Abstract: An apparatus includes a control circuit configured to connect to NAND strings that are connected to bit lines, where each bit line is connected to a plurality of NAND strings in a corresponding plurality of regions of a block. The control circuit is configured to apply a read voltage in read operations directed to NAND strings of the plurality of regions of the block and subsequently adjust the read voltage by a first predetermined amount for read operations directed to NAND strings of a first region of the block. The control circuit is further configured to adjust the read voltage by a second predetermined amount for read operations directed to NAND strings of a second region of the block. The first and second predetermined amounts are based on respective locations of the first and second regions in the block.

Abstract: A memory system performs an erase process for the non-volatile memory cells including performing erase verify for the non-volatile memory cells. The erase verify comprises comparing threshold voltages of the non-volatile memory cells to an erase verify reference voltage and determining whether an amount of the non-volatile memory cells having a threshold voltage greater than the erase verify reference voltage is less than an allowed bit count. During the erase process, the system compares threshold voltages of the non-volatile memory cells to an intermediate reference voltage that is greater than the erase verify reference voltage and determines an amount of non-volatile memory cells having threshold voltages greater than the intermediate reference voltage. The Allowed Bit Count is increased (during the erase process) by the amount of non-volatile memory cells having threshold voltages greater than the intermediate reference voltage.

Abstract: To remedy short term data retention issues, a system creates a gate to channel voltage differential for non-volatile memory cells between programming and verifying in order to accelerate the effects of the short term data retention issue. That is, the gate to channel voltage differential will accelerate the migrating of electrons out of shallow traps. In some embodiments, the gate to channel voltage differential comprises a higher voltage at the channel in comparison to the gate. In some embodiments, the programming comprises applying doses of a programming signal and the gate to channel voltage differential is only created for a subset of the time periods between doses of the programming signal.

Abstract: In order to decrease the width of threshold voltage distributions of programmed memory cells without unreasonably increasing the time needed to complete programming, a non-volatile memory uses a zone based program speed adjustment. The non-volatile memory starts programming a first set of the non-volatile memory cells until a minimum number of memory cells of the first set of non-volatile memory cells reach a first threshold voltage. In response to the minimum number of memory cells reaching the first threshold voltage, the first set of non-volatile memory cells are categorized into zones/groups based on threshold voltage. The speed of programming is then adjusted differently for each zone/group and programming is completed for the first set of non-volatile memory cells.

Abstract: A system has been described that performs differential temperature compensation based on a differential between the temperature at time of programming and temperature at time of reading for a set of data. Differential temperature compensation is useful for bulk programming/reading (e.g., many pages of data) and/or programming/reading super pages of data (multiple pages residing on different memory die).

Abstract: An erase process for a group of non-volatile memory cells comprises applying doses of erasing to the group and performing erase verify between pairs of successive doses of erasing. The time needed to complete the erase process can be reduced by optimizing the order of performing erase verify. For example, erase verify can be performed by separately performing erase verify for multiple portions of the group in order from previously determined slowest erasing portion of the group to previously determined fastest erasing portion of the group, and aborting the performing of erase verify prior to completion of erase verify for all of the portions of the group in response to a number erase errors exceeding a limit.

Abstract: A method for performing a programming operation with respect to a memory structure. The method comprises: (1) initiating a programming operation with respect to multiple program states of a non-volatile memory structure; (2) programming each of the multiple program states according to a programming order; and (3) after completing the programming of each of the multiple program states, programming an erase state as the final program state of the programming order.

Abstract: This application provides a spherical image processing method which includes: obtaining a spherical image and determining a sphere center of the spherical image; determining a viewpoint of a user when the user views the spherical image, where the viewpoint is located at any point, other than the sphere center, in a sphere space surrounded by the spherical image; determining a pixel expansion region and a pixel shrinkage region on the spherical image based on the sphere center and the viewpoint; and performing an image processing operation on the spherical image, where the image processing operation comprises a pixel expansion processing operation on an image in the pixel expansion region, and a pixel shrinkage processing operation on an image in the pixel shrinkage region.

Abstract: A storage device is disclosed. The storage device is configured to: determine data states for a first set of memory cells of a first neighboring word line of the and a second set of memory cells of a second neighboring word line, the first and the second neighboring word lines being adjacent to a selected word line; identify a zone of a plurality of zones for each data state combination of the data states, each data state combination comprising a data state of a memory cell of the first set of memory cells and a data state of a memory cell of the second set of memory cells, each zone of the plurality of zones corresponding to a bit line clamping voltage; and perform a read operation on the selected word line including applying each bit line clamping voltage corresponding to any zones identified.

Abstract: This application provides a picture encoding method and apparatus, and a picture decoding method and apparatus. The picture encoding method in this application includes: determining a reference frame number of a current picture based on channel feedback information, where the channel feedback information indicates information about a picture frame received by a decoder side; obtaining a first reference layer number set of a first picture frame corresponding to the reference frame number, where the first reference layer number set includes layer numbers of N1 layers, 1?N1<L1, and L1 indicates a total quantity of layers of the first picture frame; determining a reference layer number of the current picture based on the channel feedback information and the first reference layer number set; and performing video encoding on the current picture based on the reference frame number and the reference layer number to obtain a bitstream.

Abstract: A semiconductor structure comprises a plurality of gate structures alternately stacked with a plurality of channel layers, and a plurality of spacers disposed on lateral sides of the plurality of gate structures. The respective ones of the plurality of spacers comprise a profile having a first portion comprising a first shape and a second portion comprising a second shape, wherein the first shape is different from the second shape.

Abstract: A non-volatile memory system detects a memory operation failure. In response to the memory operation failure, the system determines whether adjusting an overdrive voltage applied to a word line avoids the memory operation failure. If adjusting the overdrive voltage applied to the word line avoids the memory operation failure, then future memory operations are performed by applying the adjusted overdrive voltage to the word line.

Abstract: The technology of this application relates to an encoding method, an encapsulation method, a display method, an apparatus, and an electronic device. The encoding method includes obtaining a to-be-encoded image, determining N encoding scales (N is an integer greater than 1) for the image, determining an encoding parameter corresponding to each of the N encoding scales, to obtain N groups of encoding parameters, and encoding the image N times by using a preset single-scale encoder based on the N groups of encoding parameters to obtain N groups of bitstream data. In this way, the image is encoded to obtain the bitstream data with a small data amount (namely, the bitstream data with a low encoding scale), so that when a network fluctuates, the bitstream data corresponding to the image can arrive at a decoder side with a higher probability, thereby ensuring smoothness of video playing.

Abstract: Technology is disclosed herein for a memory system that includes control circuits that are configured to connect to a three-dimensional memory structure. The memory structure includes NAND strings arranged in a plurality of rows, a plurality of bit lines connected to the NAND strings and a plurality of word lines, each word line coupled to the plurality of rows of NAND strings. The control circuits are configured to, in a program-verify operation, sense memory cells of a first row of NAND strings coupled to the selected word line for a first sense time and sense memory cells of a second row of NAND strings coupled to the selected word line for a second sense time while applying a program-verify voltage to the selected word line.

Abstract: This application provides an image encoding and decoding method and apparatus. The method may include: reading a first sub-image of a first frame of image from a first memory, and storing the first sub-image into a second memory, where the first memory is an off-chip memory, and the second memory is an on-chip memory; encoding a base layer of the first sub-image based on the first sub-image, to obtain a bitstream of the base layer of the first sub-image and a first reconstructed image; writing the first reconstructed image into the second memory; reading the first reconstructed image and the first sub-image from the second memory; and encoding a first enhancement layer of the first sub-image based on the first reconstructed image and the first sub-image, to obtain a bitstream of the first enhancement layer of the first sub-image and a second reconstructed image.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided that includes a block of memory cells, and a control circuit coupled to the block of memory cells. The control circuit is configured to perform an erase operation on the block of memory cells by determining a count of a number of times that the block of memory cells previously has been programmed and erased, determining an erase voltage based on the count, and applying an erase pulse having the erase voltage to the block of memory cells.

Abstract: In a non-volatile memory, to achieve a shallow and tight erased threshold voltage distribution, a process is performed that includes erasing a group of non-volatile memory cells, identifying a first set of the bit lines that are connected to non-volatile memory cells of the group that are erased past a lower limit for erased non-volatile memory cells and identifying a second set of the bit lines that are connected to non-volatile memory cells of the group that are not erased past the lower limit for erased non-volatile memory cells, and applying programming to non-volatile memory cells connected to the first set of bit lines while inhibiting programming for non-volatile memory cells connected to the second set of bit lines.

Abstract: A memory system identifies memory cells connected to a common word line that have had their threshold voltage unintentionally drift lower than programmed by determining whether memory cells meet two criteria: (1) the memory cells have threshold voltages within an offset of a read compare voltage of a data state; and (2) adjacent memory cells (connected to word lines that are adjacent to the common word line) are in one or more low data states. For those memory cells meeting the two criteria, the memory system performs some amount of programming on the memory cells to refresh the data stored in those memory cells to be as originally intended.

Abstract: Technology is disclosed herein for a memory system that compensates for different programming speeds in two sets of memory cells when reading those two sets of memory cells. The memory system programs a group of the memory cells to one or more data states. In one aspect, the memory cells are not verified during programming. The group has a first set of memory cells that program at a first speed and a second set of memory cells that program at a second speed. The memory system reads the first set of the memory cells with a first set of read parameters and reads the second set of the memory cells with a second set of read parameters. The first set of read parameters are different from the second set of read parameters to compensate for the different programming speeds.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a control circuit configured to connect to memory cells connected in series in NAND strings. Each NAND string includes a plurality of data memory cells coupled to a plurality of data word lines in series with a plurality of dummy memory cells connected to a plurality of dummy word lines. The control circuit configured to apply a first dummy word line voltage to one or more dummy word lines of the plurality of dummy word lines in a verify step of a program operation to program data memory cells. The control circuit is configured to apply a second dummy word line voltage to the one or more dummy word lines in a read operation to read the data memory cells.