17871917. MEMORY DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING ROW HAMMER simplified abstract (SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.)
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MEMORY DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING ROW HAMMER
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Inventor(s)
MEMORY DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING ROW HAMMER - A simplified explanation of the abstract
This abstract first appeared for US patent application 17871917 titled 'MEMORY DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING ROW HAMMER
Simplified Explanation
The abstract describes a method and device for controlling row hammer in memory systems. Here are the key points:
- The memory device monitors the number of accesses to specific memory addresses during two monitoring time frames.
- During the first time frame, it identifies addresses with a high number of accesses or exceeding a predetermined threshold.
- During the second time frame, it samples random addresses and identifies any malicious addresses that match the previously identified row hammer addresses.
- If the number of malicious row hammer addresses exceeds a threshold, the memory device notifies the memory controller.
- The memory device then triggers a refresh operation on a memory cell row adjacent to the row corresponding to the malicious addresses.
Potential applications of this technology:
- Memory systems in computers, servers, and other electronic devices.
- Cloud computing infrastructure where memory security is crucial.
- Internet of Things (IoT) devices that rely on memory for data storage.
Problems solved by this technology:
- Row hammer is a security vulnerability where repeated accesses to specific memory rows can cause bit flips in adjacent rows, potentially leading to data corruption or unauthorized access.
- This method helps detect and mitigate row hammer attacks by identifying and refreshing memory rows adjacent to the malicious addresses.
Benefits of this technology:
- Enhances memory system security by detecting and preventing row hammer attacks.
- Reduces the risk of data corruption or unauthorized access due to row hammer vulnerabilities.
- Provides a proactive approach to memory security by monitoring and addressing potential threats.
Original Abstract Submitted
A row hammer control method and a memory device are provided. The memory device monitors the row hammer address(es) having the number of accesses equal to or more than a predetermined number of times or having a higher number of accesses as compared with other access addresses during the first row hammer monitoring time frame and malicious row hammer address(es) accessed at random sampling time points during the second row hammer monitoring time frame and being the same as the row hammer address(es), notifies a memory controller of the malicious row hammer address(es) when the number of malicious row hammer addresses exceeds a threshold value, and causes a target refresh a memory cell row physically adjacent to a memory cell row corresponding to the malicious row hammer address(es) to be performed.
