TWI769962B - Driving apparatus and detection system for memory module failure detection, and memory device using the driving apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a detection system and a driving apparatus for memory module failure detection, and a memory device using the driving apparatus. The above solution allows the memory cell to maintain a steady state after being tumed on, so it can be used for failure analysis, such as predictive failure analysis. Furthermore, through the above solutions, users who use memory modules can know the physical location of defects without knowing the addressing method, architecture, and design of the memory module, and request the manufacturer of the memory module to carry out relevant assist procedures.

Description

Detection system for memory module failure detection, driving device and use thereof drive device memory device

The present invention relates to a technology for fault detection of a memory module, and in particular to a detection system for fault detection of a memory module, a driving device, and a memory device using the above-mentioned driving device.

Many electronic products currently use embedded memory modules, such as but not limited to embedded read-only memory modules (ROM), dynamic random access memory modules (DRAM), and static random access memory modules (SRAM). , Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Flash Memory Module (flash) or Phase Change Memory (PRAM). However, these embedded memory modules use semiconductor intellectual property (IP) of different manufacturers, and for electronic product designers (ie, users who use IP for application), they only use the manufacturer's intellectual property (IP). The IP is used in the application portfolio to design electronic products.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a schematic diagram of a memory module having a fault. In FIG. 1 , the memory module 23 has a plurality of memory cells, and the plurality of memory cells are arranged in an array to form a memory array. Taking FIG. 1 as an example, if a fault analysis is performed, a fault 11 of a single memory cell (such faults are usually caused by a fault of a memory cell) and a fault 12 of a plurality of consecutive memory cells (such faults can be found). Usually caused by word line defects). It should be noted that the memory array may have other types of failures, but currently other types of failures are not shown in FIG. 1 .

Although some detection modules can verify whether the memory function is normal, such detection modules allow the memory to enter the functional mode, so the memory cells are still in a transient state rather than a steady state, so these detection modules are not suitable for failure analysis. . Furthermore, the above-mentioned detection module needs to be attached with a related printed circuit board to form a complete verification system, so there are still technical problems of high cost and large volume.

In addition, when the above-mentioned embedded memory module has a problem and needs to perform a failure analysis (FA), it is necessary for the manufacturer of the IP that designs the embedded memory module to assist in the addressing analysis, so that the designer of the electronic product needs to Provide considerable information to manufacturers. Typically, the above data must include information about the wrong address or the wrong bit in order for the manufacturer to be able to assist. Even if the above information or other relevant information is provided to the manufacturer, the manufacturer may not be able to assist the engineering of this location analysis. Furthermore, although the manufacturer can define the location of the memory cell by address or bit, it is still impossible to know the correct location if the word line or bit line is faulty. It can be seen from the above that the engineering of location analysis includes many uncertain factors.

If it is a word line or bit line defect problem, even if the manufacturer can provide the location of the faulty memory cell, it may not be possible to find the exact problem because the problem is the word line or bit line defect, not the memory cell. problem point. In short, there is still a lack of a technical solution that enables the designer of electronic products to easily know the fault condition and simply report the fault condition, so that the manufacturer can assist in the processing.

According to the purpose of the present invention, the present invention provides a driving device for fault detection of a memory module, which is used for selecting two adjacent word lines and two adjacent bit lines of a memory module to transmit through the illumination detection device A bright spot image of the memory module is acquired for predictive failure analysis of the memory module, and the driving device includes a word line selector and a bit line selector. The word line selector has N word line connection terminals respectively electrically connected to the N word lines of the memory module, and selects the 2i-1 word line connection terminal and the 2i word element according to the first control signal line connections to connect the first word line voltage signal with the second word The element line voltage signal is transmitted to the 2i-1 th word line and the 2i th word line, wherein the 2i-1 th word line and the 2i th word line are two adjacent word lines, N is an even number, i is an integer from 1 to N/2. The bit line selector has M bit line connection terminals respectively electrically connected to the M bit lines of the memory module, and selects the 2j-1 bit line connection terminal and the 2j th bit line according to the second control signal line connection terminal for transmitting the first bit line voltage signal and the second bit line voltage signal to the 2j-1th bit line and the 2jth bit line, wherein the 2j-1th bit line and the th The 2j bit lines are two adjacent bit lines, M is an even number, and j is an integer from 1 to M/2.

According to the purpose of the present invention, the present invention also provides a drive device for fault detection of a memory module, which is used to select any word line and any bit line of the memory module to obtain the memory through the illumination detection device The highlight image of the module is used for predictive failure analysis of the memory module, and the driving device includes a word line selector and a bit line selector. The word line selector has N word line connection terminals respectively electrically connected to the N word lines of the memory module, and selects the xth word line connection terminal according to the first control signal, so as to connect the word line voltage signal Sent to the xth word line, where N is an integer and x is an integer from 1 to N. The bitline selector has M bitline connection terminals respectively electrically connected to the M bitlines of the memory module, and selects the yth bitline connection terminal according to the second control signal, so as to connect the bitline voltage signal The yth bit line, where M is an integer, and y is an integer from 1 to M.

According to the purpose of the present invention, the present invention further provides a detection system for detecting faults in a memory module, wherein the detection system includes the above-mentioned driving device and the above-mentioned irradiation detection device

According to the object of the present invention, the present invention further provides a memory device, wherein the memory device includes the above-mentioned driving device and the above-mentioned memory module.

To sum up the above, the solution for memory module fault detection provided by the present invention allows users of the application memory module to know the entity of the defect without knowing the addressing method, architecture and design of the memory module. location and possible type, and ask the manufacturer of the memory module for assistance.

For a further understanding of the techniques, means and effects of the present invention, reference may be made to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, so that the objects, features and concepts of the present invention can be thoroughly and specifically understood. However, the following detailed description and accompanying drawings are only used to refer to and illustrate the implementation of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention.

11: Failure of a single memory cell

12: Failure of multiple memory cells in a row

21: Drive device

211: character line selector

2111, 2112, 2121, 2122: Switchgear

2113, 2114: Character signal pins

2115, 2125: control signal pins

212: bit line selector

2123, 2124: Bit signal pins

22: Irradiation detection device

23: Memory Module

231: Column Decoder

232: line decoder

S1~S6: Steps

VDD: Power supply voltage

GND: ground voltage

The accompanying drawings are provided to enable those of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains to further understand the present invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification of the present invention. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention, and together with the description of the invention serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a memory module with a fault.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a detection system for memory module fault detection according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a drive device for detecting a fault in a memory module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a detection method for fault detection of a memory module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, exemplary embodiments of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts. In addition, the practice of the exemplary embodiment is only one way of realizing the design concept of the present invention, and the following examples are not intended to limit the present invention.

Various embodiments of the present invention provide a detection system for memory module failure detection, a drive device, and a memory device using the drive device. The above solution allows the memory The unit remains in steady state after it is turned on, so it can be used for failure analysis, such as predictive failure analysis. Further, through the above solution, the user of the application memory module can know the physical location of the defect without knowing the addressing method, architecture and design of the memory module, and request the manufacturer of the memory module to make relevant assist.

For the memory module is at the package level, the above solution does not require additional external printed circuit boards, as long as a socket transmits the required signal to the drive device, the memory unit can be in a steady state , even this slot can be directly part of the drive unit. In addition, for the wafer level (wafter level), the above solution does not require the use of additional tools, and only needs to manually use the probe to transmit the required signal to the driving device, so that the abnormal bright spot can be detected at the wafer level. Interpretation detection.

Further, in the present invention, the memory module is connected to the driving device, and the corresponding bit line and word line are not selected by the row decoder and column decoder of the memory module during the detection process, but the driving device selects , and directly apply the word line voltage signal and the bit line voltage signal of the driving device to the bit line and the word line selected by the driving device. Then, the current will flow into the memory cells corresponding to the selected bit lines and word lines in the memory module, and the illumination detection device emits a light beam to illuminate the surface of the memory module to obtain a bright spot image, wherein the bright spot image is available To judge the fault type of the memory module, and find out the physical location of the defect in the memory module accordingly. The user only needs to provide the highlight image to the manufacturer, and the manufacturer can perform corresponding assistance processing. It should be noted that, the driving device of the present invention selects each bit line and word line of the memory module once to obtain a plurality of bright spot images for fault analysis.

First, please refer to FIG. 2 , which is a block diagram of a detection system for memory module failure detection according to an embodiment of the present invention. The detection system can be implemented by the driving device 21 and the irradiation detection device 22 , wherein the driving device 21 is electrically connected to the memory module 23 , one end of the memory module 23 is electrically connected to the power supply voltage VDD and the other end of the memory module 23 is electrically connected Ground voltage GND. In this example Among them, the memory module 23 has M*N memory cells, which are arranged in an array of N columns and M rows. The driving device 21 includes a word line selector 211 and a bit line selector 212. The word line selector 211 has N word line connection terminals respectively electrically connected to the N word lines of the memory module 23 and the bit line The line selector 212 has M bit line connection terminals respectively electrically connected to the M bit lines of the memory module 23 .

In an implementation manner, the driving device 21 is used to select any word line and any bit line of the memory module 23 , so as to obtain a bright spot image of the memory module 23 through the illumination detection device 22 to perform the operation of the memory module 23 . Predictive failure analysis. In this implementation, the wordline selector 211 selects the xth wordline connection terminal according to the first control signal to transmit the wordline voltage signal to the xth wordline, where N is an integer and x is an integer from 1 to N; the bit line selector 212 selects the yth bit line connection terminal according to the second control signal to transmit the bit line voltage signal to the yth bit line, where M is an integer , y is an integer from 1 to M.

In the above-mentioned implementation manner, the fault 11 of a single memory cell can be detected, but the above-mentioned implementation manner cannot provide a loop between adjacent two-byte lines and adjacent two-byte lines, so for adjacent two-word lines The fault 12 of consecutive multiple memory cells caused by the short-circuit connection of the line due to the defect cannot be detected smoothly. The failure of the unit (not shown in FIG. 2 ) also cannot be detected smoothly.

In order to improve the above technical problem, in another implementation manner, the driving device 21 selects two adjacent word lines and two adjacent bit lines of the memory module 23 at a time, so as to obtain the memory module through the illumination detection device 22 23 for predictive failure analysis of the memory module 23. The word line selector 211 selects the 2i-1th word line connection terminal and the 2i th word line connection terminal according to the first control signal, so as to transmit the first word line voltage signal and the second word line voltage signal For the 2i-1th word line and the 2ith word line, where the 2i-1th word line and the 2ith word line are two adjacent word lines, N is an even number, and i is One of the integers from 1 to N/2. The bit line selector has M bit line connection terminals respectively electrically connected to the M bit lines of the memory module, and selects the 2j-1 bit line connection according to the second control signal The terminal is connected to the 2jth bit line to transmit the first bit line voltage signal and the second bit line voltage signal to the 2j-1th bit line and the 2jth bit line, wherein the 2jth The -1 bit line and the 2jth bit line are two adjacent bit lines, M is an even number, and j is an integer from 1 to M/2.

In addition, in other implementation manners, the driving device 21 may select two adjacent word lines at a time but select any one bit line, or the driving device 21 may select two adjacent bit lines at a time But choose any character line. To sum up, the present invention is not limited by the fact that the driving device 21 selects two adjacent word lines and two adjacent bit lines at a time.

Further, the level of the first word line voltage signal and the level of the second word line voltage signal are different from each other, for example, the level of the first word line voltage signal and the level of the second word line voltage signal The levels are the power supply voltage VDD and the ground voltage GND, respectively, or the level of the first word line voltage signal and the level of the second word line voltage signal are the ground voltage GND and the power supply voltage VDD, respectively. In this way, a loop can be formed. , so as to detect the fault 12 of a plurality of consecutive memory cells caused by the short-circuit connection of two adjacent word lines due to defects. In addition, the level of the first bit line voltage signal and the level of the second bit line voltage signal are different from each other, for example, the level of the first bit line voltage signal and the level of the second bit line voltage signal are the power supply voltage VDD and the ground voltage GND respectively, or the level of the first bit line voltage signal and the level of the second bit line voltage signal are the ground voltage GND and the power supply voltage VDD, respectively, so that a loop can be formed, Thus, the faults of a plurality of consecutive memory cells (not shown in FIG. 2 ) caused by the short-circuit connection of adjacent two-element lines due to defects are detected.

The irradiation detection device 22 may be a laser beam resistance abnormality detection (OBIRCH) device or a low-light microscope (EMMI) device, and the present invention is not limited thereto. The illumination detection device 22 is used for emitting a light beam to the surface of the memory module 23 and for acquiring a bright spot image of the memory module 23 . The light beam emitted by the irradiation detection device 22 can be a light beam of a specific wavelength range according to the actual situation, and it should be noted that the light beam of a specific wavelength range includes electromagnetic waves of a specific frequency (note: the electromagnetic wave itself is light), not limited to Common visible light, infrared or ultraviolet, etc.

Please refer to FIG. 3 . FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a drive device for detecting faults in a memory module according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of the present invention, the memory module 23 does not select the corresponding bit line and word line through the column decoder 231 and the row decoder 232 of the memory module 23 during the detection process, but the driving device 21 performs word line and bit line selection, and directly connect the word line voltage signal (the first word line voltage signal and the second word line voltage signal) of the driving device 21 with the bit line voltage signal (the first element The line voltage signal and the second bit line voltage signal) are directly applied to the bit line and word line selected by the driving device 21 .

In this embodiment, the word line selector 211 includes switch devices 2111 and 2112 , word signal pins 2113 and 2114 and a control signal pin 2115 . The switch device 2111 has the 1st, 3rd, . The first word line voltage signal is transmitted to the 2i-1 th word line through the selected 2i-1 th word line connection terminal. The switch device 2112 has the 2nd, 4th, . The line voltage signal is transmitted to the 2i th word line through the selected 2i th word line connection terminal. The character signal pins 2113 and 2114 are electrically connected to the switch devices 2111 and 2112 respectively, and the control signal pin 2115 is electrically connected to the switch devices 2111 and 2112, and the character signal pins 2113 and 2114 and the control signal pin 2115 are respectively received The first word line voltage signal, the second word line voltage signal and the first control signal.

The bit line selector 212 includes switch devices 2121 and 2122 , bit signal pins 2123 and 2124 and a control signal pin 2125 . The switching device 2121 has the 1st, 3rd, . The first bit line voltage signal is transmitted to the 2j-1 th bit line through the selected 2j-1 th bit line connection terminal. The switching device 2122 has 2nd, 4th, . The line voltage signal is transmitted to the 2jth bit line through the selected 2jth word line connection. The bit signal pins 2123 and 2124 are respectively electrically connected to the switch device 2121, 2122, and the control signal pin 2125 are electrically connected to the switching devices 2121, 2122, and the bit signal pins 2123, 2124 and the control signal pin 2125 respectively receive the first bit line voltage signal and the second bit line voltage signal and a second control signal.

Further, the above-mentioned memory module 23 , word line selector 211 and bit line selector 212 can be directly integrated into a memory device by a manufacturer that provides IP, and sold to users who need to use the memory module 23 . The memory device further includes a socket, and the socket is electrically connected to the character signal pins 2113, 2114, the control signal pin 2115, the bit signal pins 2123, 2124 and the control signal pin 2125, so that the user can The signal plug corresponding to the slot can be directly inserted into the slot, and the first word line voltage signal, the second word line voltage signal, the first control signal, the first word line voltage signal, the second word line voltage signal, the second word line The voltage signal and the second control signal are provided to the word line selector 211 and the bit line selector 212 .

Furthermore, in one embodiment, the memory device may be an embedded memory device, the memory module 23 may be an embedded memory module, and the memory module 23 may be a read only memory module (ROM), a dynamic random Access memory module (DRAM), static random access memory module (SRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), flash memory module (flash) or phase change memory (PRAM), and this The invention is not limited by the type of the memory device and the memory module 23 and whether it is an embedded architecture.

Please refer to FIG. 4 . FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a detection method for memory module failure detection according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, in step S1, the memory module is connected to the power supply and powered on, that is, the two ends (power terminal and ground terminal) of the memory module are connected to the power supply voltage and the ground voltage. Then, in step S2, two adjacent word lines are selected, and two word line voltage signals with different levels are transmitted to the selected two adjacent word lines. Then, in step S3, two adjacent bit lines are selected, and two bit line voltage signals with different levels are transmitted to the selected two adjacent bit lines. Next, in step S4, the surface of the memory module is irradiated with the irradiation detection device, and in step S5, the bright spot image is acquired using the irradiation detection device. Steps S1 to S5 are repeated until each bit line and character The lines are all selected, and finally, in step S6, the types of faults of the memory module can be determined according to the multiple bright spot images, and the physical location of the fault can also be known.

Based on the above, the above detection system does not require complicated system architecture, signals and modules, and uses the simplest and most flexible way to make the memory module enter the steady-state mode, so that various types of faults (including word lines or bits) can be found. faults caused by line defects), and the above-mentioned inspection system can be applied to different types of memory modules for inspection. In other words, the memory module can be regarded as an unknown black box. Through the solution of the present invention, the user only needs to input some simple signals and use the analysis instrument (irradiation detection device) to find the position of the abnormal bright spot, so as to determine the position of the abnormal bright spot. Fault type.

It is to be understood that the examples and embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications or changes in view thereof will be suggested to those skilled in the art and are to be included within the spirit and scope of the present application and the scope of the appended claims. within the range.

11: Failure of a single memory cell

12: Failure of multiple memory cells in a row

21: Drive device

211: character line selector

212: bit line selector

22: Irradiation detection device

23: Memory Module

Claims (10)

A drive device for fault detection of a memory module, which is used for selecting two adjacent word lines and two adjacent bit lines of a memory module to obtain a bright spot image of the memory module through an illumination detection device to perform predictive failure analysis of the memory module, and the driving device includes: a word line selector, having N word line connection terminals respectively electrically connected to the N word lines of the memory module, The 2i-1th word line connection terminal and the 2i th word line connection terminal are selected according to the first control signal, so as to transmit the first word line voltage signal and the second word line voltage signal to the 2i-1th word line voltage signal A word line and a 2i-th word line, wherein the 2i-1-th word line and the 2i-th word line are the two adjacent word lines, N is an even number, and i is an integer from 1 to N/2; and a bit line selector, having M bit line connection ends respectively electrically connected to the M bit lines of the memory module, and selecting the 2j- 1 bit line connection terminal and 2jth bit line connection terminal to transmit the first bit line voltage signal and the second bit line voltage signal to the 2j-1th bit line and the 2jth bit line line, wherein the 2j-1th bit line and the 2jth bit line are the two adjacent bit lines, M is an even number, and j is an integer from 1 to M/2 . The driving device of claim 1, wherein the word line selector comprises: a first switching device having the first, third, ..., N-1 word line connection terminals, controlled by The first control signal is used to select the 2i-1 th word line connection terminal for passing the received first word line voltage signal through the selected 2i-1 th word line connecting end to the 2i-1 word line; and The second switch device has the 2nd, 4th, . The received second word line voltage signal is transmitted to the 2i th word line through the selected 2i th word line connection terminal. The driving device according to claim 2, wherein the bit line selector comprises: a third switching device having the 1st, 3rd, ..., M-1 bit line connection terminals, controlled by The first control signal is used to select the 2j-1 th bit line connection terminal for passing the received first bit line voltage signal through the selected 2j-1 th bit line The connection terminal is transmitted to the 2j-1 bit line; and a fourth switch device has the 2, 4, . . . , M bit line connection terminals, controlled by the second control signal to select the 2jth bit line connection terminal for transmitting the received second bit line voltage signal to the 2jth bit through the selected 2jth bit line connection terminal meta line. The driving device of claim 3, wherein the word line selector further comprises a first word signal pin, a second word signal pin and a first control signal pin, the first word signal The pin and the second character signal pin are electrically connected to the first switch device and the second switch device, respectively, and the first control signal pin is electrically connected to the first switch device and the second switch device. the second switch device, and the first word signal pin, the second word signal pin and the first control signal pin respectively receive the first word line voltage signal, the first Two word line voltage signals and the first control signal; the bit line selector further includes a first bit signal pin, a second bit signal pin and a second control signal pin, the first The bit signal pin and the second bit signal pin are respectively electrically connected to the third switch device and the fourth switch device, and the second control signal pin is electrically connected to the third switch device and the fourth switch device, and the first element signal pin, the second element signal pin and the second control signal pin respectively receive the first element line voltage signal, the second bit line voltage signal and the second control signal. The driving device of claim 1, wherein the level of the first word line voltage signal is higher than the level of the second word line voltage signal, or the level of the first word line voltage signal is lower than the level of the second word line voltage signal; the level of the first word line voltage signal is higher than the level of the second bit line voltage signal, or the first word The level of the line voltage signal is lower than the level of the second bit line voltage signal. A drive device for fault detection of a memory module, which is used to select any word line and any bit line of a memory module, so as to obtain a bright spot image of the memory module through an illumination detection device to perform the described Predictive failure analysis of the memory module, and the driving device includes: a word line selector, having N word line connection ends respectively electrically connected to the N word lines of the memory module, according to the first control a signal select xth word line connection terminal to transmit a word line voltage signal to the xth word line, where N is an integer and x is an integer from 1 to N; and a bit line selector , having M bit line connection terminals respectively electrically connected to the M bit lines of the memory module, and selecting the yth bit line connection terminal according to the second control signal to transmit the bit line voltage signal to all The yth bit line, where M is an integer, and y is an integer from 1 to M. A detection system for fault detection of a memory module, comprising: the driving device according to one of claims 1 to 6; and the irradiation detection device. The detection system of claim 7, wherein the irradiation detection device is a laser beam resistance abnormality detection (OBIRCH) device or a low-light microscope (EMMI) device. A memory device, comprising: a drive device according to one of claims 1 to 6; and the memory module. The memory device of claim 9, wherein the driving device further comprises a socket, and the signal providing means provides a plurality of signals to the word line selector and the bit through the socket Line selector.

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