Memory repair system and method therefor

A method of accessing a memory system having a main memory array, a redundant memory array, and a content addressable memory (CAM), comprising:

• determining if an access address for a memory operation matches an entry of the CAM wherein each entry of the CAM comprises a plurality of column address bits and a plurality of maskable row address bits;
• when the access address results in a match in the CAM, accessing the redundant array to perform the memory operation;
• and
• when the access address does not match any entry in the CAM, accessing only the main memory array to perform the memory operation.

A memory system, comprising:

• a main memory array;
• a redundant memory array;
• and
• a content addressable memory (CAM) including a plurality of entries, wherein each entry includes a plurality of binary CAM cells configured to store column address bits and a plurality of ternary CAM cells configured to store row address bits, wherein when an access address for a memory operation matches an entry of the CAM, the memory system is configured to access the redundant memory array to perform the memory operation.