by the memory cell based on performing an error control operation on each of the set of candidate values to detect a quantity of errors within each candidate value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 22, 2020
    Publication date: December 23, 2021
    Inventors: Ferdinando Bedeschi, Umberto Di Vincenzo, Riccardo Muzzetto
  • Patent number: 11164626
    Abstract: A method for reading memory cell, comprising the steps of applying a first read voltage to a plurality of memory cells, detecting first threshold voltages exhibited by the plurality of memory cells in response to application of the first read voltage, based on the first threshold voltages, associating a first logic state to one or more cells of the plurality of memory cells, applying a second read voltage to the plurality of memory cells, wherein the second read voltage has the same polarity of the first read voltage and a higher magnitude than an expected highest threshold voltage of memory cells in the first logic state, detecting second threshold voltages exhibited by the plurality of memory cells in response to application of the second read voltage, based on the second threshold voltages, associating a second logic state to one or more cells of the plurality of memory cells, applying a third read voltage to the plurality of memory cells, wherein the third read voltage has the same polarity of the first a
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2021
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Umberto Di Vincenzo, Riccardo Muzzetto, Ferdinando Bedeschi
  • Publication number: 20210319820
    Abstract: Methods and devices for reading a memory cell using a sense amplifier with split capacitors is described. The sense amplifier may include a first capacitor and a second capacitor that may be configured to provide a larger capacitance during certain portions of a read operation and a lower capacitance during other portions of the read operation. In some cases, the first capacitor and the second capacitor are configured to be coupled in parallel between a signal node and a voltage source during a first portion of the read operation to provide a higher capacitance. The first capacitor may be decoupled from the second capacitor during a second portion of the read operation to provide a lower capacitance during the second portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 27, 2021
    Publication date: October 14, 2021
    Inventors: Umberto Di Vincenzo, Ferdinando Bedeschi, Riccardo Muzzetto
  • Patent number: 11145367
    Abstract: Methods, systems, devices, and techniques for read operations are described. In some examples, a memory device may include a first transistor (e.g., memory node transistor) configured to receive a precharge voltage at a first gate and output first voltage based on a threshold of the first transistor to a reference node via a first switch. The device may include a second transistor (e.g., a reference node transistor) configured to receive a precharge voltage and output a second voltage based on a threshold of the second transistor to a memory node via a second switch. The first voltage may be modified by a reference voltage and input to the second transistor. The second voltage may be modified by a voltage stored on a memory cell and input to the first transistor. The first and second transistor may output third and fourth voltages to be sampled to a latch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2021
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Ferdinando Bedeschi, Riccardo Muzzetto, Umberto Di Vincenzo
  • Publication number: 20210280223
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of operating memory cells, comprising reading a previous user data from the memory cells; writing a new user data and merging the new user data with the previous user data into write registers; generating mask register information, and wherein the mask register information indicates bits of the previous user data stored in the memory cells to be switched or not to be switched in their logic values; counting numbers of a first logic value and a second logic value to be written using the mask register information, respectively; storing the numbers of the first logic value and the second logic value into a first counter and a second counter, respectively; and applying a programming pulse to the memory cells according to the mask register information.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 20, 2020
    Publication date: September 9, 2021
    Inventors: Riccardo Muzzetto, Ferdinando Bedeschi, Umberto Di Vincenzo
  • Patent number: 11081204
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for method for setting a reference voltage for read operations are described. A memory device may perform a first read operation on a set of memory cells using a first reference voltage and detect a first codeword based on performing the first read operation using the first reference voltage. The memory device may compare a first quantity of bits of the first codeword having a first logic value (e.g., a logic value ‘1’) with an expected quantity of bits having the first logic value (e.g., the expected quantity of logic value ‘1’s stored by the set of memory cells). The memory device may determine whether to perform a second read operation on the set of memory cells using a second reference voltage different than the first reference voltage (e.g., greater or less than the first reference voltage) based on the comparing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Ferdinando Bedeschi, Umberto Di Vincenzo, Riccardo Muzzetto
  • Patent number: 11081158
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for a source follower-based sensing architecture and sensing scheme are described. In one example, a memory device may include a sense circuit that includes two source followers that are coupled to each other and to a sense amplifier. A method of operating the memory device may include transferring a digit line voltage to one of the source followers and transferring a reference voltage to the other source follower. After transferring the digit line voltage and the reference voltage, the source followers may be enabled so that signals representative of the digit line voltage and the reference voltage are transferred from the outputs of the source followers to the sense amplifier for sensing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Hyun Yoo Lee, Suryanarayana B. Tatapudi, Huy T. Vo, Ferdinando Bedeschi, Umberto Di Vincenzo, Riccardo Muzzetto
  • Publication number: 20210233578
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for sensing techniques for a memory cell are described to enable a latch to sense a logic state of a memory cell. A transistor coupled with a memory cell may boost a first voltage associated with the memory cell to a second voltage via one or more parasitic capacitances of the transistor. The second voltage may be developed on a first node of a sense component, and the second voltage may be shifted to a third voltage at a first node of the sense component by applying a voltage to a shift node coupled with a capacitor of the sense component. Similar boosting and shifting operations may be performed to develop a reference voltage on a second node of the sense component. The sense component may sense the state of the memory cell by comparing with the reference voltage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 2, 2021
    Publication date: July 29, 2021
    Inventors: Umberto Di Vincenzo, Efrem Bolandrina, Riccardo Muzzetto, Ferdinando Bedeschi
  • Publication number: 20210225454
    Abstract: In a memory device, a memory cells of a codeword are accessed and respective voltages are generated. A reference voltage is generated and a logic state of each memory cell is determined based on the reference voltage and the respective generated cell voltage. The reference voltage is modified until a count of memory cells determined to be in a predefined logic state with respect to the last modified reference voltage value meets a criterium. In some embodiments the criterium may be an exact match between the memory cells count and an expected number of memory cells in the predefined logic state. In other embodiments, an error correction (ECC) algorithm may be applied while the difference between the count of cells in the predefined logic state and the expected number of cells in that state does not exceed a detection or correction power of the ECC.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 23, 2019
    Publication date: July 22, 2021
    Inventors: Umberto Di Vincenzo, Riccardo Muzzetto, Ferdinando Bedeschi
  • Publication number: 20210217470
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a method, a circuit, and a system for reading memory cells. The method comprises: applying a first voltage with a first polarity to a plurality of the memory cells; applying a second voltage with a second polarity to one or more of said plurality of the memory cells; applying at least a third voltage with the first polarity to one or more of said plurality of the memory cells; detecting electrical responses of memory cells to the first voltage, the second voltage, and the third voltage; and determining a logic state of respective memory cells based on the electrical responses of the memory cells to the first voltage, the second voltage, and the third voltage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2019
    Publication date: July 15, 2021
    Inventors: Umberto Di Vincenzo, Riccardo Muzzetto, Ferdinando Bedeschi
  • Publication number: 20210217471
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method for reading memory cells, comprising the steps of applying a first read voltage to a plurality of memory cells, detecting first threshold voltages exhibited by the plurality of memory cells in response to application of the first read voltage, based on the first threshold voltages, associating a first logic state to one or more cells of the plurality of memory cells, applying a second read voltage to the plurality of memory cells, wherein the second read voltage has the same polarity of the first read voltage and a higher magnitude than an expected highest threshold voltage of memory cells in the first logic state, detecting second threshold voltages exhibited by the plurality of memory cells in response to application of the second read voltage, based on the second threshold voltages, associating a second logic state to one or more cells of the plurality of memory cells, applying a third read voltage to the plurality of memory cells, wherein the third read voltage h
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2019
    Publication date: July 15, 2021
    Inventors: Umberto Di Vincenzo, Riccardo Muzzetto, Ferdinando Bedeschi
  • Patent number: 11056178
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for read operations based on a dynamic reference are described. A memory device may include a set of memory cells each associated with a capacitive circuit including a first and second capacitor. After receiving a read command, the memory device may couple each capacitive circuit with a respective memory cell (e.g., to transfer a charge stored by each respective memory cell to a capacitive circuit) and may couple the second capacitor of each capacitive circuit to a reference voltage bus. Thus, a reference voltage on the reference voltage bus may be based on an average charge across the second capacitors of each capacitive circuit. The memory device may then compare a charge stored by the first and second capacitors of each capacitive circuit with the reference voltage bus and may output a set of values stored by the set of memory cells based on the comparing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2021
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Ferdinando Bedeschi, Umberto Di Vincenzo, Riccardo Muzzetto, Angelo Visconti
  • Publication number: 20210183445
    Abstract: The present disclosure includes apparatuses, methods, and systems for charge separation for memory sensing. An embodiment includes applying a sensing voltage to a memory cell, and determining a data state of the memory cell based, at least in part, on a comparison of an amount of charge discharged by the memory cell while the sensing voltage is being applied to the memory cell before a particular reference time and an amount of charge discharged by the memory cell while the sensing voltage is being applied to the memory cell after the particular reference time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 29, 2021
    Publication date: June 17, 2021
    Inventors: Umberto Di Vincenzo, Riccardo Muzzetto, Ferdinando Bedeschi
  • Publication number: 20210166756
    Abstract: Methods, systems, devices, and techniques for read operations are described. In some examples, a memory device may include a first transistor (e.g., memory node transistor) configured to receive a precharge voltage at a first gate and output first voltage based on a threshold of the first transistor to a reference node via a first switch. The device may include a second transistor (e.g., a reference node transistor) configured to receive a precharge voltage and output a second voltage based on a threshold of the second transistor to a memory node via a second switch. The first voltage may be modified by a reference voltage and input to the second transistor. The second voltage may be modified by a voltage stored on a memory cell and input to the first transistor. The first and second transistor may output third and fourth voltages to be sampled to a latch.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 11, 2021
    Publication date: June 3, 2021
    Inventors: Ferdinando Bedeschi, Riccardo Muzzetto, Umberto Di Vincenzo
  • Publication number: 20210134342
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatuses for self-referencing sensing schemes are described. A cell having two transistors, or other switching components, and one capacitor, such as a ferroelectric capacitor, may be sensed using a reference value that is specific to the cell. The cell may be read and sampled via one access line, and the cell may be used to generate a reference voltage and sampled via another access line. For instance, a first access line of a cell may be connected to one read voltage while a second access line of the cell is isolated from a voltage source; then the second access line may be connected to another read voltage while the first access line is isolate from a voltage source. The resulting voltages on the respective access lines may be compared to each other and a logic value of the cell determined from the comparison.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2020
    Publication date: May 6, 2021
    Inventor: Riccardo Muzzetto
  • Patent number: 10998028
    Abstract: Methods and devices for reading a memory cell using a sense amplifier with split capacitors is described. The sense amplifier may include a first capacitor and a second capacitor that may be configured to provide a larger capacitance during certain portions of a read operation and a lower capacitance during other portions of the read operation. In some cases, the first capacitor and the second capacitor are configured to be coupled in parallel between a signal node and a voltage source during a first portion of the read operation to provide a higher capacitance. The first capacitor may be decoupled from the second capacitor during a second portion of the read operation to provide a lower capacitance during the second portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 4, 2021
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Umberto Di Vincenzo, Ferdinando Bedeschi, Riccardo Muzzetto
  • Patent number: 10943654
    Abstract: Methods, systems, devices, and techniques for read operations are described. In some examples, a memory device may include a first transistor (e.g., memory node transistor) configured to receive a precharge voltage at a first gate and output first voltage based on a threshold of the first transistor to a reference node via a first switch. The device may include a second transistor (e.g., a reference node transistor) configured to receive a precharge voltage and output a second voltage based on a threshold of the second transistor to a memory node via a second switch. The first voltage may be modified by a reference voltage and input to the second transistor. The second voltage may be modified by a voltage stored on a memory cell and input to the first transistor. The first and second transistor may output third and fourth voltages to be sampled to a latch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Ferdinando Bedeschi, Riccardo Muzzetto, Umberto Di Vincenzo