Samsung patents memory chip that checks its own wear and tear
Samsung has filed a patent for a memory device that includes a built-in system to monitor its own health. The chip uses a special test cell to measure how much the internal transistors degrade over time by applying stress and checking the voltage needed to turn them on.
In the filing’s own words
A memory device includes a first cell including a first transistor and a capacitor connected to the first transistor, the capacitor storing a voltage corresponding to data, a second cell including a second transistor, a condition control component configured to apply a stress condition to the second cell, a measuring circuit connected to the second cell configured to measure a current and/or a voltage output from the second cell, and a monitoring circuit connected to the measuring circuit configured to calculate a first threshold voltage of the second transistor before the stress condition is applied, control the condition control component to apply the stress condition to the second cell, calculate a second threshold voltage of the second transistor after the stress condition is applied, and determine a degree of degradation of the second transistor based on a comparison between the first threshold voltage and the second threshold voltage.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1.- 20. (canceled)
Facts
- Company
- Samsung (Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.)
- Official title
- MEMORY DEVICE AND OPERATING METHOD THEREOF
- Publication number
- US20260268961A1
- Application number
- 19666101
- Filed
- May 1, 2026
- Published
- Sep 10, 2026
- Inventors
- 2
- Claims
- 21
Classified under
G11C 11/4074 Physics & computingG11C 11/4094 Physics & computingG11C 11/4099 Physics & computingG11C 29/021 Physics & computingG11C 29/04 Physics & computingG11C 29/50 Physics & computingMore from Samsung in Chips & hardware
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.