# US 2026/0064589 A1 · Storage device and operating method thereof

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- Number: US 2026/0064589 A1
- Document ID: US20260064589A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 19/301,420
- Filed: 2025-08-15
- Published: 2026-03-05
- Earliest claimed: 2024-08-29
- Assignees: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Kyungduk LEE; Youhwan KIM; Jooyong PARK; Hoseong AHN
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20260064589A1

## CPC

- G06F 12/0246: {in block erasable memory, e.g. flash memory}
- G06F 3/0616: {in relation to life time, e.g. increasing Mean Time Between Failures [MTBF]}
- G06F 3/0659: {Command handling arrangements, e.g. command buffers, queues, command scheduling}
- G06F 3/0679: {Non-volatile semiconductor memory device, e.g. flash memory, one time programmable memory [OTP]}
- G11C 16/0483: {comprising cells having several storage transistors connected in series}
- G11C 16/08: Address circuits; Decoders; Word-line control circuits
- G11C 16/16: for erasing blocks, e.g. arrays, words, groups
- G11C 16/3427: {Circuits or methods to prevent or reduce disturbance of the state of a memory cell when neighbouring cells are read or written}
- G11C 16/349: {Arrangements for evaluating degradation, retention or wearout, e.g. by counting erase cycles}
- G11C 16/3495: {Circuits or methods to detect or delay wearout of nonvolatile EPROM or EEPROM memory devices, e.g. by counting numbers of erase or reprogram cycles, by using multiple memory areas serially or cyclically}
- G06F 2212/1032: Reliability improvement, data loss prevention, degraded operation etc
- G06F 2212/7205: Cleaning, compaction, garbage collection, erase control
- G06F 2212/7211: Wear leveling
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G11C: STATIC STORES (semiconductor memory devices H10B)

## Abstract

Disclosed is a storage device which includes a nonvolatile memory device that includes a plurality of memory blocks and stores or reads data, and a controller that controls the nonvolatile memory device and executes a data input/output request provided from a host. Each of the plurality of memory blocks includes a first sub-block and a second sub-block, and the controller determines whether data of the second sub-block are degraded, based on the number of times of an operation performed in the first sub-block.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A storage device comprising:
a nonvolatile memory device including a plurality of memory blocks, the nonvolatile memory device configured to store and read data; and
a controller configured to control the nonvolatile memory device and to execute a data input request and a data output based on requests provided from a host,
wherein each of the plurality of memory blocks includes at least a first sub-block and a second sub-block, and
the controller is configured to determine whether data of the second sub-block are degraded, the determination based on a number of times an operation is performed in the first sub-block.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The storage device of claim 1, wherein the operation includes at least one of a program operation, an erase operation, a read operation, or a combination thereof.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The storage device of claim 2, wherein the operation includes a dummy code program operation and the program operation, and
the controller is configured to record a number of the dummy code program operations separate from a number of the program operations.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The storage device of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to count the number of times the operation is performed in the first sub-block, and
wherein the count is based on the number of times the operation causes a change in data of the first sub-block.

### Claim 5 (depends on 2)

The storage device of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to count the number of times the operation is performed in a super block, the super block including first sub-, and
wherein the count is based on the number of times the operation causes a change in data of the first sub-block.

### Claim 6 (depends on 2)

The storage device of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to determine whether the data of the second sub-block are degraded, based on a result of applying different weights to the number program operations, the number of the erase operations, and the number of the read operations, respectively.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The storage device of claim 6, wherein the weights of the number of the program operations and the number of the erase operations are set to be higher than the weight of the number of the read operations.

### Claim 8 (depends on 2)

The storage device of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to record a number of special operations,
the number of the special operations is distinguished from the number of the program operations, the erase operations, and the read operations, and
the special operations include at least one of sanitize based on a nonvolatile memory express (NVMe), a purge operation on a Replay Protection Memory Block (RPMB) based on a universal flash storage (UFS), a secure erase operation, or a combination thereof.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The storage device of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of memory blocks further includes a third sub-block sharing a bit line with the first sub-block and the second sub-block,
wherein the first sub-block is adjacent to the second sub-block, the second sub-block is adjacent to the third sub-block, and the third sub-block is not adjacent to the first sub-block, and
wherein the controller is configured to determine whether data of the third sub-block are degraded, based on the number of times the operation is performed in the first sub-block.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The storage device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to store the number of times the operation is performed in the first sub-block in a disturb table such that the disturb table corresponds to an address of the first sub-block.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The storage device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to store the number of times the operation is performed in the first sub-block in a disturb table such that the disturb table corresponds to an address of the second sub-block.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The storage device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to perform a read operation of the second sub-block, based on a result of comparing the number of times the operation is performed in the first sub-block to a preset condition.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The storage device of claim 12, wherein
the operation includes at least one of a program operation, an erase operation, a read operation, or a combination thereof, and
the controller is configured to store the number of the program operations and the number of the erase operations in a table during a performance of the operation on the first sub-block such that the number of the program operations and the number of the erase operations are distinguished from each other.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The storage device of claim 13, wherein the controller is configured to:
perform a read operation of a least significant bit (LSB) page of the second sub-block based on a result of comparing the number the program operation to a first threshold value; and
perform a read operation of a most significant bit (MSB) page of the second sub-block based on a result of comparing the number the erase operation to a second threshold value.

### Claim 15 (depends on 12)

The storage device of claim 12, wherein the controller is configured to:
perform a read operation of a least significant bit (LSB) page of the second sub-block based on a determination a first condition has been met; and
perform a read operation of a most significant bit (MSB) page of the second sub-block based on a determination a second condition, different from the first condition, has been met.

### Claim 16 (depends on 1)

The storage device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to perform a read operation of blocks based on a result of comparing the number of the operation performed in one of the first sub-blocks to a preset threshold value,
the blocks sharing a voltage provided to a word line of the one first sub-block.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The storage device of claim 16, wherein the controller is configured to determine whether data of a first block, sharing the voltage to be provided to the word line of the one first sub-block, are degraded based on the operation performed in the one first sub-block, and
wherein the one first sub-block is separate from the first block.

### Claim 18 (depends on 1)

The storage device of claim 1, wherein each of the memory blocks is divided in units of sub-block in an erase operation,
wherein the storage device further comprises a row decoder configured to select a sub-block targeted for the erase operation.

### Claim 19

A storage device comprising:
a memory device including a plurality of memory blocks; and
a controller configured to control the memory device,
wherein each of the plurality of memory blocks includes a plurality of sub-blocks, and
wherein the controller is configured to determine whether data of a sub-block, from among the plurality of sub-blocks, are degraded based on a number of times an operation is performed on another sub-block from among the plurality of sub-blocks.

### Claim 20

An operating method of a storage device, comprising:
checking an operation requested to be performed in a first sub-block;
changing, when the operation is one of preset operations, a value, representing a number of times the operation is performed in associated with the first sub-block, in a table; and
determining whether data of a second sub-block are degraded based on the number of times the operation associated with the first sub-block is performed,
wherein the first sub-block and the second sub-block are separate sub-blocks included in a same block.