This present application claims the benefit of priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202111270751.1, filed on Oct. 29, 2021, entitled “Memory Structure and Memory Device”, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to the technical field of integrated circuit manufacturing, and in particular, to a memory with higher reliability.
As integrated circuit manufacturing process dimensions continue to shrink, especially when new processes are developed at an early stage, the yield improvement of memory products faces great challenges. How to effectively improve the yield of memory products and the repair success rate for the reliability of memory chips has become an important area in the field of memory manufacturing.
It should be noted that the information disclosed in the above background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore should not form the prior art.
The present disclosure provides a memory structure and a memory improving yield, reliability, and repair success rate of the memory.
According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, a memory structure is provided, comprising a plurality of memory arrays arranged in parallel along a first direction and a sensitivity amplifier array extending along the second direction arranged between every two memory arrays, wherein the sensitivity amplifier array includes an odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier array and an even-numbered sensitivity amplifier array, the odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier array and the even-numbered sensitivity amplifier array are alternating along a first direction, the odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier arrays connect to the odd-numbered global signal lines, and the even-numbered sensitivity amplifier arrays connect to the even-numbered global signal lines; a spare memory array, arranged on one side of the memory arrays at the edge in the first direction, wherein a first sensitivity amplifier array is disposed between the spare memory array and the memory arrays at the edge, and wherein the first sensitivity amplifier array is connected to both the odd-numbered global signal lines and the even-numbered global signal lines.
According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a memory device is provided including the memory structures described above.
According to the present disclosure, by arranging a spare memory array and a first sensitivity amplifier array located at the edge of the memory array and connecting the first sensitivity amplifier array to both the odd-numbered global signal lines and the even-numbered global signal lines simultaneously, when damage occurs on the memory array or the sensitivity amplifier array, the first sensitivity amplifier array and the spare memory array can automatically be used for replacement, thereby improving the reliability of the memory product and the success rate of the factory test, improving the yield of the product, and reducing the production cost and use cost of memory products.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not limiting of the present disclosure.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and for those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can also be obtained from these drawings without any creative effort.
Implementations of the present disclosure are illustrated below through specific embodiments. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and efficacy of the present disclosure according to the content disclosed in this specification. The present disclosure can also be implemented or applied through other different specific implementations. Various modifications or variations can also be made on details in this specification based on different opinions and applications without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.
It should be noted that, the figures provided in this embodiment merely illustrate the basic conception of the present disclosure schematically. Therefore, the figures only show components related to the present disclosure, and are not drawn according to the quantity, shapes and sizes of components during actual implementation. The pattern, quantity and ratio of components during actual implementation can be changed arbitrarily, and the component layout may also be more complex.
The present disclosure effectively overcomes various disadvantages in the prior arts and hence has high industrial usage value. The foregoing embodiments only illustrate the principle and efficacy of the present disclosure exemplarily, and are not meant to limit variations of the technique. Any person skilled in the art can make modifications on the foregoing embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, all equivalent modifications or variations completed by those with ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and technical thinking disclosed by the present disclosure should fall within the scope of claims of the present disclosure.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the example embodiments can be implemented in various forms, and should not be construed as being limited to the examples set forth herein; on the contrary, the provision of these embodiments makes the present disclosure more comprehensive and complete, and fully conveys the concept of the example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The drawings are only schematic illustrations of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. The same reference numerals in the figures denote the same or similar parts, and thus their repeated description will be omitted.
Furthermore, the described features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. In the following description, many specific details are provided to give a sufficient understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will realize that the technical solutions of the present disclosure can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or other methods, components, devices, steps, etc. can be used. In other cases, well-known structures, methods, devices, implementations, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid overwhelming attention and obscure all aspects of the present disclosure.
In addition, the terms “first” and “second” are only used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with “first” and “second” may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of these features.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Example embodiments, however, can be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the examples set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of example embodiments to those skilled in the art. The described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided in order to give a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the technical solutions of the present disclosure may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or other methods, components, devices, steps, etc. may be employed. In other instances, well-known solutions have not been shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the present disclosure.
In addition, the drawings are merely schematic illustrations of the present disclosure, and the same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar parts, and thus their repeated descriptions will be omitted. Some of the block diagrams shown in the figures are functional entities, which do not necessarily correspond to physically or logically separate entities. These functional entities may be implemented in software, or in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different networks and/or processor devices and/or microcontroller devices.
The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The spare memory array 14 is arranged on one side of the memory array 11 located at the edge in the first direction. A first sensitivity amplifier array 15 is arranged between the spare memory array 14 and the memory array 11 located at the edge. Both odd-numbered global signal lines and even-numbered global signal line are connected. Since the odd-numbered global signal lines and the even-numbered global signal line are simultaneously connected, the first sensitivity amplifier array 15 can simultaneously control the spare memory array 14 and the memory array 11 located at the edge. When it is detected that any memory array 11 is faulty, the first sensitivity amplifier array 15 can be controlled to read and write to the spare memory array 14, so as to realize the replacement of the faulty memory array. When any odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 12 or even-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 13 is detected to be faulty, the first sensitivity amplifier array 15 can be used to replace the faulty sensitivity amplifier array.
Since the sensitivity amplifier array reads and writes half of the memory array, in one embodiment, two spare memory arrays 14 and two first sensitivity amplifier arrays 14 can be used to implement replacement of a failed memory array or a failed sensitivity amplifier array.
Referring to
In practical applications, the structure shown in
It can be determined that the memory array is faulty according to the detection result of the memory array detection circuit. For example, when a memory product is detected, the faulty memory array can be determined according to the memory array failure message generated by the detection; or, during the use of the memory product, it can be triggered in various ways (for example, timing or each power-on startup, etc.) to detect memory arrays to determine memory array failures.
Since a memory array usually has multiple memory sub-arrays (blocks), and each memory sub-array usually has multiple memory cells (cells), it can be determined how many memory cells or how many memory sub-arrays according to the general settings of the product, when there is a failure (e.g. 30% failure), the memory array is determined to be faulty. The embodiment of the present disclosure does not limit the specific trigger logic for judging the memory failure.
There can be one or more failed memory arrays. When the number of the failed memory arrays is less than half the number of the spare memory arrays, the spare memory arrays can be used to replace the failed memory arrays. When the number of failed memory arrays is more than or equal to one-half the number of spare memory arrays, the location of the failed memory array can be critical (e.g., middle or edge) or damaged (e.g., what percentage of memory cells or memory sub-array failure), determine which failed memory arrays to replace with spare memory arrays.
In order to further illustrate the replacement functions of the spare memory array 14 and the first sensitivity amplifier array 15 in the present disclosure, the connection relationship of the data lines in the exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure is described below with reference to
Referring to
Each odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier sub-arrays 121 is electrically connected to a plurality of odd-numbered global signal lines through an odd-numbered read-write conversion circuit, and all odd-numbered read-write conversion circuits corresponding to an odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 12 constitute an odd-numbered read-write conversion circuit array 16; each even-numbered sensitivity amplifier sub-arrays 131 are electrically connected to a plurality of even-numbered global signal line through an even-numbered read-write conversion circuit, and all even-numbered read-write conversion circuits corresponding to one even-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 13 constitute an even-numbered read-write conversion array 17.
The spare memory array 14 includes a plurality of first spare memory sub-arrays 141, the first sensitivity amplifier array 15 includes a plurality of first sensitivity amplifier sub-arrays 151, and each first spare memory sub-array 141 corresponds to a first sensitivity amplifier sub-array 151. Each first sensitivity amplifier sub-array 151 is electrically connected to both the odd-numbered global signal line and the even-numbered global signal line through a spare read-write conversion circuit, and the spare read-write conversion circuit corresponding to the first sensitivity amplifier array 15 forms a spare read-write conversion array 18. It can be understood that the odd-numbered read-write conversion array 16 is connected to the odd-numbered read control signal line and the odd-numbered write control signal line, and the even-numbered read-write conversion array 17 is connected to the even-numbered read control signal line and the even-numbered write control signal line. The spare read-write conversion array 18 is simultaneously connected to odd-numbered read control signal lines, odd-numbered write control signal lines, even-numbered read control signal lines, and even-numbered write control signal lines, each of which is not shown in the figure.
In
When a WL (Word Line) is selected by the XDEC line decoder and control circuit 41, the data of the corresponding memory array 11 is transmitted to the odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 12 and the even-numbered sensitive amplifier array 12 located on both sides of the memory array. The amplifier array 13 is amplified by the odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 12 and the even-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 13, and then written back to the memory cells connected to the selected WL. When the data needs to be changed or rewritten, the column decoding circuit 42 selects the corresponding sensitivity amplifier, and the data is transmitted from a set of YIO&YIO #global signal lines to a set of Ldat&Ldat #local signal lines through a read-write conversion circuit (lrwap), Write to the sensitivity amplifier and the connected memory unit corresponding to the read-write conversion circuit. When data is read out, the direction of data transmission is reversed. The YDEC column decoding circuit 42 selects the corresponding sensitivity amplifier, and the data is transmitted to a group of Ldat&Ldat #local signal lines, and then transmitted by the read-write conversion circuit (lrwap) connected to the sensitivity amplifier. to a group of YIO&YIO #global signal lines, and finally amplified and output by the SSA in the read amplifying circuit and the write drive circuit 43. When working, YIO&YIO #is a dual-phase paired mode, and the read or write modes are in opposite complementary polarities.
It can be seen that each odd-numbered read-write conversion circuit 161 in
From the perspective of the memory unit, the odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 12 or the even-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 13 includes multiple sensitivity amplifier sub-arrays, and each sensitivity amplifier sub-array controls half of the memory arrays 11 on the left and right sides. The lines of the array are bit lines (BL, Bit Line). It can be known from
Specifically, when a memory array 11 fails, control a first sensitivity amplifier array 15 to perform data exchange with the odd-numbered global signal lines connected to the odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier array corresponding to the faulty memory array, so as to use a spare memory array 14 Realize the replacement of the memory cells of half of the faulty memory arrays; control another first sensitivity amplifier array 15 to perform data exchange with the even-numbered global signal lines connected to the even-numbered sensitivity amplifier arrays corresponding to the faulty memory array, so as to use another spare memory array 14 enables replacement of the memory cells of the other half of the failed memory array.
In addition, the embodiment of the present disclosure can also use the first sensitivity amplifier array 15 and the spare memory array 14 to replace the two memory arrays 11 affected by the faulty sensitivity amplifier array when the sensitivity amplifier array is damaged.
When a sensitivity amplifier array (whether it is an odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 12 or an even-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 13) is damaged, half of the memory cells in the two memory arrays 11 it controls are affected. Therefore, when it is determined that the sensitivity amplifier array is faulty, one spare memory array 14 can be used to replace half of the memory cells in the memory array 11 that cannot function properly due to the faulty sensitivity amplifier, and another spare memory array 14 can be used to replace half of the memory cells that are affected by the faulty sensitivity amplifier. The other half of the memory cells in the memory array 11 in normal operation.
During specific implementation, if a certain whole sensitivity amplifier array is faulty, for example, the odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 12 fails, the sensitivity amplifier s in the array exchange data with the odd-numbered global signal lines, so when replacing them, Half of the two first sensitivity amplifier arrays 15 corresponding to the two spare memory arrays 14 connected to the spare memory array 14 are used as odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier arrays, and carry out data with the odd-numbered global signal lines corresponding to the faulty odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier arrays 12 exchange. Only when it is judged that data exchange with an affected memory array 11 is required through the faulty sensitivity amplifier array, the word line WL is set to select the memory array 11 and a corresponding spare memory array 14, and control the connection of the spare memory array 14. The first sensitivity amplifier array 15 and the odd-numbered global signal line connected to the faulty sensitivity amplifier realize data exchange (the memory array 11 connected to the first sensitivity amplifier 15 is not selected at this time); when exchanging data with another affected memory array 11, set the word line WL to select the memory array 11 and its corresponding other spare memory array 14, and control the first sensitivity amplifier array 15 connected to the spare memory array 14 to be connected with the fault. The odd-numbered global signal lines connected to the sensitivity amplifier s realize data exchange. The connection between the spare memory array 14 and the word line WL is the same as the connection between the memory array 11 and the word line WL.
In the same way, if the even-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 13 fails and is used for replacement, the half of the connection between the two first sensitivity amplifier arrays 15 corresponding to the two spare memory array 14, and the spare memory array 14 also needs to be used as an even-numbered sensitivity amplifier array, and perform data exchange with the even-numbered global signal line corresponding to the faulty even-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 13.
As can be seen from the above description, the first sensitivity amplifier array 15 must support both the functions of being an odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier array and an even-numbered sensitivity amplifier array. Therefore, the control mode of each sensitivity amplifier in the first sensitivity amplifier array 15 needs to be modified, that is, the spare read-write conversion circuit needs to be modified.
Referring to
A pair of signal lines of the spare read-write conversion circuit 181 are connected to a spare sensitivity amplifier sub-array 151. A plurality of spare read-write conversion circuits 181 corresponding to one first sensitivity amplifier array 15 constitute a spare read-write conversion array 18. The spare read-write conversion circuit 181 connects the odd-numbered global signal lines and the even-numbered global signal line at the same time, so that the spare memory array 14 can be controlled to flexibly replace the faulty memory array, or replace the memory array affected by the faulty sensitivity amplifier array.
Referring to
The even-numbered write control circuit 62 is connected to the even-numbered global signal line YIOn, the even-numbered write control signal line Wrn, the complementary local signal line Ldat #, and the local sign line Ldat,
In the embodiment shown in
The even-numbered write control circuit 62 includes a third N-type transistor M3, a fourth N-type transistor M4, and a fifth N-type transistor M5. The first end of the third N-type transistor M3 is connected to the odd-numbered global signal line YIOn+1, and the second end is connected to the local signal line Ldat, the gate is connected to the even-numbered write control signal line Wrn, the drain of the fourth N-type transistor M4 is connected to the local signal line Ldat, the gate of the fourth N-type transistor M4 is connected to the odd-numbered global signal line YIOn+1, and the drain of the fifth N-type transistor M5 is connected to the source of the fourth N-type transistor M4, the gate of the fifth N-type transistor M5 is connected to the even-numbered write control signal line Wrn, and the source of the fifth N-type transistor M5 is grounded.
The odd-numbered read control circuit 63 includes: a sixth N-type transistor M6 and a seventh N-type transistor M7, the drain of the sixth N-type transistor M6 is connected to the even-numbered global signal line YIOn, the gate of the sixth N-type transistor M6 is connected to the local signal line Ldat, and the drain of the seventh N-type transistor M7 is connected to the source of the sixth N-type transistor M6, the gate is connected to the odd-numbered read control signal line Rdn+1, and the source is grounded.
The odd-numbered write control circuit 64 includes an eighth N-type transistor M8, a ninth N-type transistor M9, and a tenth N-type transistor M10. The first end of the eighth N-type transistor M8 is connected to the even-numbered global signal line YIOn, and the second end is connected to The complementary local signal line Ldat #, the gate is connected to the odd-numbered write control signal line Wrn+1, the drain of the ninth N-type transistor M9 is connected to the complementary local signal line Ldat #, the gate is connected to the even-numbered global signal line YIOn, the tenth N The drain of the type transistor M10 is connected to the source of the ninth N-type transistor M9, the gate is connected to the odd-numbered write control signal line Wrn+1, and the source is grounded.
When the circuit is in an even-numbered read state, after pre-charging the even-numbered global signal line YIOn (the pre-charging circuit of the signal line YIO is not shown), the even-numbered read control signal line Rdn enables the second N-type transistor M2 on, when the complementary local signal line Ldat #is at a high potential and the local signal line Ldat is at a low potential, the first N-type transistor M1 is turned on, and the local signal line Ldat is transmitted to the even-numbered voltage through the ground voltage connected by the second N-type transistor M2. In the bit global signal line YIOn, the voltage of the even-numbered global signal line YIOn becomes a low level, and at this time, the even-numbered global signal line YIOn reads out the data on the local signal line Ldat. When the complementary local signal line Ldat #is at a low level and the local signal line Ldat is at a high level, the first N-type transistor M1 is turned off, and the ground voltage connected to the second N-type transistor M2 cannot be transmitted to the even-numbered global signal line YIOn, the even-numbered global signal line YIOn maintains the high potential after pre-charging, and at this time, the even-numbered global signal line YIOn reads out the data on the local signal line Ldat. When the circuit is in the write state of the even bits, the even-numbered write control signal Wrn enables the third N-type transistor M3 and the fifth N-type transistor M5. At this time, if the even-numbered global signal line YIOn is at a high level, the fourth N-type transistor M3 and the fifth N-type transistor M5 are enabled by the even-numbered write control signal Wrn. The N-type transistor M4 is turned on, the complementary local signal line Ldat #becomes a low potential, and the local signal line Ldat maintains the pre-charged high potential. If the even-numbered global signal line YIOn is at a low potential, the fourth N-type transistor M4 is turned off, and the complementary local signal line is turned off. The signal line Ldat #becomes a high potential after precharging, and the local signal line Ldat becomes a low potential. The reading and writing principles of odd-numbered bits are the same, and are not repeated here. It can be seen from the above that after receiving different read-write control signals, the spare read-write conversion circuit can read and write even-numbered or odd-numbered bits, so as to write signals of odd-numbered or even-numbered bits according to different read-write control signals. The spare memory array or read from the spare memory array.
Referring to
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the precharge circuit 71 is provided, and before writing, the first P-type transistor M11 and the second P-type transistor M12 are enabled by outputting the precharge control signal Pre, so as to provide a signal to the complementary local signal line Ldat #Precharge with local signal line Ldat.
By pulling up the complementary local signal line Ldat #and the local signal line Ldat, the threshold loss of signal transmission can also be avoided, so that the effect of signal transmission is better.
Referring to
In the embodiment shown in
The read/write auxiliary circuit 81 can amplify the complementary local signal line Ldat #and the local signal line Ldat when the enable signal En is in the enable state, so that the signal transmission effect is better.
When the memory array fails, the spare memory array 14 and the first sensitivity amplifier array 15 are automatically used to replace the failed memory array, and when the sensitivity amplifier array fails, the spare memory array 14 and the first sensitivity amplifier array 15 are automatically used to replace the failed sensitive amplifier. The two memory arrays affected by the amplifier can not only effectively improve the reliability of memory products, but also improve the test success rate and yield rate of memory products, thereby reducing production costs.
Referring to
Meanwhile, the spare memory array 14 also includes a second spare memory sub-array 91, the second spare memory sub-array 91 is provided with a corresponding spare first sensitivity amplifier sub-array 93 located in the first sensitivity amplifier array 15, and the spare first sensitivity amplifier sub-array 93 is simultaneously connected to the spare odd-numbered global signal lines and the spare even-numbered global signal line through the spare read-write conversion array 18.
In the embodiment shown in
Referring to
In the peripheral circuit, when data needs to be written to a row of memory sub-arrays B including the faulty memory sub-arrays, a row of second spare memory sub-arrays A in all memory arrays 11 can be read and written to replace the faulty memory sub-arrays. The column where it is located stores sub-array B. When reading, it is necessary to control to output the YIO data read out from a column of the second spare memory sub-array A to a position corresponding to the replaced column of memory sub-arrays.
The replacement function of column A to column B can perform the entire replacement of column A to column B, or a partial replacement. For example, when accessing one memory array, use the second spare memory sub-array in column A to replace the failed memory sub-array in column B; when accessing another memory array, use the second spare memory sub-array in column A to replace failed memory sub-array in column C.
Referring to
Each sensitivity amplifier data writing circuit 1021 is connected to an odd-numbered global signal line 104 or an even-numbered signal line 105 and is connected to a data selector 103. The other end of the data selector 103 is connected to the data bus 110, and is controlled by the control logic and the column block repair logic. The data writing circuit 1021 of the sensitivity amplifier writes to the odd-numbered global signal line 104 or even-numbered global signal line 105.
The memory circuit 1000 is divided into a plurality of column blocks in the second direction, each block includes a memory sub-array and a sensitivity amplifier sub-array located in the same column, for example, the column blocks 10B, 10C, 10D, all column blocks connected to four odd-numbered global signal lines 104 and four even-numbered global signal line 105, that is, 8-bit data can be transmitted. Specifically, an odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier sub-array is connected to four odd-numbered global signal lines through four read-write conversion circuits, and an even-numbered sensitivity amplifier sub-array is connected to four even-numbered global signal line through four read-write conversion circuits. The number of odd-numbered global signal lines 104 and even-numbered global signal line 105 connected in each column block area may vary according to the memory capacity or memory processing capability of the memory array, and the present disclosure is not limited thereto.
The odd-numbered global signal line 104 is electrically connected to the odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 12 through the odd-numbered connection point 106 (specifically, the odd-numbered global signal line 104 is connected to the odd numbered sensitivity amplifier sub-arrays 121 shown in
The spare column block area A includes a plurality of second spare memory sub-arrays and spare sensitivity amplifier sub-arrays located in the same column. In some embodiments, when the spare memory array and the first sensitivity amplifier array are enabled, the spare column block area 10A included are a first spare memory sub-array in the spare memory array and a spare first sensitivity amplifier sub-array in the first sensitivity amplifier array. The spare sensitivity amplifier sub-arrays located in the odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 12 are all electrically connected to the same four spare odd-numbered global signal lines 108, and the spare sensitivity amplifier sub-arrays located in the even-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 13 are electrically connected to the same four. The spare even-numbered global signal line 109 and the spare first sensitivity amplifier sub-array are electrically connected to the four spare odd-numbered global signal lines 108 and the four spare even-numbered global signal line 109 at the same time. The spare column block area 10A is connected to four spare odd-numbered global signal lines 108 and four even-numbered global signal line 109 in total, that is, 8 bits of data can be transmitted. The number of odd-numbered global signal lines 108 and even-numbered global signal line 109 connected in the spare column block area 10A may vary according to the memory capacity or memory processing capability of the memory array, which is the same as the column block areas 10B, 10C, and 10D. It can be known that, in some embodiments, the number of rank blocks may be 16 (excluding the spare rank block A). The connection mode of the spare odd-numbered global signal line 108 or spare even-numbered global signal line 109 and the spare sensitivity amplifier sub-array (the position where the dotted line box intersects the odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 12 or the even-numbered sensitivity amplifier array 13 in
The relative positions and numbers of the spare column block areas 10A are only examples. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, the spare column block areas 10A may also be located at other positions, and the number may also be equal to or more than two.
When any one of the column block regions 10B, 10C, 10D is damaged (e.g., the number of inoperable memory sub-arrays and/or sensitivity amplifier sub-arrays exceeds a preset threshold), the spare column block region 10A can be used for the damaged column in the block area 10B, 10C, or 10D is replaced by the entire column. During specific execution, the data selector 103 is set by the column block area replacement logic, so that the data corresponding to the damaged column block area 10B, 10C or 10D is transmitted to the spare column block area 10A, and then the data selector 103 is changed by the control logic to perform data output control. The column block area or the spare column block area can be enabled through a column select signal (CSL, column select) corresponding to each column.
Similarly, when any one of the memory array 11, the odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier 12, and the even-numbered sensitivity amplifier 13 is damaged, the spare memory array 14 and the first sensitivity amplifier array 15 can be used for replacement, thereby realizing the replacement in the row direction. In one embodiment, row block repair logic can be used to control the enabling of the memory array 11, the odd-numbered sensitivity amplifier 12, the even-numbered sensitivity amplifier 13, the spare memory array 14, and the first sensitivity amplifier array 15, or disabled so that the data is transferred correctly to the memory array or to a spare memory array.
Through the memory structure provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure, whether it is a large-area manufacturing error related to a column or a row, it can be repaired by replacing the entire block together, thereby improving the repair capability and chip reliability. Yield rate, success rate, especially for the early research and development of new processes is more effective.
According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a memory including the memory structure of any preceding item.
It should be noted that although several modules or units of the apparatus for action performance are mentioned in the above detailed description, this division is not mandatory. Indeed, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, the features and functions of two or more modules or units described above may be embodied in one module or unit. Conversely, the features and functions of one module or unit described above may be further divided into multiple modules or units to be embodied.
Other embodiments of the present disclosure will readily occur to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present disclosure that follow the general principles of the present disclosure and include common knowledge or techniques in the technical field not disclosed by the present disclosure. The specification and examples are to be regarded as exemplary only, with the true scope and spirit of the disclosure being indicated by the claims.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, by arranging a spare memory array and a first sensitivity amplifier array beside the memory array, and simultaneously connecting the first sensitivity amplifier array to the odd-numbered global signal lines and the even-numbered global signal line, when damage of the memory array or the sensitivity amplifier array occurs, the first sensitivity amplifier array and the spare memory array are automatically used for replacement, thereby improving the reliability of the memory product and the success rate of the factory test, improving the yield of the product, and reducing the production cost and use cost of the memory product.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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202111270751.1 | Oct 2021 | CN | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/CN2022/092551 | 5/12/2022 | WO |