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: 20240134533
    Abstract: A method including storing user data in memory cells of a memory array, storing, in a counter associated to the memory cells, count data corresponding to a number of bits in the user data having a predetermined first logic value, applying a read voltage to the memory cells to read the user data, applying the read voltage to the cells of the counter to read the count data and to provide a target value corresponding to the number of bits in the user data having the first logic value. During the application of the read voltage, the count data and the user data are read simultaneously such that the target value is provided during the reading of the user data. The application of the read voltage is stopped when the number of bits in the user data having the first logic value corresponds to the target value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 26, 2023
    Publication date: April 25, 2024
    Inventors: Riccardo Muzzetto, Ferdinando Bedeschi, Umberto di Vincenzo
  • Patent number: 11963370
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a memory device comprising an array of memory cells arranged in a multideck configuration comprising a plurality of superimposed decks, a plurality of access lines comprising at least a first plurality of access lines arranged in a first level, a second plurality of access lines arranged in a second level, and a third plurality of access lines arranged in a third level between the first plurality of access lines and the second plurality of access lines, the third plurality of access lines being arranged between two decks of the plurality of decks, a plurality of drivers configured to drive signals to the access lines, and connection elements configured to electrically connect the access lines to the respective drivers. The connections elements and the access lines are arranged so that a single driver of the plurality of drivers is configured to drive at least one access line of each level of the at least three levels. Related memory systems and methods are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Riccardo Muzzetto, Ferdinando Bedeschi, Umberto di Vincenzo
  • Publication number: 20240103741
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to providing multiple error correction code protection levels in memory. One device includes an array of memory cells and an operating circuit for managing operation of the array. The operating circuit comprises an encoding unit configured to generate a codeword for a first error correction code (ECC) protection level and a second ECC protection level, and decoding unit configured to perform an ECC operation on the codeword at the first ECC protection level and the second ECC protection level. The codeword comprises payload data stored in a plurality of memory cells of the array, and parity data associated with the payload data stored in parity cells of the array.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 26, 2022
    Publication date: March 28, 2024
    Inventors: Marco Sforzin, Christophe Vincent Antoine Laurent, Riccardo Muzzetto
  • Patent number: 11929124
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method for accessing memory cells comprising: applying an increasing read voltage with a first polarity to the plurality of memory cells; counting a number of switching memory cells in the plurality based on the applying the increasing read voltage; applying a first read voltage with the first polarity based on the number of switched memory cells reaching a threshold number; applying a second read voltage with a second polarity opposite to the first polarity; and determining that a memory cell in the plurality of memory cells has a first logic value based on the memory cell having switched during one of the applying the increasing read voltage and the applying the first read voltage or based on the memory cell not having switched during the applying the second read voltage. A related system is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 12, 2024
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Ferdinando Bedeschi, Riccardo Muzzetto, Umberto Di Vincenzo
  • Publication number: 20240071483
    Abstract: Disclosed are techniques for correcting drift accumulation in memory cells. In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a memory device including: a memory array, the memory array including a set of memory cells; and a memory controller configured to read data from the memory array, the memory controller configured to: sense a first distribution of the set of memory cells, detect a missing cell in the first distribution, increase a voltage on the missing cell causing the missing cell to be read as part of the first distribution, detect that a second memory cell in a second distribution was read while sensing the first distribution, and mask the second memory cell and mark the second memory cell as belonging to the second distribution.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2022
    Publication date: February 29, 2024
    Inventors: Christophe Vincent Antoine Laurent, Francesco Mastroianni, Andrea Martinelli, Efrem Bolandrina, Lucia Di Martino, Riccardo Muzzetto, Zhongyuan Lu, Karthik Sarpatwari, Nevil N. Gajera
  • Publication number: 20240062824
    Abstract: The present disclosure includes apparatuses, methods, and systems for balancing data in memory. An embodiment includes a memory having a group of memory cells, wherein each respective memory cell is programmable to one of three possible data states, and circuitry to balance data programmed to the group between the three possible data states by determining whether the data programmed to the group is balanced for any one of the three possible data states, and upon determining the data programmed to the group is not balanced for any one of the three possible data states apply a rotational mapping algorithm to the data programmed to the group until the data is balanced for any one of the three possible data states and apply a Knuth algorithm to the data of the group programmed to the two of the three possible data states that were not balanced by the rotational mapping algorithm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 18, 2022
    Publication date: February 22, 2024
    Inventors: Marco Sforzin, Riccardo Muzzetto
  • Publication number: 20240053902
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for balanced codewords for reducing a selected state in memory cells are described. A memory device may divide a sequence of data bits into sets of bits associated with different bit-positions in a coding scheme. The memory device may then balance a first codeword that includes the first set of the data bits in the binary domain to reach a target ratio of logic values for the codeword. Using the first codeword and the other set(s) of data bits, the memory device may balance the remaining two states in the state domain to reach an overall target distribution of the three states. The memory device may then generate one or more codeword(s) for the other set(s) of data bits so that the memory device can write all of the codewords to ternary cells.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2022
    Publication date: February 15, 2024
    Inventors: Christophe Vincent Antoine Laurent, Riccardo Muzzetto
  • Patent number: 11901029
    Abstract: Methods and apparatuses with counter-based reading are described. 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: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Umberto Di Vincenzo, Riccardo Muzzetto, Ferdinando Bedeschi
  • Publication number: 20240038301
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for memory cell read operation techniques are described. A memory device may determine a starting voltage for a second phase of a read operation for a set of memory cells which may have a different magnitude than a magnitude of a starting voltage of a first phase of the read operation. For example, the memory device may use an ending voltage of the first phase to determine the starting voltage for the second phase. In some cases, the starting voltage for the second phase may correspond to a difference of a voltage offset and the ending voltage of the first phase. As part of the second phase of the read operation, the memory device may apply a sequence of voltages to the set of memory cells in accordance with the determined starting voltage of the second phase.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 29, 2022
    Publication date: February 1, 2024
    Inventors: Riccardo Muzzetto, Francesco Mastroianni, Ferdinando Bedeschi, Nevil N. Gajera
  • Publication number: 20240038322
    Abstract: Apparatuses, methods, and systems for performing sense operations in memory are disclosed. The memory can have a group of memory cells, and circuitry can be configured to perform a sense operation on the group, wherein performing the sense operation includes performing a first sense operation in a first polarity on the group of memory cells to determine a quantity of the memory cells of the group that are in a particular data state, and performing a second sense operation in a second polarity on the group of memory cells to determine a data state of the memory cells of the group. The second polarity is opposite the first polarity, and the second sense operation is a count-based sense operation that uses the determined quantity of memory cells in the particular data state as a counting threshold to determine the data state of the memory cells of the group.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 26, 2022
    Publication date: February 1, 2024
    Inventors: Michele Maria Venturini, Umberto Di Vincenzo, Ferdinando Bedeschi, Riccardo Muzzetto, Christophe Vincent Antoine Laurent, Christian Caillat
  • Patent number: 11887663
    Abstract: Methods and systems include memory devices with a memory array comprising a plurality of memory cells. The memory devices include a control circuit operatively coupled to the memory array and configured to receive a read request for data and to apply a first voltage at a first time duration to the memory array based on the read request. The control circuit is additionally configured to count a number of the plurality of memory cells that have switched to an active read state based on the first voltage and to derive a second time duration. The control circuit is further configured to apply a second voltage at the second duration to the memory array. The control circuit is also configured to return the data based at least on bits stored in a first and a second set of the plurality of memory cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Graziano Mirichigni, Riccardo Muzzetto, Ferdinando Bedeschi
  • Patent number: 11880571
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a method for accessing an array of memory cells, comprising the steps of storing user data in a plurality of memory cells of a memory array, storing, in a counter associated to the array of memory cells, count data corresponding to a number of bits in the user data having a predetermined first logic value, applying a read voltage to the memory cells to read the user data stored in the array of memory cells, applying the read voltage to the cells of the counter to read the count data stored in the counter and to provide a target value corresponding to the number of bits in the user data having the first logic value, wherein, during the application of the read voltage, the count data are read simultaneously to the user data in such a way that the target value is provided during the reading of the user data, and based on the target value of the counter, stopping the application of the read voltage when the number of bits in the user data having the first logic value corresponds
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2024
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Riccardo Muzzetto, Ferdinando Bedeschi, Umberto di Vincenzo
  • Patent number: 11869587
    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: October 6, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Ferdinando Bedeschi, Riccardo Muzzetto, Umberto Di Vincenzo
  • Patent number: 11869565
    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: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Ferdinando Bedeschi, Umberto Di Vincenzo, Riccardo Muzzetto
  • Patent number: 11848038
    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: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Riccardo Muzzetto
  • Patent number: 11842783
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices related to counter-based sense amplifier method for memory cells are described. The counter-based read algorithm may comprise the following phases: storing in a counter associated to an array of memory cells the value of the number of bits having a predetermined logic value of the data bits stored in the memory array; reading from said counter the value corresponding to the number of bits having the predetermined logic value; reading the data stored in the array of memory cells by applying a ramp of biasing voltages; counting the number of bits having the predetermined logic value during the data reading phase; stopping the data reading phase when the number of bits having the predetermined logic value is equal to the value stored in said counter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Riccardo Muzzetto, Ferdinando Bedeschi, Umberto Di Vincenzo
  • Patent number: 11830536
    Abstract: Self-referencing memory device, techniques, and methods are described herein. A self-referencing memory device may include a ferroelectric memory cell. The self-referencing memory device may be configured to determine a logic state stored in a memory cell based on a state signal generated using the ferroelectric memory cell and a reference signal generated using the ferroelectric memory cell. The biasing of the plate line of the ferroelectric memory cell may be used to generate the voltage need to generate the state signal during a first time period of an access operation and to generate the reference signal during a second time period of the access operation. Procedures and operations related to a self-referencing memory device are described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2023
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Riccardo Muzzetto
  • Patent number: 11811424
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and devices for fixed weight codewords for ternary memory cells are described. A memory device may generate a codeword from a set of data bits and invert a portion of the codeword so that the codeword is associated with a target distribution of programmable states. After inverting the portion of the codeword, the memory device store the codeword in a set of ternary cells according to a coding scheme. The memory device may read the codeword from the set of ternary cells and select one or more reference voltages for the set of ternary cells based on the target distribution for the codeword and the states of the ternary cells.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Christophe Vincent Antoine Laurent, Riccardo Muzzetto
  • Publication number: 20230317131
    Abstract: The present disclosure includes apparatuses, methods, and systems for unbalanced programmed data states in memory. An embodiment includes a memory having a group of memory cells, and circuitry configured to determine a quantity of the memory cells of the group to program to a first data state, wherein the determined quantity of memory cells is less than or greater than half of the memory cells of the group, program the determined quantity of the memory cells of the group to the first data state, and program a remaining quantity of the memory cells of the group to a second data state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 4, 2022
    Publication date: October 5, 2023
    Inventors: Christophe Laurent, Riccardo Muzzetto
  • Patent number: 11776590
    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: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Riccardo Muzzetto, Ferdinando Bedeschi, Umberto Di Vincenzo