Method and apparatuses for customizable error correction of memory

A data processing device, comprising:

• a processing unit having at least one processor core;
• and
• system memory coupled to the processing unit, the system memory having an integrated circuit device comprising
• a memory array to store data;
• an analog to digital sense unit coupled to the memory array, the analog to digital sense unit to sense analog signals associated with the memory array and to convert the analog signals into distributions of digital values;
• an error-correcting code (ECC) unit coupled to the analog to digital sense unit, the ECC unit to receive the distributions of digital values from the analog to digital sense unit and to obtain error probability data having error probability values associated with the distributions of digital values;
• and
• a configurable non-volatile look-up table coupled to the ECC unit, the configurable non-volatile look-up table to generate ECC parameters including the error probability data and provide the ECC parameters to the ECC unit for error correction, wherein the configurable non-volatile look-up table updates error probability data based on the distributions of digital values with error probability values being based on a distance of a digital value in the distribution from a reference level.

A data processing device, comprising:

• a processing unit having at least one processor core;
• and
• system memory coupled to the processing unit, the system memory having an integrated circuit device comprising
• a memory array to store data;
• an analog to digital sense unit coupled to the memory array, the analog to digital sense unit to sense analog signals associated with the memory array and to convert the analog signals into distributions of digital values;
• an error-correcting code (ECC) unit coupled to the analog to digital sense unit, the ECC unit to receive the distributions of digital values from the analog to digital sense unit and to obtain error probability data having error probability values associated with the distributions of digital values;
• and
• a configurable non-volatile look-up table coupled to the ECC unit, the configurable non-volatile look-up table to generate ECC parameters including the error probability data and provide the ECC parameters to the ECC unit for error correction, wherein the non-volatile look-up table is configured to receive updated digital values based on variations in the cells current or variations in the resistance or threshold voltage distribution in the array.

A method, comprising:

• storing data in a memory array;
• sensing analog signals associated with the memory array using an analog to digital sense unit;
• converting the analog signals into distributions of digital values using the analog to digital sense unit;
• sending the distributions of digital values from the analog to digital sense unit to an error-correcting code (ECC) unit;
• generating error probability data associated with each digital value;
• providing ECC parameters including error probability data to the ECC unit using a non-volatile look-up table;
• and
• updating the non-volatile look-up table with updated error information associated with the memory array upon initiation of a memory device or upon given reading state of the memory array.

A method, comprising:

• storing data in a memory array;
• sensing analog signals associated with the memory array using an analog to digital sense unit;
• converting the analog signals into distributions of digital values using the analog to digital sense unit;
• sending the distributions of digital values from the analog to digital sense unit to an error-correcting code (ECC) unit;
• generating error probability data associated with each digital value;
• and
• updating the non-volatile look-up table with updated error information associated with the memory array as a consequence of variations in the operating voltage or temperature detected by a suitable voltage sensor or a temperature sensor, respectively.

A method, comprising:

• storing data in a memory array;
• sensing analog signals associated with the memory array using an analog to digital sense unit;
• converting the analog signals into distributions of digital values using the analog to digital sense unit;
• sending the distributions of digital values from the analog to digital sense unit to an error-correcting code (ECC) unit;
• and
• generating error probability data associated with each digital value, wherein the configurable non-volatile look-up table updates error probability data based on the distributions of digital values with error probability values being based on a distance of a digital value in the distribution from a reference level.