US Patent Application 18213231. REFRESH COMMAND CONTROL FOR HOST ASSIST OF ROW HAMMER MITIGATION simplified abstract

REFRESH COMMAND CONTROL FOR HOST ASSIST OF ROW HAMMER MITIGATION

Organization Name

Intel Corporation

Inventor(s)

Bill Nale of Livermore CA (US)

Christopher E. Cox of Placerville CA (US)

REFRESH COMMAND CONTROL FOR HOST ASSIST OF ROW HAMMER MITIGATION - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 18213231 titled 'REFRESH COMMAND CONTROL FOR HOST ASSIST OF ROW HAMMER MITIGATION

Simplified Explanation

The patent application describes a memory device that can prevent row hammer attacks by working together with a memory controller.

• The memory controller can send extra refresh cycles or commands to help mitigate row hammer attacks.
• When the memory device receives an extra refresh command, it performs a refresh specifically for row hammer mitigation, instead of the standard data integrity refresh.
• The memory controller keeps track of the number of activate commands sent to the memory device.
• Once a threshold number of activate commands is reached, the memory controller sends the extra refresh command.
• With the extra refresh command, the memory device can refresh the potential victim rows of a potential aggressor row, rather than just refreshing a row that hasn't been accessed for a while.

Original Abstract Submitted

A memory device with internal row hammer mitigation couples to a memory controller. The memory controller or host can assist with row hammer mitigation by sending additional refresh cycles or refresh commands. In response to an extra refresh command the memory device can perform refresh for row hammer mitigation instead of refresh for standard data integrity. The memory controller can keep track of the number of activate commands sent to the memory device, and in response to a threshold number of activate commands, the memory controller sends the additional refresh command. With the extra refresh command the memory device can refresh the potential victim rows of a potential aggressor row, instead of simply refreshing a row that has not been accessed for a period of time.