Abstract:
A memory system of the present invention includes a memory device having a nonvolatile memory and an access device which accesses the memory device. The memory device has a detection unit to detect a temperature of the memory device, a determination unit to determine an operating condition in accordance with the detected temperature and a notification unit to notify the access device of the determined operating condition. The access device has an interface unit to connect to the memory device and a controlling unit to control the interface unit in accordance with the notified operating condition from the memory device.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     (1) Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a memory system which includes a memory device having a nonvolatile memory, and an access device for accessing the memory device. 
     (2) Description of the Related Art 
     A memory system (nonvolatile memory system), which includes a removable memory device having a nonvolatile memory, and an access device for accessing the memory device, is known for an example in Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. 2001-142774. The configuration of the memory system is shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     A memory card  500 , which has a rewritable FLASH Electrical Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM)  501 , contains a controller  502 . The controller  502  converts a logical address, which has been sent from a host device  550  for accessing FLASH EEPROM, into a physical address. The physical address is used for writing/reading data to/from the FLASH EEPROM  501 . Address management information for converting the logical address is retained in a management area in the FLASH EEPROM  501 , and then a necessary part of the address management information to access a requested address is read out and sent to a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM)  506 . 
     According to the memory card  500  of the aforesaid conventional configuration, the following processing is necessary: the address management information is sent from the FLASH EEPROM  501  to the SRAM  506  at the start of an operation; and then the updated address management information is sent from the SRAM  506  to the FLASH EEPROM  501  at the end of the operation. 
     As an alternative to the aforesaid conventional configuration, it has been suggested in Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. H07-219720 that the address management information is retained in a nonvolatile RAM instead of the volatile SRAM  506 . The configuration of the memory system is shown in  FIG. 2 . A ferroelectric memory and the like are used for a nonvolatile RAM  606 . 
     This exemplified configuration shown in  FIG. 2  enables to skip steps for sending address management information at the start and the end of the operation, so that the processing time at the time of inserting/removing a memory card  600  into/from the host device  550  can be reduced. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     However the performances of the controller  502  and the nonvolatile RAM  606  which are semiconductor integrated circuit devices fluctuate depending on operating environments. Therefore, there exists a problem that accessing data requested by a host device is not able to be executed depending on operating environments. 
     More particularly, the nonvolatile RAM  606  contained in the controller  502  is easily affected by operating temperature. In fact the lowest operating voltage varies depending on the operating temperature as shown in  FIG.3 . The reason of the fact is that a capability to retain data during a power-off mode after data is written in the ferroelectric (known as retention characteristic) deteriorates when the temperature is relatively low. Especially in the case that memory cell is highly integrated, the memory cell whose lowest operating voltage is higher than the typified example shown in  FIG. 3  is involved in a memory cell array undesirably with a certain rate due to piece-to-piece variations in manufacturing. In the case where such lowest operating voltage at a low temperature of the memory cell exceeds the driving voltage applied to the ferroelectric memory, the data retained in the memory cell is eliminated with time. As a result, there exists a problem that accessing data requested by the host device is not able to be executed depending on operating environments. 
     In view of the aforesaid problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a memory system which is capable of implementing a stable operation in the case where the performances of a ferroelectric memory and the like fluctuate depending on the temperature. 
     In order to solve the aforesaid problem, the memory system of the present invention includes a memory device which has a nonvolatile memory and an access device which accesses the memory device. The memory device includes a detection unit to detect a temperature of the memory device, a determination unit to determine an operating condition depending on the detected temperature and a notification unit to notify the access device of the determined operating condition. The access device includes an interface unit to connect to the memory device, and a controlling unit to control the interface unit in accordance with the operating condition notified by the memory device. 
     According to this configuration, the access device controls the interface with the memory device in accordance with the operating condition on the basis of the temperature, so that the stable operation can be implemented. More specifically, in the case where the memory device includes a ferroelectric memory, a power supply voltage is changed depending on the temperature, so that a deterioration of the retention characteristic can be prevented. 
     Here, the operating condition may represent a power supply voltage, and the controlling unit may control the power supply voltage to be applied to the memory device from the interface unit. 
     According to this configuration, in the case where the lowest operating voltage of the memory device varies depending on the temperature, it is possible to control the power supply voltage applied to the memory device so as to exceed the lowest operating voltage of the memory device on a constant basis. 
     Here, the operating condition may represent a data transmission rate, and the controlling unit may control the data transmission rate between the interface unit and the memory device. 
     According to this configuration, the interface unit controls the data transmission rate, so that a fluctuation of the performance of the memory device can be prevented. 
     Here, the data transmission rate may represent a rate of a clock signal, and the controlling unit may control the rate of the clock signal to be applied from the interface unit to the memory device. 
     According to this configuration, the interface unit controls the clock signal, so that a fluctuation of the performance of the memory device can be prevented by changing an access rate to the memory device. 
     Here, the data transmission rate may represent one of waiting clock counts or transmission data latency, which is interposed between transmission data, and the controlling unit may control one of the waiting clock counts or the transmission data latency. 
     According to this configuration, the amount of the suspended period for accessing the memory device is changed, so that the fluctuation of the performance of the memory device caused by the temperature changes can be prevented. 
     Here, the memory device may further include a ferroelectric memory and a flash Electrical Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), and the ferroelectric memory may store information for managing an address of the flash EEPROM. 
     According to this configuration, the rewritable cycles (10 10  to 10 12  cycles) of the ferroelectric memory to store the address management information is more than 100,000 times as large as the rewritable cycles (10 4  to 10 5  cycles) of the FLASH EEPROM used as a nonvolatile memory, so that the reliability to the memory system can be improved. 
     In addition, the memory system of the present invention includes a memory device which has a nonvolatile memory and an access device which accesses the memory device. The memory device includes a detection unit to detect a temperature of the memory device and a notification unit to notify the access device of the detected temperature. The access device includes a determination unit to determine an operating condition depending on the notified temperature, an interface unit to connect the memory device and a controlling unit to control the interface unit in accordance with the operating condition notified by the memory device. 
     According to the memory system of the present invention, a stable operation can be implemented irrespective of the change of the operating environment. 
     FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT TECHNICAL BACKGROUND TO THIS APPLICATION 
     The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-21466 filed on Jan. 28, 2005 including specification, drawings and claims is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that illustrate a specific embodiment of the invention. 
       In the Drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram showing a conventional memory system; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing a conventional memory system; 
         FIG. 3  is a graphical diagram showing a relationship between an operating temperature and an operating voltage of a ferroelectric; 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram showing a memory system of a first embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a table showing a relation ship between an operating environment and an operating condition; 
         FIG. 6  is a flowchart showing the memory system operation; 
         FIG. 7  is a block diagram showing a volatile memory system of a second embodiment; 
         FIG. 8  is a table showing a relationship between an operating environment and an operating condition; 
         FIG. 9  is a diagram showing a communication pulse between a host device and a memory card; 
         FIG. 10  is a flowchart showing the memory system operation; 
         FIG. 11  is a graphical diagram showing a relationship between a voltage pulse applying time to the ferroelectric and a polarizability; 
         FIG. 12  is a block diagram showing a memory system; 
         FIG. 13  is a table showing a relationship between an operating environment and an operating condition of a third embodiment; 
         FIG. 14  is a diagram showing a communication pulse between the host device and the memory card; 
         FIG. 15  is a flowchart showing a memory system operation; 
         FIG. 16  is a block diagram showing a memory system of a fourth embodiment; and 
         FIG. 17  is a flowchart showing the memory system operation. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     First Embodiment 
     Hereafter a memory system  1  of a first embodiment for the present invention will be described referring to diagrams. 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram showing the memory system of the first embodiment. The memory system  1  includes a memory card  100  and a host device  150 . The memory card  100  is removable from the host device  150 . The memory card  100  has a FLASH EEPROM  101  for storing data and a controller  102  for controlling data communication between the FLASH EEPROM  101  and the host device  150 . The controller  102  is a semiconductor device having a host interface  103 , a controlling unit  104 , an ROM  105 , a ferroelectric memory  106 , and a temperature detection circuit  107 . The operations of the respective components configuring the controller  102  will be described hereafter. 
     The host interface  103  converts the data format conforming to a communication protocol used for the data communication between the host interface  103  and the host device  150  into/from the data format in the controller  102 . The power supplied from the host device  150  is distributed to the respective components in the memory card  100  through the host interface  103 . 
     In the case where the host device  150  requests an access, the controlling unit  104  converts a logical address into a physical address of the FLASH EEPROM  101 , and then executes the access to the FLASH EEPROM  101 . 
     The ROM  105  stores an operating program PROG of the controlling unit  104  and an Environment Condition Table (ECT) indicating a relationship between an operating environment and an operating condition.  FIG. 5  is a table showing an example of the table ECT. The relationship between the operating temperature and the lowest operating voltage in the ferroelectric memory  106  is shown in  FIG. 3  as mentioned above. The table ECT in  FIG. 5  shows the temperatures and the corresponding power supply voltages, and the table satisfies the relationship between the temperatures and the power supply voltages shown in  FIG. 3 . For example in the case where the operating temperature ranges from 85° C. to 10° C., the corresponding power supply voltage is 1.8 V. 
     The ferroelectric memory  106  stores a Logical address/Physical address conversion table (LPT) to which the controlling unit  104  refers. 
     The temperature detection circuit  107  measures the environment temperature of the memory card  100 . For example the temperature detection circuit  107  contains a diode, monitors the current I flowing through the diode, and sends the value of the flowing current to the controlling unit  104 . 
     The controlling unit  104  calculates a temperature T based on the equation I=Is * exp (V/kT), which represents flowing current through the diode. Note that Is denotes a saturation current, V denotes an applied voltage and k denotes the Boltzmann constant. The controlling unit  104  calculates an operating condition corresponding to the calculated temperature T using the table ECT stored in the ROM  105 , and the calculated operating condition is requested to the host device  150  through the host interface  103 . 
     The host device  150  has a power supply unit  151  which supplies a power supply voltage to the memory card  100 , accesses the memory card  100  using the logical address, and adjusts a DC-DC converter contained in the power supply unit  151 , so as to set up the power supply voltage to the memory card  100 . 
       FIG. 6  is a flowchart showing a processing to respond to the environment temperature in the memory card  100  and the host device  150 . The memory card  100  performs following operations at each time of inserting the memory card  100  into the host device  150  and supplying power to the host device  150  into which the memory card  100  has been inserted, and being a state that the memory card  100  is inserted on a periodic basis. Firstly in the memory card  100 , the temperature detection circuit  107  measures a current I flowing through the diode inside (M 31 ). And then the controlling unit  104  calculates a temperature T based on the flowing current I (M 32 ), reads an operating voltage corresponding to the temperature T out of the table ECT stored in the ROM  205  (M 33 ), and transmits a request instructing the host device  150  on the operating voltage (M 34 ). The host device  150  receives the request from the memory card  100  (H 31 ), and then instructs the power supply unit  151  to set the requested voltage (H 32 ). The power supply unit  151  sets up the voltage to be applied to the memory card  100  based on the instruction (H 33 ). 
     Accordingly the host device  150  changes the power voltage applied to the memory card  100  based on the requested operation condition. For example in the case where the detected temperature decreases to −15° C., the controller  102  requests the host device  150  to change the power supply voltage to 2.0 V, and then the host device  150  changes the power supply to the memory card  100  to 2.0 V. In the case where the detected temperature decreases to −30° C., the controller  102  requests the host device  150  to change the power supply voltage to 2.2 V, and then the host device  150  changes the power supply to the memory card  100  to 2.2 V. The driving voltage to be applied to the ferroelectric memory  106  is also changed based on the change of the power supply, and the retention characteristic can be maintained irrespective of the change of the environment temperature. 
     Since the ferroelectric memory  106  stores the address management information, the number of data writings to the ferroelectric memory  106  is about 10,000 times as large as the number of data writings to the FLASH EEPROM  101 . However the rewritable cycles (10 10  to 10 12  cycles) of a ferroelectric memory  106  is more than 100,000 times as large as the rewritable cycles (10 4  to 10 5  cycles) of a FLASH EEPROM  101  used as a nonvolatile memory, so that the reliability to the memory system can be improved. 
     It should be noted that the exemplified memory card  100  is described as a memory card removable from the host device  150 , but the memory card can be built in the host device  150 . In addition the FLASH EEPROM  101  and the controller  102  can be different LSIs respectively, or the FLASH EEPROM  101  and the controller  102  can compose one LSI for the memory card  100 . 
     Second Embodiment 
     According to a configuration of a memory system of a second embodiment, a power supply voltage to be applied from a host device can be constant, but a clock rate for a data communication is changed based on a detected environment temperature. 
       FIG. 7  is a block diagram showing a configuration of the memory system  2  of the second embodiment. The memory system  2  in  FIG. 7  includes a memory card  200  and a host device  250 . The same units as the memory system  1  in  FIG. 4  are denoted by the same numbers. The descriptions of such same units are not mentioned here, but the different points will be mainly described hereafter. The memory card  200  has a controller  202  instead of the controller  102  of the memory card  100  in  FIG. 4 . The controller  202  has a ROM  205  instead of the ROM  105  of the controller  102  in  FIG. 4 . In addition the host device  250  has a clock supply unit  251  whose transmission clock rate is variable. 
     The ROM  205  stores an operating program PROG of the controlling unit  104  and a table ECT indicating the relationship between the operating environment and the operating condition. The table stored in the ROM  205  is the table ECT shown in  FIG. 8 . The table ECT in  FIG. 8  indicates the operating temperatures and the corresponding transmission clock rates. According to the table ECT, the setting of the transmission clock rate is lower when the operating temperature is decreased. 
       FIG. 9  ( a ) to ( c ) shows timing diagrams indicating respective signals on a clock line, a command line and a data line out of the lines between the host device  250  and the memory card  200 .  FIG. 9  ( a ) shows a data writing operation in the case where the operating temperature is 10° C. and above,  FIG. 9  ( b ) shows the data writing operation in the case of −20° C. to 10° C. for the operating temperature, and  FIG. 9  ( c ) shows the data writing operation in the case of −40° C. to −20° C. for the operating temperature. 
     Pulses are applied to the command line and the data line in synchronization with the rising edge of the clock signal applied to the clock line in the host device  250 . In a steady state, an electric potential of the command line is low, and when a pulse is applied as seen at the second clock (# 1  in  FIG. 9 ), the command line is activated. Subsequent to the activation of the command line, a command of two clocks is transmitted from the host device  250  to the memory card  200 . In this example, signals “0, 1 ” are transmitted from the host device  250  to the command line, so that the start of a data writing operation is notified. After the command is transmitted, a two-clock interval required to be ready for receiving data at the memory card  250  side elapses, and then the host device  250  transmits the logical address and the writing data to the data line. The controlling unit  104  converts the serial data received from the data line into a data format conforming to the interface of the FLASH EEPROM  101 , and then writes parallel data in an empty data block in the FLASH EEPROM  101  referring to the Logical address/Physical address conversion table (LPT) in the ferroelectric  106 . At the same time, the physical address of the FLASH EEPROM  101  is associated with the logical address received from the host device  250  so as to update the LPT. A sequence of these operations of the controlling unit  104  is performed during the data transmission suspended period (called as transmission latency, the 10th clock and the 15th clock in  FIG. 9 ), which is placed after receiving every four bits data. 
       FIG. 10  is a flowchart showing a processing to respond to the environment temperature in the memory card  200  and the host device  250 . The flowchart has a step M 83  and a step M 84  instead of the step M 33  and the step M 34  in  FIG. 6 , and also a step H 82  and a step H 83  instead of the step H 32  and the step H 33 . The controlling unit  104  reads a transmission clock rate corresponding to the temperature out of the table ECT (M 83 ), and then transmits a request instructing the host device  250  on the transmission clock rate (M 84 ). The host device  250  receives the request from the memory card  200  (H 31 ), and instructs the clock supply unit  251  on the requested transmission clock rate (H 82 ). For example the instruction is a parameter setting indicating the operation frequency of a PLL circuit in the clock supply unit  251 . Accordingly the clock supply unit  251  sets the clock frequency to be applied to the memory card  200  (H 83 ). 
     According to this, in the case where the environment temperature is more than 10° C., the transmission clock frequency is 1 MHz. As the environment temperature decreases, the transmission clock frequency decreases and the data is transmitted. Thus, as the temperature decreases, the data transmission suspended period is extended, so that the time to update the LPT in the ferroelectric memory  106  by the controlling unit  104  is also extended. 
     The effect is described referring to  FIG. 11 .  FIG. 11  is a graphical diagram showing changes of polarizations of the ferroelectrics in the case where the time for applying voltage pulse to the ferroelectric capacitor composing the ferroelectric memory  106  is changed. Here, a measured polarization is 1, provided that a voltage pulse of more than 10 ms is applied under the environment temperature 20° C., (note that the polarization reaches to a saturation). A normalized value for a polarization which is obtained by applying a voltage pulse with a certain width is represented by the polarizability.  FIG. 11  shows the relationship between the polarizability and the pulse width of the respective environment temperatures: 20° C. on the curve  31 ; 0° C. on the curve  32 ; and −20° C. on the curve  33 . In the case where the polarizability is low, the retention characteristic deteriorates. Thus it is preferable to extend a voltage pulse width applied to the ferroelectric memory  106 , so as to obtain a higher polarizability. Therefore, it is necessary to make the applying time of the voltage pulse longer under a low temperature. In the second embodiment, it is possible to extend the pulse width applied to the ferroelectric memory  106 , so that the retention characteristic can be improved. 
     Third Embodiment 
     According to a configuration of a memory system of a third embodiment, a power supply voltage to be applied from a host device and a clock rate can be constant, but a transmission latency (data transmission suspended period) for a data communication is changed based on a detected environment temperature. 
       FIG. 12  is a block diagram showing a configuration of the memory system  3  of the third embodiment. The memory system  3  of the third embodiment includes a memory card  300  and a host device  350 . The same units as the memory system  1  in  FIG. 4  are denoted by the same numbers. The descriptions of such same units are not mentioned here, but the different points will be mainly described hereafter. The memory card  300  has a controller  302  instead of the controller  102  of the memory card  100  in  FIG. 4 . The controller  302  has a ROM  305  instead of the ROM  105  of the controller  102  in  FIG. 4 . In addition the host device  350  has a card I/F  351  whose transmission latency is variable. 
     The ROM  305  stores an operating program PROG of the controller  104  and a table ECT indicating the relationship between the operating environment and the operating condition. The table stored in the ROM  305  is the table ECT shown in  FIG. 13 . The table ECT in  FIG. 13  indicates the operating temperatures and the corresponding transmission latencies. According to the table ECT, the setting of the transmission latency is longer when the operating temperature is lower. 
       FIG. 14  shows timing diagrams indicating respective signals on a clock line, a command line and a data line out of the lines between the host device  350  and the memory card  300 . As shown in  FIG. 14 , in the case where the environment temperature is not less than 10° C., the transmission clock frequency is 1 MHz, and the transmission latency is 1. As the environment temperature decreases, the transmission latency increases while the transmission clock frequency remains 1 MHz. In the case where the environment temperature is not less than 10° C., one clock of data transmission latency is interposed every 4 bits as shown in  FIG. 14  ( a ), in the case where the environment temperature is between −20° C. and 10° C., two clocks of data transmission latency is interposed every 4 bits as shown in  FIG. 14  ( b ), and in the case where the environment temperature is between −40° C. and −20° C., three clocks of data transmission latency is interposed every 4 bits as shown in  FIG. 14  ( c ). 
       FIG. 15  is a flowchart showing a processing to respond to an environment temperature in the memory card  300  and the host device  350 . The flowchart has a step M 123  and a step M 124  instead of the step M 33  and the step M 34  in  FIG. 6 , and also a step H 122  and a step H 123  instead of the step H 32  and the step H 33 . The controlling unit  104  reads a transmission latency that is, the number of clocks of the data transmission latency corresponding to the temperature out of the table ECT, (M 123 ), and then a request indicating the transmission latency is transmitted to the host device  350  (M 124 ). The host device  350  receives the request from the memory card  300  (H 31 ), and then instructs the card I/F  351  on the requested transmission latency (H 122 ). The card I/F  351  transmits data which satisfies the instructed transmission latency (H 123 ). 
     Thus, it is possible to extend the time required for updating the Logical address/Physical address conversion table stored in the ferroelectric memory  106 , where the updating is executed during the data transmission latency. It is also possible to improve the retention characteristic in the case where the period of voltage applying to the ferroelectric memory  106  is longer at the time of data writing operation under a low temperature. The time required for the data transmission is constant in the third embodiment in the case of a decrease in temperature, and only the data transmission latency is extended (more specifically wait cycles are increased) by the control from the controlling unit, so that a sufficient throughput of the data transmission can be achieved. 
     Fourth Embodiment 
     According to a configuration of a memory system of a fourth embodiment, a table ECT is stored in a host device not in a memory card, and temperature information is transmitted from a memory card to a host device. 
       FIG. 16  is a block diagram showing a configuration of the memory system  4  of the fourth embodiment. The memory system  4  of the fourth embodiment includes a memory card  400  and a host device  450 . The same units as the memory system  1  in  FIG. 4  are denoted by the same numbers. The descriptions of such same units are not mentioned here, but the different points will be mainly described hereafter. The memory card  400  has a ROM  405  instead of the ROM  105  of the memory card  100  in  FIG. 4 . The host device  450  has a ROM  452  for storing the table ECT shown in  FIG. 5 , and a microcomputer  453 . 
       FIG. 17  is a flowchart showing a processing to respond to an environment temperature in the memory card  400  and the host device  450 . The memory card  400  transmits temperature data indicating a detected environment temperature to the host device  450  through a host I/F (M 143 ). The host device  450  receives the temperature data from the memory card  400  (H 141 ). The microcomputer  453  reads the table ECT stored in the ROM  452  out of the received temperature data (M 142 ), and instructs the power supply unit  151  on a requested voltage setting (H 143 ). The power supply unit  151  sets up a voltage to be applied to the memory card  400  (H 144 ). 
     Thus, it is not necessary to place a table ECT in the memory card and a control circuit for calculating the operation condition based on the table ECT, so that the memory card can be downsized. 
     It should be noted that the microcomputer  453  may change a data transmission rate as described in the second embodiment, or may change a transmission latency as described in the third embodiment instead of changing the power supply voltage based on the temperature. 
     As aforesaid descriptions, the present invention is applicable to a memory card which is stable to the changes of the operation environment. 
     Although only some exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this invention.