Patents Represented by Attorney Leffert Jay & Polglaze, P.A.
  • Patent number: 8074407
    Abstract: A floor profile arrangement is provided, in particular for bridging a joint between adjacent floor coverings, with a base profile, a covering profile with at least one sideways projecting covering wing, and a web arrangement as a connection between the base profile and the covering profile, and with an articulation arrangement, the articulation arrangement consisting of an articular cavity disposed on the base profile or the covering profile and an articulation element formed on the lower or on the upper edge of the pivoting web arrangement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2011
    Assignee: Herm. Friedr. Künne GmbH & Co.
    Inventor: Frank Sondermann
  • Patent number: 8076714
    Abstract: A memory cell transistor includes a high dielectric constant tunnel insulator, a metal floating gate, and a high dielectric constant inter-gate insulator comprising a metal oxide formed over a substrate. The tunnel insulator and inter-gate insulator have dielectric constants that are greater than silicon dioxide. Each memory cell has a plurality of doped source/drain regions in a substrate. A pair of transistors in a row are separated by an oxide isolation region comprising a low dielectric constant oxide material. A control gate is formed over the inter-gate insulator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 11, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Leonard Forbes
  • Patent number: 8078797
    Abstract: A memory storage system of an embodiment includes a nonvolatile memory unit and memory control circuitry coupled to the memory unit. Storage locations of the memory unit are organized into one or more sub-blocks configured to store sectors of information from a host. The sectors of information can be identified by sector numbers of a predetermined order. The memory control circuitry is configured to write a sector of information to a location of a particular sub-block of a particular block. The memory control circuitry is further configured to write a sector of information to a location of a sub-block of the particular block that is other than the particular sub-block, regardless of the predetermined order of the sector numbers of the sectors of information. The memory control circuitry is further configured to write the sectors of information to the locations of the sub-blocks of the particular block substantially concurrently.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Petro Estakhri, Berhanu Iman
  • Patent number: 8077532
    Abstract: Methods for small unit internal verify read operation and a memory device are disclosed. In one such method, expected data is programmed into a grouping of columns of memory cells (e.g., memory block). Mask data is loaded into a third dynamic data cache of three dynamic data caches. The expected data is loaded into a second data cache. After a read operation of programmed columns of memory cells, the read data is compared to the expected data and error bit indicators are stored in the second data cache in the error bit locations. The second data cache is masked with the mask data so that only those error bits that are unmasked are counted. If the number of unmasked error bit indicators is greater than a threshold, the memory block is marked as unusable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Tetsuji Manabe, Satoru Tamada
  • Patent number: 8072816
    Abstract: A non-volatile memory device has the pages of a certain memory block reallocated to other blocks in order to increase decrease disturb and increase reliability. Each of the reallocation blocks that contain the reallocated pages from the desired memory block are coupled to a wordline driver. These wordline drivers have a subset of the global wordlines as inputs. The desired wordline driver is selected by an appropriate select signal from a block decoder and an indication on an appropriate global wordline. This causes the wordline driver to generate a local wordline to the desired block with the reallocated page to be accessed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Jin-Man Han, Aaron Yip
  • Patent number: 8074122
    Abstract: A program failure is detected during programming of a memory device. When the program failure is detected, a transfer of the contents of a register of the memory device to a first location of a memory of the memory device is stopped. First data that remains in the register after the program failure is detected is transferred to a second location of the memory. At the second location of the memory, the first data is combined with second data from the first location of the memory that remains in the first location of the memory after the program failure is detected to reconstruct third data that was originally intended to be programmed in the first location before the program failure was detected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Brady Keays
  • Patent number: 8072812
    Abstract: An analog voltage NAND architecture non-volatile memory data read/verify process and circuits is described that senses analog voltages in non-volatile cells utilizing source follower voltage sensing. In a source follower sensing or read operation the programmed threshold voltage of a cell in a NAND string of a NAND architecture Flash memory array is read by applying an elevated voltage to the source line, an elevated pass voltage (Vpass) is placed on the gates of the unselected cells of the string to place them in a pass through mode of operation, and a read gate voltage (Vg) is applied to the gate of the selected cell. The selected memory cell operates as a source follower to set a voltage on the coupled bit line at the read gate voltage minus the threshold voltage of the cell (Vg?Vt), allowing the voltage of the cell to be directly sensed or sampled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Frankie F. Roohparvar, Vishal Sarin
  • Patent number: 8072814
    Abstract: Methods of programming, reading and erasing memory cells are disclosed. In at least one embodiment, program, sense, and erase operations in a memory are performed with back biased operation, such as to improve high voltage device isolation and cutoff in string drivers and bit line drivers, and no nodes of the circuitry are biased at zero volts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Akira Goda, Seiichi Aritome
  • Patent number: 8073986
    Abstract: Memory devices having a memory module, an interface, identification circuitry and a controller coupled to the memory module and the identification circuitry. The identification circuitry is configured to identify a selected operating mode from a plurality of signals sensed at the interface in response to a plurality of signals previously applied to the interface by the identification circuitry. The controller is operable to configure the memory device to the selected operating mode responsive to the identification circuitry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Petro Estakhri, Mahmud Assar
  • Patent number: 8069300
    Abstract: Solid state storage device controllers, solid state storage devices, and methods for operation of solid state storage device controllers are disclosed. In one such solid state storage device, the controller can operate in either an expansion DRAM mode or a non-volatile memory mode. In the DRAM expansion mode, one or more of the memory communication channels normally used to communicate with non-volatile memory devices is used to communicate with an expansion DRAM device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Dean Klein
  • Patent number: 8068366
    Abstract: A memory array in a memory device is coupled to an analog I/O data interface that enables analog voltage levels to be written to the memory array. The I/O interface comprises a plurality of analog data paths that each includes a capacitor for storing charge corresponding to a target voltage to which a selected memory cell, coupled to its respective data path, is to be programmed. A plurality of comparators can be included in the I/O interface, with each such comparator coupled to a respective bit line. Such a comparator can compare a threshold voltage of a selected memory cell to its target voltage and inhibits further programming when the threshold voltage equals or exceeds the target voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Frankie F. Roohparvar, Vishal Sarin
  • Patent number: 8062945
    Abstract: Embodiments of methods of forming non-volatile memory structures are provided. In one such embodiment, first and second source/drain regions are formed on a substrate so that the first and second source/drain regions define an intervening channel region. A charge blocking layer is formed over the channel region. A trapping layer is formed over the charge blocking layer. A tunnel layer of two or more sub-layers is formed over the trapping layer, where the two or more sub-layers form a crested barrier tunnel layer. A control gate is formed over the tunnel layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Arup Bhattacharyya
  • Patent number: 8064252
    Abstract: A method for programming a memory device, a memory device, and a memory system are provided. According to at least one such method, a first programming pass generates a plurality of first programming pulses to increase the threshold voltages of target memory cells to either a pre-program level or to the highest programmed threshold. A second programming pass applies a plurality of second programming pulses to the target memory cells to increase their threshold voltages only if they were programmed to the pre-program level. The target memory cells programmed to their respective target threshold levels during the first pass are not programmed further.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Aaron Yip
  • Patent number: 8064267
    Abstract: In erasing a memory block of memory cells, a semiconductor tub that contains a memory block to be erased can be biased with a high, positive voltage. The control gates of the memory cells that make up the memory block can be biased with a negative voltage. An erase verification can then be performed to determine if the memory block has been successfully erased. If the memory block has not been erased, the erase operation of biasing the tub with the positive voltage and the control gates with the negative voltage can be repeated until the erase verification is successful.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Vishal Sarin, Dzung H. Nguyen
  • Patent number: 8063436
    Abstract: Memory cells including a control gate, a charge trapping material, and a charge blocking material between the control gate and the charge trapping material. The charge blocking material is configured to allow for erasure of the memory cell by enhanced F-N tunneling of holes from the control gate to the charge trapping material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Arup Bhattacharyya, Kirk D. Prall, Luan C. Tran
  • Patent number: 8064266
    Abstract: Memory devices, and methods of writing data to memory devices, utilizing analog voltage levels indicative of threshold voltages and desired threshold voltages of memory cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Frankie F. Roohparvar
  • Patent number: 8060798
    Abstract: In one or more of the disclosed embodiments, memory cells in a memory device are refreshed upon an indication of a fatigue condition. In one such embodiment, controller monitors behavior parameters of the cells and determines if any of the parameters are outside of a normal range set for each one, thus indicating a fatigue condition. If any cell indicates a fatigue condition, the data from the block of cells indicating the fatigue is moved to another block. In one embodiment, an error detection and correction process is performed on the data prior to being written into another memory block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Frankie F. Roohparvar, Vishal Sarin, Jung-Sheng Hoei
  • Patent number: 8058118
    Abstract: Methods of forming and operating a back-side trap non-volatile memory cell. Method of forming a back-side trap non-volatile memory cell include forming a trapping material, forming two or more sub-layers of dielectric material on the trapping material, wherein a conduction band offset of each sub-layer of dielectric material is less than the conduction band offset of the material upon which it is formed, and forming a channel region on the two or more sub-layers of dielectric material. Methods of operating a back-side trap non-volatile memory cell include programming the memory cell via direct tunneling of carriers through an asymmetric band-gap tunnel insulator layer having two or more sub-layers formed beneath a channel region and having layers of material of increasing conduction band offset, and trapping the carriers in a trapping layer formed under the tunnel insulator layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Arup Bhattacharyya
  • Patent number: 8059474
    Abstract: Read failure is reduced by increasing the drain current through a serial string of memory cells during the read operation. In one embodiment, this is accomplished by using a higher read pass voltage for unselected word lines when the selected word line is within a predetermined distance of the drain side of the memory block array. If the selected word line is closer to the source side, a lower read pass voltage is used. In another embodiment, the cells on the word lines closer to the drain side of the memory block array are erased to a lower threshold voltage than the memory cells on the remaining word lines.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Seiichi Aritome, Alessandro Torsi, Carlo Musilli
  • Patent number: 8060719
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus for managing data storage in hybrid memory devices utilizing single level and multi level memory cells. Logical addresses can be distributed between single level and multilevel memory cells based on a frequency of write operations performed. Initial storage of data corresponding to a logical address in memory can be determined by various methods including initially writing all data to single level memory or initially writing all data to multilevel memory. Other methods permit a host to direct logical address writes to single level or multilevel memory cells based on anticipated usage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: William H. Radke, Michael Murray, Martin Ragnar Furuhjelm, John Geldman