Samsung patents memory chips that test themselves while you work
Samsung describes a memory system that uses a duplicate set of chips to run background self-tests while the main memory handles your daily tasks. This setup allows the hardware to check for faults and swap out bad parts without stopping your computer or phone.
In the filing’s own words
A memory system including: a memory module including a plurality of memory chips; a mirror memory module including a plurality of mirror memory chips corresponding to the plurality of memory chips, a first mirror memory chip of the plurality of mirror memory chips being storing same data as a first memory chip of the plurality of memory chips; and a memory controller configured to, in a system running state in which an operation according to a request of a user is capable of being performed after the memory system is booted, provide the memory module with a command for instructing a normal operation to be performed and provide the mirror memory module with a command for instructing a memory built-in self-test (MBIST) to be performed.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A memory device comprising: a memory cell array including a plurality of memory cells and a plurality of redundancy memory cells; a mode register group configured to store a flag bit value that indicates whether to perform a memory built-in self-test (MBIST) on first memory cells among the plurality of memory cells, and the mode register group is further configured to store at least two bit values among bit values of physical addresses of memory cells on which the MBIST is performed; an MBIST circuit configured to perform the MBIST on the first memory cells; and a repair circuit configured to perform a repair operation of replacing a defective memory cell detected via a test result of the MBIST with a redundancy memory cell.
Facts
- Company
- Samsung (SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.)
- Official title
- MEMORY CONTROLLER CAPABLE OF PERFORMING MULTIPLE OPERATIONS, AN OPERATION METHOD THEREOF, A MEMORY DEVICE, AND A MEMORY SYSTEM
- Publication number
- US20260301842A1
- Application number
- 19696595
- Filed
- Jun 3, 2026
- Published
- Oct 1, 2026
- Inventors
- 5
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
G11C 29/46 Physics & computingG11C 29/1201 Physics & computingG11C 29/44 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.