Patents by Inventor Narayanan RAMANAN

Narayanan RAMANAN 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: 20220366991
    Abstract: An apparatus is described. An apparatus includes controller logic circuitry to perform a program-verify programming process to a flash memory chip. The program-verify programming process is to reduce a size of a pre-program verify (PPV) bucket in response to a number of cells being fully programmed to a same digital state. The number of cells are less than a total number of cells to be programmed to the same digital state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 14, 2021
    Publication date: November 17, 2022
    Inventors: Shantanu R. RAJWADE, Tarek Ahmed AMEEN BESHARI, Matin AMANI, Narayanan RAMANAN, Arun THATHACHARY
  • Publication number: 20220293193
    Abstract: Sensing circuits and techniques for NAND memory that can enable improved read disturb on the selected SGS are described herein. In one example, a reverse sensing circuit includes circuitry coupled with a bitline of the string of NAND memory cells to perform a sensing operation. The circuitry charges the bitline of the string of NAND memory cells to a target bitline voltage and applies a voltage to the source line that is higher than the bitline voltage. The sense current flows through the string from the source line to the bitline. The voltage at a sensing node that is indicative of a threshold voltage of a memory cell can then be detected.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2021
    Publication date: September 15, 2022
    Inventor: Narayanan RAMANAN
  • Publication number: 20220293194
    Abstract: Modulation of the source voltage in a NAND-flash array read waveform can enable improved read-disturb mitigation. For example, increasing the source line voltage to a voltage with a magnitude greater than the non-idle source voltage during the read operation when the array is idle (e.g., not during sensing) enables a reduction in read disturb without the complexity arising from the consideration of multiple read types. Additional improvement in FN disturb may also be obtained on the sub-blocks in the selected SGS by increasing the source line voltage during the selected wordline ramp when the array is idle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2021
    Publication date: September 15, 2022
    Inventor: Narayanan RAMANAN
  • Publication number: 20220284968
    Abstract: An apparatus, a method, and a system. The method includes implementing an erase operation on a deck of a superblock, block or subblock of a three-dimensional (3D) non-volatile memory device to obtain an erased deck; applying a dummy read pulse to one or more wordlines (WLs) of a to-be-read deck of the superblock, block or subblock; and implementing, after application of the dummy read pulse, a read operation on one or more memory cells corresponding to the one or more WLs to read data from the one or more memory cells.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 26, 2022
    Publication date: September 8, 2022
    Applicant: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Wei Cao, Richard M. Fastow, Xuehong Yu, Xin Sun, Hyungseok Kim, Narayanan Ramanan, Amol R. Joshi, Krishna Parat
  • Publication number: 20220208286
    Abstract: For a nonvolatile (NV) storage media such as NAND media that is written by a program and program verify operation, the system can determine an expected number of SSPC (selective slow programming convergence) cells for a page of cells for specific conditions of the page. The system can perform program verify with a first wordline (WL) select voltage for SSPC cell detection for a first write of the page to detect the expected number of SSPC cells. Based on the determined expected number of SSPC cells, the system can set a boost voltage to capture an expected number of SSPC cells during the program verify operation. The system performs program verify for subsequent writes to the page with a higher WL select voltage, to perform program verify for standard cells and then SSPC program verify with the boost voltage determined from the first write.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 24, 2020
    Publication date: June 30, 2022
    Inventors: Tarek Ahmed AMEEN BESHARI, Shantanu R. RAJWADE, Matin AMANI, Narayanan RAMANAN
  • Patent number: 11355199
    Abstract: An apparatus, a method, and a system. The method includes implementing an erase operation on a deck of a superblock, block or subblock of a three-dimensional (3D) non-volatile memory device to obtain an erased deck; applying a dummy read pulse to one or more wordlines (WLs) of a to-be-read deck of the superblock, block or subblock; and implementing, after application of the dummy read pulse, a read operation on one or more memory cells corresponding to the one or more WLs to read data from the one or more memory cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2022
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Wei Cao, Richard M. Fastow, Xuehong Yu, Xin Sun, Hyungseok Kim, Narayanan Ramanan, Amol R. Joshi, Krishna Parat
  • Publication number: 20220172784
    Abstract: A sense circuit performs a multistage boost, including a boost during precharge operation and a boost during the standard boost operation. The sense circuit includes an output transistor to drive a sense output based on current through a sense node which drives a gate of the output transistor. The sense circuit includes a precharge circuit to precharge the sense node and the gate of the output transistor and a boost circuit to boost the sense node. The boost circuit can be boosted during precharge by a first boost voltage, resulting in a lower boost applied to the sense node after precharge. The boost circuit boosts up the sense node by a second boost voltage lower than the first boost voltage. The boost circuit boosts the sense node down by the full boost voltage of the first boost voltage plus the second boost voltage after sensing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 30, 2020
    Publication date: June 2, 2022
    Inventors: Shantanu R. RAJWADE, Bayan NASRI, Tzu-Ning FANG, Rezaul HAQUE, Dhanashree R. KULKARNI, Narayanan RAMANAN, Matin AMANI, Ahsanur RAHMAN, Seong Je PARK, Netra MAHULI
  • Publication number: 20220084606
    Abstract: A method is described. The method includes programming a column of flash storage cells in a direction along the column in which a parasitic transistor that resides between a cell being programmed and an immediately next cell to be programmed has lower resistivity as compared to a corresponding parasitic transistor that exists if the programming were to be performed in an opposite direction along the column.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 16, 2020
    Publication date: March 17, 2022
    Inventors: Xiang YANG, Guangyu HUANG, Narayanan RAMANAN, Pranav KALAVADE, Ali KHAKIFIROOZ
  • Publication number: 20220028459
    Abstract: An apparatus, a method, and a system. The method includes implementing an erase operation on a deck of a superblock, block or subblock of a three-dimensional (3D) non-volatile memory device to obtain an erased deck; applying a dummy read pulse to one or more wordlines (WLs) of a to-be-read deck of the superblock, block or subblock; and implementing, after application of the dummy read pulse, a read operation on one or more memory cells corresponding to the one or more WLs to read data from the one or more memory cells.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 23, 2020
    Publication date: January 27, 2022
    Inventors: Wei Cao, Richard M. Fastow, Xuehong Yu, Xin Sun, Hyungseok Kim, Narayanan Ramanan, Amol R. Joshi, Krishna Parat
  • Publication number: 20210257036
    Abstract: Techniques and mechanisms for verifying the programming of a multi-bit cell of a memory array. In an embodiment, program verification is performed based on a signal, other than a word line voltage, which includes an indication of a reference voltage that is to be a basis for evaluating a currently programmed threshold voltage of a memory cell. A determination that the particular indication is to be communicated with the signal is made based on a detected state of the memory device which includes the memory cell. In another embodiment, the detected state includes one of a thermal condition at the memory array, a pressure condition at the memory array, a wear condition of the memory array, or a relative position of the cell with respect to one or more other cells of the memory array.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 13, 2020
    Publication date: August 19, 2021
    Applicant: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Xiang Yang, Tarek Ahmed Ameen Beshari, Narayanan Ramanan, Arun Thathachary, Shantanu Rajwade, Matin Amani
  • Patent number: 11094386
    Abstract: Techniques and mechanisms for verifying the programming of a multi-bit cell of a memory array. In an embodiment, program verification is performed based on a signal, other than a word line voltage, which includes an indication of a reference voltage that is to be a basis for evaluating a currently programmed threshold voltage of a memory cell. A determination that the particular indication is to be communicated with the signal is made based on a detected state of the memory device which includes the memory cell. In another embodiment, the detected state includes one of a thermal condition at the memory array, a pressure condition at the memory array, a wear condition of the memory array, or a relative position of the cell with respect to one or more other cells of the memory array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 17, 2021
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Xiang Yang, Tarek Ahmed Ameen Beshari, Narayanan Ramanan, Arun Thathachary, Shantanu Rajwade, Matin Amani
  • Patent number: 10847234
    Abstract: A technique for read or program verify (PV) operations for non-volatile memory is described. In one example, at the end of a program verify operation (e.g., during a program verify recovery phase), a number of wordlines near a selected wordline are ramped down one at a time. Ramping down wordlines near the selected wordline one at a time can significantly reduce the trapped charge in the channel, enabling lower program disturb rates and improved threshold voltage distributions. In one example, the same technique of ramping down wordlines near the selected wordline can be applied to a read operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2019
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: Intel Corporation
    Inventors: Han Zhao, Richard Fastow, Krishna K. Parat, Arun Thathachary, Narayanan Ramanan
  • Publication number: 20200342946
    Abstract: A technique for read or program verify (PV) operations for non-volatile memory is described. In one example, at the end of a program verify operation (e.g., during a program verify recovery phase), a number of wordlines near a selected wordline are ramped down one at a time. Ramping down wordlines near the selected wordline one at a time can significantly reduce the trapped charge in the channel, enabling lower program disturb rates and improved threshold voltage distributions. In one example, the same technique of ramping down wordlines near the selected wordline can be applied to a read operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2019
    Publication date: October 29, 2020
    Inventors: Han ZHAO, Richard FASTOW, Krishna K. PARAT, Arun THATHACHARY, Narayanan RAMANAN