Hierarchical Code Correction and Reliability Management in Embedded nor Flash Memories

The framework of this article lies in the dynamic management of the reliability in NOR embedded Flash memories (eFlash). The main objective is to build a new reliability management scheme and to predict its efficiency to improve the eFlash reliability using error correction code and redundancy. The originality of the proposed approach relies on the use of a dedicated error correcting code well suited to NOR flash memories operational conditions. This code, named hierarchical code, improves the correction capabilities with a minimal impact on performance and area. The proposed solution furthermore enables selecting different built-in self strategies allowing to tune reliability strategies to the targeted application domain.