Patent ID: 8127071
Filing Date: 2012-02-28
Classification: G11C

Abstract:
1. A block management method for a semiconductor memory device having a multi-plane structure, the semiconductor memory device comprising a plurality of adjacent planes divided into a reserve field and a data field, the planes comprising a plurality of corresponding blocks forming a multi-plane operation group, the method comprising: determining whether the reserve field has free blocks corresponding to a unit of the multi-plane operation group; conducting one of a first operation and a second operation based on the determination of whether the reserve field has the free blocks corresponding to the unit of the multi-plane operation group, wherein conducting the first operation comprises replacing blocks at least one bad block and at least one valid block of the data field with the free blocks of the reserve field corresponding to the unit of the multi-plane operation group, and wherein conducting the second operation comprises replacing a single bad block of the data field with a single free block of the reserve block.