Patents Assigned to Rambus
  • Patent number: 11809712
    Abstract: Memory modules, systems, memory controllers and associated methods are disclosed. In one embodiment, a memory module includes a module substrate having first and second memory devices. Buffer circuitry disposed on the substrate couples to the first and second memory devices via respective first and second secondary interfaces. The buffer circuitry includes a primary signaling interface for coupling to a group of signaling links associated with a memory controller. The primary signaling interface operates at a primary signaling rate and the first and second secondary data interfaces operate at a secondary signaling rate. During a first mode of operation, the primary interface signaling rate is at least twice the secondary signaling rate. A first time interval associated with a transfer of first column data via the first secondary interface temporally overlaps a second time interval involving second column data transferred via the second secondary interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Frederick A. Ware, Ely Tsern
  • Patent number: 11811397
    Abstract: An signal switching integrated-circuit die includes an array of switch cells, control signal contacts, data input contacts and data output contacts. Switch control signals are received from an external control-signal source via respective control signal contacts, inbound data signals are received from one or more external data-signal sources via respective data input contacts and outbound data signals are conveyed to one or more external data-signal destinations via respective data output contacts. The array of switch cells receives the control signals directly from the control signal contacts and response to the control signals by switchably interconnecting the data input contacts with selected ones of the data output contacts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Frederick A. Ware, Carl W. Werner
  • Patent number: 11811379
    Abstract: Disclosed is receiver for a noise limited system. A front-end circuit amplifies and band-limits an incoming signal. The amplification increases the signal swing but introduces both thermal and flicker noise. A low-pass band limitation reduces the thermal noise component present at frequencies above what is necessary for correctly receiving the transmitted symbols. This band limited signal is provided to the integrator circuit. The output of the integrator is equalized to reduce the effects of inter-symbol interference and then sampled. The samples are used to apply low frequency equalization (i.e., in response to long and/or unbalanced strings of symbols) to mitigate the effects of DC wander caused by mismatches between the number of symbols of each kind being received.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Masum Hossain, Carl W. Werner
  • Patent number: 11804259
    Abstract: Memory devices, controllers and associated methods are disclosed. In one embodiment, a memory device is disclosed. The memory device includes storage cells that are each formed with a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor having a floating body. Data is stored as charge in the floating body. A transfer interface receives a read command to access data stored in a first group of the storage cells. Sensing circuitry detects the data stored in the first group of storage cells. The transfer interface selectively performs a writeback operation of the sensed data associated with the read command.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Frederick A. Ware, John Eric Linstadt, Zhichao Lu, Kenneth Lee Wright
  • Patent number: 11803489
    Abstract: A single-ended receiver is coupled to an input-output (I/O) pin of a command and address (CA) bus. The receiver is configurable with dual-mode I/O support to operate the CA bus in a low-swing mode and a high-swing mode. The receiver is configurable to receive a first command on the I/O pin while in the high-swing mode, initiate calibration of the slave device to operate in the low-swing mode in response to the first command, switch the slave device to operate in the low-swing mode while the CA bus remains active, and to receive a second command on the I/O pin while in the low-swing mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Pravin Kumar Venkatesan, Liji Gopalakrishnan, Kashinath Ullhas Prabhu, Makarand Ajit Shirasgaonkar
  • Patent number: 11803328
    Abstract: An integrated-circuit memory component receives, as part of respective first and second memory read transactions, a first column access command that identifies a first volume of data and a second column read command that identifies a second volume of data, the second volume of data being constituted by not more than half as many data bits as the first volume of data. In response to receiving the first column access command, the integrated-circuit memory component transmits the first volume of data as N parallel bit-serial data signals over N external signaling links. In response to receiving the second column access command, the integrated-circuit memory component transmits the second volume of data as M parallel bit-serial data signals over M of the N external signaling links, where M is less than N.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventor: Frederick A. Ware
  • Patent number: 11804277
    Abstract: Many error correction schemes fail to correct for double-bit errors and a module must be replaced when these double-bit errors occur repeatedly at the same address. This helps prevent data corruption. In an embodiment, the addresses for one of the memory devices exhibiting a single-bit error (but not the other also exhibiting a single bit error) is transformed before the internal memory arrays are accessed. This has the effect of moving one of the error prone memory cells to a different external (to the module) address such that there is only one error prone bit that is accessed by the previously double-bit error prone address. Thus, a double-bit error at the original address is remapped into two correctable single-bit errors that are at different addresses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventor: Christopher Haywood
  • Patent number: 11804250
    Abstract: Row activation operations within a memory component are carried out with respect to subrows instead of complete storage rows to reduce power consumption. Further, instead of activating subrows in response to row commands, subrow activation operations are deferred until receipt of column commands that specify the column operation to be performed and the subrow to be activated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: James E. Harris, Thomas Vogelsang, Frederick A. Ware, Ian P. Shaeffer
  • Patent number: 11803323
    Abstract: A cascaded memory system includes a memory module having a primary interface coupled to a memory controller via a first communication channel and a secondary interface coupled to a second memory module via a second communication channel. The first memory module buffers and repeats signals received on the primary and secondary interfaces to enable communications between the memory controller and the secondary memory module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2023
    Assignee: RAMBUS INC.
    Inventors: Christopher Haywood, Frederick A. Ware
  • Patent number: 11797227
    Abstract: A micro-threaded memory device. A plurality of storage banks are provided, each including a plurality of rows of storage cells and having an access restriction in that at least a minimum access time interval must transpire between successive accesses to a given row of the storage cells. Transfer control circuitry is provided to transfer a first amount of data between the plurality of storage banks and an external signal path in response to a first memory access request, the first amount of data being less than a product of the external signal path bandwidth and the minimum access time interval.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Frederick A. Ware, Craig E. Hampel, Wayne S. Richardson, Chad A. Bellows, Lawrence Lai
  • Patent number: 11790973
    Abstract: A memory component includes a first memory bank. The first memory bank has a plurality of sub-arrays having sub-rows of memory elements. The memory component includes a write driver, coupled to the first memory bank, to perform a write operation of an entire sub-row of a sub-array. To perform the write operation, the write driver is to load a burst of write data to the memory bank. The memory bank may then activate a plurality of sense amplifiers associated with a plurality of memory elements of the entire sub-row to load the burst of write data to the plurality of sense amplifiers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Frederick A. Ware, John Eric Linstadt, Brent Steven Haukness, Kenneth L. Wright, Thomas Vogelsang
  • Patent number: 11790962
    Abstract: A memory controller includes an interface to receive a data strobe signal and corresponding read data. The data strobe signal and the read data correspond to a read command issued by the memory controller, and the read data is received in accordance with the data strobe signal and an enable signal. A circuit in the memory controller is to dynamically adjust a timing offset between the enable signal and the data strobe signal, and control logic is to issue a supplemental read command in accordance with a determination that a time interval since a last read command issued by the memory controller exceeds a predetermined value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: RAMBUS INC.
    Inventors: Bret Stott, Frederick A. Ware, Ian P. Shaeffer, Yuanlong Wang
  • Patent number: 11792057
    Abstract: A communication system comprises a transmitter and a receiver that communicate differential phase modulated data over a wireline channel pair. The transmitter encodes data symbols by generating first and second data signals with differentially phase shifted signal transitions with respect to one another. The receiver receives the first data signal and the second data signal and samples the first data signal based on a signal transition timing of the second data signal to generate a first output data symbol. The receiver furthermore samples the second data signal based on signal transition timing of the first data signal to generate a second output data symbol.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Masum Hossain, Richelle L. Smith, Carl W. Werner
  • Patent number: 11789662
    Abstract: A system for interfacing with a co-processor or input/output device is disclosed. According to one embodiment, the system includes a computer processing unit, a memory module, a memory bus that connects the computer processing unit and the memory module and a co-processing unit or input/output device, wherein the memory bus also connects the co-processing unit or input/output device to the computer processing unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Michael L. Takefman, Maher Amer, Riccardo Badalone
  • Patent number: 11783910
    Abstract: A dynamic random access memory (DRAM) comprises a plurality of primary data storage elements, a plurality of redundant data storage elements, and circuitry to receive a first register setting command and initiate a repair mode in the DRAM in response to the first register setting command. The circuitry is further to receive an activation command, repair a malfunctioning row address in the DRAM, receive a precharge command, receive a second register setting command, terminate the repair mode in the DRAM in response to the second register setting command, receive a memory access request for data stored at the malfunctioning row address, and redirect the memory access request to a corresponding row address in the plurality of redundant data storage elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Adrian E. Ong, Fan Ho
  • Patent number: 11782863
    Abstract: A memory module includes memory devices and a configurable command buffer that selects between alternative command ports for controlling different groupings of the memory devices. Memory systems with memory modules incorporating such a command buffer and memory devices support point-to-point connectivity and efficient interconnect usage for different numbers of modules. The memory devices and modules can be of programmable data widths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Liji Gopalakrishnan, Ian Shaeffer, Yi Lu
  • Patent number: 11782476
    Abstract: A memory controller conveys a clock signal with command and address signals to a registered clock driver (RCD) on a memory module. A controller-side chip interface on the RCD supports both source-synchronous and filtered clocking for receipt of the command and address signals, the selection between the two clocking schemes dependent upon the noise environment impacting the clock and command/address signals. If the noise is predominantly correlated, then the chip interface is placed in a source-synchronous clocking mode. If the noise is predominantly uncorrelated, then the chip interface is placed in a filtered clocking mode that filters out uncorrelated noise from the clock signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Panduka Wijetunga, Marcial Chua, Srinivas Satish Babu Bamdhamravuri, Abhishek Desai, Philip Lu, Cosmin Iorga
  • Patent number: 11783879
    Abstract: A memory device comprising a programmable command-and-address (CA) interface and/or a programmable data interface is described. In an operational mode, two or more CA interfaces may be active. In another operational mode, at least one, but not all, CA interfaces may be active. In an operational mode, all of the data interfaces may be active. In another operational mode, at least one, but not all, data interfaces may be active. The memory device can include circuitry to select: an operational mode; a sub-mode within an operational mode; one or more CA interfaces as the active CA interface(s); a main CA interface from multiple active CA interfaces; and/or one or more data interfaces as the active data interfaces. The circuitry may perform these selection(s) based on one or more bits in one or more registers and/or one or more signals received on one or more pins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Ian Shaeffer, Lawrence Lai, Fan Ho, David A. Secker, Wayne S. Richardson, Akash Bansal, Brian S. Leibowitz, Kyung Suk Oh
  • Patent number: 11782788
    Abstract: A hybrid volatile/non-volatile memory employs a relatively fast, durable, and expensive dynamic, random-access memory (DRAM) cache to store a subset of data from a larger amount of relatively slow and inexpensive nonvolatile memory (NVM). The memory supports error-detection and correction (EDC) techniques by allocating a fraction of DRAM storage to information calculated for each unit of stored data that can be used to detect and correct errors. An interface between the DRAM cache and NVM executes a wear-leveling scheme that aggregates and distributes NVM data and EDC write operations in a manner that prolongs service life.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventor: Frederick A. Ware
  • Patent number: 11782807
    Abstract: A memory module includes a substrate, and respective first, second and third memory devices. The first memory device is of a first type disposed on the substrate and has addressable storage locations. The second memory device is also of the first type, and includes storage cells dedicated to store failure address information associated with defective storage locations in the first memory device. The third memory device is of the first type and includes storage cells dedicated to substitute as storage locations for the defective storage locations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2023
    Assignee: Rambus Inc.
    Inventors: Frederick A. Ware, Brent S. Haukness, John Eric Linstadt, Scott C. Best