Apparatus and method for handling temperature dependent failures in a memory device

A method for managing temperature dependent failures in a memory device, the method comprising:

• detecting an erase failure of a memory block of the memory device;
• if a temperature of the memory device does not exceed a threshold temperature, marking the memory block as a grown bad block;
• if the temperature exceeds the threshold temperature, determining whether cell voltages of memory cells of the memory block exceed a first threshold cell voltage;
• if the cell voltages exceed the first threshold cell voltage, marking the memory block as a potential grown bad block;
• if the cell voltages memory do not exceed the first threshold cell voltage, determining whether a number of the cell voltages exceed a second threshold cell voltage;
• if the number of the cell voltages do not exceed the second threshold cell voltage, programming the memory block;
• and
• if the number of the cell voltages exceed the second threshold cell voltage, marking the memory block for error correction and programming the memory block.

A memory device, comprising:

• a memory including a plurality of memory cells;
• and
• means to detect an erase failure of a memory block of the memory, including:
• means to mark the memory block as a grown bad block, if a temperature of the memory device does not exceed a threshold temperature;
• means to determine whether cell voltages of memory cells of the memory block exceed a first threshold cell voltage, if the temperature exceeds the threshold temperature;
• means to mark the memory block as a potential grown bad block, if the cell voltages exceed the first threshold cell voltage;
• means to determine whether a number of the cell voltages exceed a second threshold cell voltage, if the cell voltages do not exceed the first threshold cell voltage;
• means to program the memory block, if the number of the cell voltages do not exceed the second threshold cell voltage;
• and
• means to mark the memory block for error correction and program the memory block, if the number of the cell voltages exceed the second threshold cell voltage.