Bad wordline/array detection in memory
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsPatrick J. Meaney, Arthur J. O'Neill, Gary E. Strait
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A technique for error detection is provided. A controller is configured to detect errors by using error correcting code (ECC), and a cache includes independent ECC words for storing data. The controller detects the errors in the ECC words for a wordline that is read. The controller detects a first error in a first ECC word on the wordline and a second error in a second ECC word on the wordline. The controller determines that the wordline is a failing wordline based on detecting the first error in the first ECC word and the second error in the second ECC word.
Claims11
A computer system, comprising:
- a controller and a cache, the computer system configured to perform a method comprising:
- reading multiple error correcting code (ECC) words of an individual wordline from the cache, the wordline comprising two or more ECC words which are read;
- detecting, by the controller, a first error in a first ECC word and a second error in a second ECC word in the wordline that is read;
- identifying, by the controller, the wordline as a failing wordline based on detecting the first error in the first ECC word and the second error in the second ECC word;
- determining that the first error is a first correctable error in the first ECC word and that the second error is a second correctable error in the second ECC word for the wordline that is read;
- and
- determining, by the controller, that the wordline fails based on the determining that the first error is the first correctable error in the first ECC word and that the second error is the second correctable error in the second ECC word.
A computer program product for a cache, the computer program product comprising:
- a non-transitory computer readable storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method comprising:
- reading multiple error correcting code (ECC) words of an individual wordline from the cache, the wordline comprising two or more ECC words which are read;
- detecting, by a controller, a first error in a first ECC word and a second error in a second ECC word in the wordline that is read;
- and
- identifying, by the controller, the wordline as a failing wordline based on detecting the first error in the first ECC word and the second error in the second ECC word;
- determining that the first error is a first correctable error in the first ECC word and that the second error is a second correctable error in the second ECC word for the wordline that is read;
- and
- determining, by the controller, that the wordline fails based on the determining that the first error is the first correctable error in the first ECC word and that the second error is the second correctable error in the second ECC word.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.