Patent Publication Number: US-9411686-B2

Title: Methods for accessing a storage unit of a flash memory and apparatuses using the same

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a non-provisional of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/869,561, filed Aug. 23, 2013, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein. This Application claims priority of Taiwan Patent Application No. 102148610, filed on Dec. 27, 2013, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to flash memory, and in particular to methods for accessing a storage unit of a flash memory and apparatuses using the same. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Memory cells of a flash memory may malfunction after numerous accesses. Particles or mask defects in manufacturing a flash memory may cause a failure of a whole column of a storage unit, or even worse, a whole storage unit of the flash memory to be accessed. Accordingly, what is needed are methods for accessing a storage unit of a flash memory to protect data stored therein when the aforementioned problem appears, and apparatuses using the methods. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     An embodiment of a method for accessing a storage unit of a flash memory, performed by a processing unit, is disclosed to include at least the following steps. After all messages within a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disk) group are programmed, it is determined whether a vertical ECC (Error Correction Code) within the RAID group has been generated. The processing unit directs a DMA (Direct Memory Access) controller to obtain the vertical ECC from a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and store the vertical ECC to a buffer when the vertical ECC within the RAID group has been generated, thereby enabling the vertical ECC to be programmed to the storage unit. 
     Another embodiment of a method for accessing a storage unit of a flash memory, performed by a processing unit, is disclosed to include at least the following steps. After all messages within a RAID group are programmed, it is determined whether a vertical ECC within the RAID group has been generated. The processing unit directs a RAID-encoding unit to output the vertical ECC to the buffer when the vertical ECC within the RAID group has not been generated, thereby enabling the vertical ECC to be programmed to the storage unit. The processing unit further directs a DMA controller to obtain the vertical ECC from the RAID-encoding unit and store the vertical ECC to a DRAM when the vertical ECC within the RAID group has not been generated. 
     An embodiment of an apparatus for accessing a storage unit of a flash memory is disclosed to include at least a DMA controller, a buffer and a processing unit. The processing unit, coupled to the DMA controller, determines whether a vertical ECC within the RAID group has been generated after all messages within a RAID group are programmed. The processing unit further directs the DMA controller to obtain the vertical ECC from a DRAM and store the vertical ECC to the buffer when the vertical ECC within the RAID group has been generated, thereby enabling the vertical ECC to be programmed to the storage unit. 
     A detailed description is given in the following embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention can be fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  shows a schematic diagram depicting a storage unit of a flash memory according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is the system architecture of a flash memory according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating interfaces to storage units of a flash storage according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram showing a logical view of data storage according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 5A  is a schematic diagram showing a logical view of data storage applied in each sector according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 5B  is a schematic diagram showing a logical view of two-dimensional ECC according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a system block diagram for programming data according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIGS. 7A and 7B  are flowcharts illustrating a method for programming data, performed by a processing unit, according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a flowchart illustrating a method for programming data, performed by a storage-unit access interface, according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a system block diagram for reading data according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 10  is a flowchart illustrating a method for reading data, performed by a sector-decoding unit, according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 11  is a flowchart illustrating a method for reading data, performed by a processing unit, according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 12  is a system block diagram for programming data according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 13  is a schematic diagram showing a TLC block of a storage unit according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 14  is a flowchart illustrating a method for programming data, performed by a processing unit, according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 15  is a flowchart illustrating a method for reading data, performed by a processing unit, according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 16A  is a schematic diagram illustrating a distribution of the threshold voltages of a large population of SLC cells according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 16B  is a schematic diagram illustrating a distribution of the threshold voltages of a large population of MLC cells according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 16C  is a schematic diagram illustrating a distribution of the threshold voltages of a large population of TLC cells according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIGS. 17A to 17C  are schematic diagrams illustrating the variations of threshold voltage distributions of TLCs on a wordline that has undergone three rounds of programming according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 18A  is a schematic diagram of the data placement with vertical ECCs of the RS(48,45) within a RAID group according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 18B  is a schematic diagram of the data placement with vertical ECCs of the RS(96,93) within a RAID group according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 19A  illustrates an example of programming a data page including messages, horizontal ECCs, and/or vertical ECCs into wordlines of storage units; 
         FIG. 19B  is a timing diagram for programming data according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIGS. 20A to 20D  are flowcharts for programming data, performed by a processing unit, according to an embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 21  is a schematic diagram depicting a programming sequence for wordlines of a storage unit according to an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carrying out the invention. This description is made for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention and should not be taken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determined by reference to the appended claims. 
     The present invention will be described with respect to particular embodiments and with reference to certain drawings, but the invention is not limited thereto and is only limited by the claims. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. 
     Use of ordinal terms such as “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having the same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements. 
     Embodiments of the invention introduce methods for accessing a storage unit of a flash memory and apparatuses using the same to encode data to be stored into the storage unit and decode the encoded data from the storage unit.  FIG. 1  shows a schematic diagram depicting a storage unit of a flash memory according to an embodiment of the invention. A storage unit  10  includes an array composed of M×N memory cells, and each memory cell may store at least one bit of information. The flash memory may be a NOR or NAND flash memory, etc. In order to appropriately access desired information, a row-decoding unit  120  is used to select appropriate row lines for access. Similarly, a column-decoding unit  130  is employed to select an appropriate number of bytes within the row for output. An address unit  140  applies row information to the row-decoding unit  120  defining which of the N rows of the memory cell array  110  is to be selected for reading or writing. Similarly, the column-decoding unit  130  receives address information defining which one or ones of the M columns of the memory cell array  110  are to be selected. Rows may be referred to as wordlines by those skilled in the art interchangeably, and columns may be referred to as bitlines interchangeably. Data read from or to be applied to the memory cell array  110  is stored in a data buffer  150 . Memory cells may be SLCs (Single-Level Cells), MLCs (Multi-Level Cells) or TLCs (Triple-Level Cells). 
     In an SLC, one state has zero charge in the floating gate and is the unwritten state of the cell after being erased (commonly represented by the “1” state) and the other state has some amount of negative charge in the floating gate (commonly represented by the “0” state). Having negative charge in the gate causes the threshold voltage of the transistor of the cell (i.e. the voltage that has to be applied to the control gate of the transistor in order to cause the transistor to conduct) to increase. It is feasible to read the stored bit by checking the threshold voltage of the cell. If the threshold voltage is in the higher state then the bit value is “0”, and if the threshold voltage is in the lower state then the bit value is “1”.  FIG. 16A  is a schematic diagram illustrating a distribution of the threshold voltages of a large population of SLC cells according to an embodiment of the invention. Because the memory cells in a flash memory are not exactly identical in their characteristics and behavior (due to, for example, small variations in impurity concentrations or defects in the silicon structure), applying the same programming operation to all of the memory cells does not cause all of the memory cells to have exactly the same threshold voltage. Instead, the threshold voltage is distributed as shown in  FIG. 16A . SLCs storing a value of “1” typically have a negative threshold voltage, such that most of the cells have a threshold voltage close to the central voltage value of the left peak, with fewer cells having threshold voltages lower or higher than the central voltage of the left peak. Similarly, SLCs storing a value of “0” typically have a positive threshold voltage, such that most of the cells have a threshold voltage close to the central voltage of the right peak, with fewer cells having threshold voltages lower or higher than the central voltage of the right peak. 
     Although an MLC literally has more than two levels, i.e. more than one bit per cell, the most common MLC at present are ones with two bits per cell, and therefore examples are given below. A single MLC storing two bits of information is in one of four different states, where one bit is designated as the LSB (Least Significant Bit) and the other is designated as the MSB (Most Significant Bit). As the “state” of a memory cell is represented by its threshold voltage, an MLC supports four different valid ranges for its threshold voltages.  FIG. 16B  is a schematic diagram illustrating a distribution of the threshold voltages of a large population of MLC cells according to an embodiment of the invention. As expected, it has four peaks, each peak corresponding to one state. Similarly, a single TLC cell storing three bits of information is in one of eight different states, where the three bits are designated as the LSB, CSB (Center Significant Bit) and MSB, respectively. A single TLC supports eight different valid ranges for its threshold voltages.  FIG. 16C  is a schematic diagram illustrating a distribution of the threshold voltages of a large population of TLC cells according to an embodiment of the invention. As expected, it has eight peaks, each peak corresponding to one state. It should be understood, however, that the present invention is equally applicable to flash memory devices that support more than three bits per memory cell. 
       FIG. 2  is the system architecture of a flash memory according to an embodiment of the invention. The system architecture  20  of the flash memory contains a controller  200  being configured to write data into a designated address of the storage unit  10 , and read data from a designated address thereof. Specifically, a control unit  210  writes data into a designated address of the storage unit  10  through a storage-unit access interface  230  and reads data from a designated address thereof through the same interface  230 . The system architecture  20  uses several electrical signals for coordinating commands and data transfer between the controller  200  and the storage unit  10 , including data lines, a clock signal and control lines. The data lines are employed to transfer commands, addresses and data to be written and read. The control lines are utilized to issue control signals, such as CE (Chip Enable), ALE (Address Latch Enable), CLE (Command Latch Enable), WE (Write Enable), etc. The storage-unit access interface  230  may communicate with the storage unit  10  using a SDR (Single Data Rate) protocol or a DDR (Double Data Rate) protocol, such as ONFI (open NAND flash interface), DDR toggle, or others. The control unit  210  may communicate with other electronic devices through a processing-unit access interface  250  using a standard protocol, such as USB (Universal Serial Bus), ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment), SATA (Serial ATA), PCI-E (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) or others. 
     A flash storage may contain multiple storage units  10  and each storage unit may be practiced in a single die and have an independent or shared interface to communicate with the storage-unit access interface  230 . The access operations of mass data to or from the storage units, such as programming data thereto, reading data therefrom, etc., may be pipelined to improve the efficiency.  FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating interfaces to storage units of a flash storage according to an embodiment of the invention. A flash storage  300  may provide j+1 channels and each channel is associated with i+1 storage units. That is, i+1 storage units may share the same channel to communicate with a control unit. For example, assume that 8 channels (j=7) are provided by the flash storage  300  and each channel is associated with 8 storage units (i=7): The flash storage  300  has 64 storage units  10 [0 . . . j][0 . . . i] in total. A control unit of a controller may use one set of the electrical signals  310 [0 . . . j][0 . . . 1] provided by the flash storage  300  to program data into a designated storage unit and/or read data from the designated storage unit. It should be noted that each storage unit owns an independent CE control signal and storage units in the same channel may share data lines, clock signal and other control signal lines. That is, the control unit is required to activate a corresponding CE control signal when attempting to perform data access to a designated storage unit via an associated storage-unit access interface (or the so-called channel). It is apparent that any number of channels may be provide in the flash storage  300 , and each channel may be associated with any number of storage units, and the invention should not be limited thereto. 
     A two-dimensional ECC (Error Correction Code) may be appended to the stored messages, so as to guarantee the accuracy of the messages.  FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram showing a logical view of data storage according to an embodiment of the invention. The (j+1)×(i+1) storage units may include l storage units for storing ECCs (so-called vertical ECCs). Each vertical ECC is generated according to values stored in corresponding addresses of the other (j+1)×(i+1)−l storage units. In an example, assume i=7, j=7 and l=1: The last storage unit  10 [7][7] may store the SPC(64, 63) code, where SPC is the abbreviation of single parity check. In another example, assume i=7, j=7 and l=2: The last two storage units  10 [7][6] and  10 [7][7] may store the RS(64, 62) code, where RS stands for the Reed-Solomon code. In the other example, assume i=7, j=7 and l=3: The last three storage units  10 [7][5],  10 [7][6] and  10 [7][7] may store the RS(64, 61) code. The above examples are not exhaustive, and it should be understood that other types of ECC can be treated as a vertical ECC. The vertical ECC provides the protection in the storage-unit level, that is, when one of the storage units malfunctions, the vertical ECC accompanied by values stored in the other regular storage units can be used to fix all values stored in the failed storage unit if a total number of errors in the regular storage units are able to be fixed. In addition to the messages, which are received via the processing-unit access interface  250 , the other storage units stores horizontal ECCs. Every wordline in each storage unit may store values of k+1 (e.g. k=31) sectors. The aforementioned sectors stored in a single wordline may be collectively referred to as a page. For example, for a designated wordline, the storage unit  10 [0][0] may store values of sectors  410 [0][0][0] to  410 [0][0][k], the storage unit  10 [0][i] may store values of sectors  410 [0][i][0] to  410 [0][i][k], and the storage unit  10 [j][i] may store values of sectors  410 [j][i][0] to  410 [j][i][k]. Each of the exemplary sectors  410 [0][0][0] to  410 [0][0][k],  410 [0][i][0] to  410 [0][i][k],  410 [j][i][0] to  410 [j][i][k], and the like, may be referred to as a CE sector.  FIG. 5A  is a schematic diagram showing a logical view of data storage applied in each sector according to an embodiment of the invention. Any of the sectors  410 [0 . . . j][0 . . . i][0 . . . k] may contain a message  510  and a horizontal ECC  530 . The length of the message  510  is fixed, such as 1K bytes. The horizontal ECC  530  is generated in light of the values stored in the message  510 , and may be a SPC code, a RS code, or a similar but different code utilized to correct tolerable errors presented in the message  510 . The horizontal ECC  530  provides the protection in the sector level, that is, when a tolerable number of errors occur in the message  510 , the horizontal ECC  530  accompanied by the other correct values stored in the same message  510  can be used to fix the errors.  FIG. 5B  is a schematic diagram showing a logical view of two-dimensional ECC according to an embodiment of the invention. Each sector contains at least a message and a horizontal ECC, for example,  410 [0][0][0] contains at least a message  510 [0][0][0] and a horizontal ECC  530 [0][0][0] employed to fix errors presented in the message  510 [0][0][0]. Assume l=1, that is, only one storage unit is utilized to store vertical ECCs: A sector  510 [j][i][0] stores a vertical ECC employed to fix error bits presented in messages  510 [0][0][0] to  510 [j−1][i][0] while s sector  530 [j][i][0] stores a vertical ECC employed to fix error bits presented in horizontal ECCs  530 [0][0][0] to  530 [j−1][i][0]. In cases where a sector contains too many errors to recover although a typical error correction algorithm is used with a corresponding horizontal ECC, or hardware failure has occurred, a typical error correction algorithm is used accompanying with the vertical ECC and the other messages in relevant sectors, so as to recover the message of this sector. The aforementioned sectors and vertical ECC employed to correct values presented in the sectors may be collectively referred to as a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disk) group. 
       FIG. 6  is a system block diagram for programming data according to an embodiment of the invention. The processing unit  610  may be implemented in numerous ways, such as with dedicated hardware, or with general-purpose hardware (e.g., a single processor, multiple processors or graphics processing units capable of parallel computations, or others) that is programmed using microcode or software instructions to perform the functions recited herein. A message desired to be written and received from another electronic device via the processing-unit access interface  250  is stored to a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory)  620  by a DMA (Direct Memory Access) controller  623 . Any of the storage units  10 [0][0] to  10 [j][i] may contain multiple SLC. A multiplexer  640  may default to couple the DRAM  620  and a buffer  640 . After detecting that a specified length of message, such as 32K bytes, has been stored in the DRAM  620 , the processing unit  610  directs the DMA controller  621  to store the message in the DRAM  620  into the buffer  650  through the multiplexer  630 , and into a buffer (not shown) of a RAID-encoding unit  630  simultaneously. The RAID-encoding unit  630  may employ any typical ECC encoding algorithm to generate the vertical ECC, such as the SPC(64,63), RS(64,62) or RS(64,61) code, or a similar but different code, according to the currently stored result and the newly received message. The processing unit  610  may include at least two counters, one is a message counter for calculating a total number of message outputs, and the other is an ECC counter for calculating a total number of vertical ECC outputs. The processing unit  610  controls the multiplexer  640  to couple the RAID-encoding unit  630  to the buffer  650 , and directs the RAID-encoding unit  630  to output the encoded vertical ECC to the buffer  650  in one or more batches when the message counter has reached a predefined threshold. The processing unit  610  controls the multiplexer  640  to couple the DRAM  620  back to the buffer  650  again, so as to continue the subsequent message storage when the ECC counter has reached a predefined threshold. For example, assume that the RS(64,61) is employed: The processing unit  610  controls the multiplexer  640  to couple the RAID-encoding unit  630  to the buffer  650  and resets the message counter to zero when the message counter has counted to 61. Then, the processing unit  610  controls the multiplexer  640  to couple the DRAM  620  to the buffer  650  and resets the ECC counter to zero when the ECC counter has counted to 3. An arbiter  660  is directed by the processing unit  610  to read values of a sector or a vertical ECC from the buffer  650  and write the values into a designated storage unit, such as one of the storage units  10 [0][0] to  10 [j][i], through the associated storage-unit access interface, such as the associated one of the storage-unit access interfaces  230 [0] to  230 [j] each time the data stored in the DRAM  620  or the RAID-encoding unit  630  has been outputted to the buffer  650 . The arbiter  660  may activate a CE control signal relevant to the designated storage unit, and transmit the values and addresses to the designated storage unit via the data lines of the associated storage-unit access interface. Every storage-unit access interface further includes horizontal ECC circuits capable of generating horizontal ECCs according to the values (may be of a message or a vertical ECC) read from the buffer  650 . Specifically, for example, the storage-unit access interface generates a horizontal ECC  530  accordingly after a specified length of message  510  has been read from the buffer  650 , such as 1K bytes. The storage-unit access interface then programs the message  510  and the generated horizontal ECC  530  to a designated address of a designated storage unit. 
       FIGS. 7A and 7B  are flowcharts illustrating a method for programming data, performed by a processing unit, according to an embodiment of the invention. In order to form a RAID group, the processing unit  610  begins to set a message counter to zero and an ECC counter to zero for programming data (step S 711 ), and control the multiplexer  640  to couple the DRAM  620  to the buffer  650  (step S 713 ). Next, a loop including steps S 721  to S 731  is repeatedly performed until all messages within the RAID group are completely programmed into designated storage units, such as storage units  10 [0][0] to  10 [j][i]. Specifically, after detecting that a specific length of a new message, such as 32K bytes, has been stored in the DRAM  620  (step S 721 ), the processing unit  610  directs the DMA controller  621  to store the message of the DRAM  620  to the buffer  650  through the multiplexer  640 , and to the buffer (not shown) of the RAID-encoding unit  630  simultaneously (step S 723 ). Following that, the processing unit  610  directs the arbiter  660  to read values of the buffer  650  and program the read value to a designated storage unit, such as one of the storage units  10 [0][0] to  10 [j][i], through the associated storage-unit access interface, such as the associated one of the storage-unit access interfaces  230 [0] to  230 [j] (step S 725 ). After incrementing the message counter by one (step S 727 ), the processing unit  610  determines whether the message counter value has exceeded a predefined threshold, such as (j+1)×(i+1)−l−1 (step S 731 ). If so, the process continues to perform the following steps S 733  to S 751  for programming one or more vertical ECCs within the RAID group; otherwise, the process loops back to step S 721  for programming un-finished messages within the RAID group. 
     Detailed programming of the vertical ECC(s) within the RAID group is illustrated as follows. The processing unit  610  controls the multiplexer  640  to couple the RAID-encoding unit  630  to the buffer  650  (step S 733 ). Next, a loop including steps S 741  to S 751  is performed repeatedly until all vertical ECC(s) within the RAID group is/are completely programmed into designated storage unit(s), such as the storage units  10 [j][i−l+1] to  10 [j][i]. Specifically, the processing unit  610  directs the RAID-encoding unit  630  to output a specified length of a vertical ECC, such as 32K bytes, to the buffer  650  through the multiplexer  640  (step S 741 ). Following that, the processing unit  610  directs the arbiter  660  to read values of the buffer  650  and program the read value to a designated storage unit, such as one of the storage units  10 [j][i−l+1] to  10 [j][i], through the associated storage-unit access interface, such as the associated storage-unit access interface  230 [j] (step S 743 ). After incrementing the ECC counter by one (step S 745 ), the processing unit  610  determines whether the ECC counter value has exceeded a predefined threshold, such as l−1 (step S 751 ). If so, the process reverts back to step S 711  to continue programming for the next RAID group; otherwise, the process loops back to step S 741  for programming un-finished vertical ECC(s) within the RAID group. 
       FIG. 8  is a flowchart illustrating a method for programming data, performed by a storage-unit access interface, according to an embodiment of the invention. The method may be applied in one of the storage-unit access interfaces  230 [0] to  230 [j]. After the storage-unit access interface receives an instruction for programming a specified length of data, such as a 32K-byte message, to a designated storage unit from the arbiter  660  (step S 811 ), a loop including steps S 821  to S 831  is repeatedly performed until all data is completely programmed Specifically, for each run of the data programming, the storage-unit access interface obtains a preset length of data, such as 1K bytes, from the arbiter  660  (step S 821 ), generates a horizontal ECC according to the obtained data (step S 823 ), and programs the obtained data and the generated horizontal ECC into an address of the next sector of the designated storage unit (step S 825 ). It should be understood that, in step S 825 , if it is the first run of programming, then the read data and the generated horizontal ECC are programmed into an address of the first sector of a designated wordline. Next, the storage-unit access interface determines whether all data has been programmed completely (step S 831 ). If so, the process ends; otherwise, it reverts back to step S 821  to perform the next run of programming  FIG. 19A  is a timing diagram for programming data according to an embodiment of the invention. The storage-unit access interfaces  230 [0] to  230 [3] are denoted as channels CH0 to CH3 respectively, and storage units associated with each storage-unit access interface are denoted as CE 0  to CE 3  respectively.  FIG. 19A  illustrates an example of programming a data page PG0 including messages, horizontal ECCs, and/or vertical ECCs into the first wordlines WL0 of the storage units  10 [0][0] to  10 [3][3]. The arbiter  660  transmits relevant portions of the data page PG0 to buffers (not shown) of the first connected storage units CE 0  via the channels CH0 to CH3, respectively, and then, issues data write commands to the connected storage units CE 0 , so as to start the physical data programming. The storage unit CE 0  enters the busy state for a time period to program the data page PG0 stored in the buffer into SLCs on the wordline WL0 after receiving the data write command. When the storage units CE 0  perform the physical data programming, the channels CH0 to CH3 are available and the arbiter  660  can employ the channels CH0 to CH3 to transmit relevant portions of the data page PG0 to buffers (not shown) of the second connected storage units CE 1 . Those skilled in the art may observe that the aforementioned data placement for a RAID group results in the reduction of spare time on the channels CH0 to CH3 and yields better data throughput in the transmission to the storage units. 
       FIG. 9  is a system block diagram for reading data according to an embodiment of the invention. The processing unit  910  may be implemented in numerous ways, such as with dedicated hardware, or with general-purpose hardware (e.g., a single processor, multiple processors or graphics processing units capable of parallel computations, or others) that is programmed using microcode or software instructions to perform the functions recited hereinafter. Any of the storage units  10 [0][0] to  10 [j][i] may include multiple SLCs. After reading values of a sector from a designated storage unit, the storage-unit access interface, such as one of the storage-unit access interfaces  230 [0] to  230 [j], transmits the read values to a sector-decoding unit  960 . The sector-decoding unit  960  inspects whether the read message has any errors by using the read horizontal ECC, and if so, attempts to correct the error bit(s) by using a typical error correction algorithm with the horizontal ECC. When the read message has no errors or the correction is successful, the sector-decoding unit  960  drops the horizontal ECC and stores the original or corrected message into the buffer  950 , thereby enabling an electronic device to read the decoded message via the processing-unit access interface  250 . When the errors cannot be fixed although the error correction algorithm is used with the read horizontal ECC, the sector-decoding unit  960  sends a message to the processing unit  910 , which contains at least information regarding an address of the unrecoverable sector. Following that, the processing unit  910  activates a vertical correction procedure. In the vertical correction procedure, the processing unit  910  obtains information regarding which RAID group contains the unrecoverable sector, and finds addresses for the other sectors including that storing the corresponding vertical ECC within the RAID group. For example, refer to  FIG. 5B . Assume that the message  510 [0][0][0] of the sector  410 [0][0][0] has unrecoverable errors although a typical error correction algorithm is used with the horizontal ECC  530 [0][0][0]: The other sectors within the same RAID group, sectors  410 [0][1][0] to  410 [j][i][0], can be employed by the error correction algorithm to fix the error bit(s) presented in the message  510 [0] [0][0]. Next, the processing unit  910  informs the sector-decoding unit  960  that the vertical correction procedure has been activated, determines the other sectors corresponding the unrecoverable sector and directs the storage-unit access interface  230 [0] to  230 [j] to read values of the determined sectors in sequence. In cases where the vertical correction procedure has been activated, the sector-decoding unit  960  obtains values of the determined sectors through the storage-unit access interface  230 [0] to  230 [j], and after successfully decoding the messages, transmits the decoded results to a RAID-decoding unit  930 . The RAID-decoding unit  930  recovers the previously unrecoverable errors according to the decoded results of the other sectors, including the decoded messages and vertical ECC(s), and stores the outcome to the buffer  950 , thereby enabling an electronic device to read the corrected message through the processing-unit access interface  250 . It should be noted that, in practice, the processing unit  910  of  FIG. 9  and the processing unit  610  of  FIG. 6  may be the same, and the invention should not be limited thereto. 
       FIG. 10  is a flowchart illustrating a method for reading data, performed by a sector-decoding unit, according to an embodiment of the invention. After obtaining values of a sector through any of the storage-unit access interfaces  230 [0] to  230 [j] (step S 1010 ), the sector-decoding unit  960  inspects whether the read message is correct by using the read horizontal ECC (step S 1020 ). If correct (the “yes” path of step S 1020 ), then the sector-decoding unit  960  stores the original message into the buffer  950  (step S 1070 ); otherwise (the “no” path of step S 1020 ), attempts to fix the error bit(s) presented in the read message with the read horizontal ECC by using a typical error correction algorithm (step S 1030 ). Then, the sector-decoding unit  960  determines whether the correction is successful (step S 1040 ). If successful (the “yes” path of step S 1040 ), then the sector-decoding unit  960  stores the corrected message into the buffer  950  (step S 1070 ); otherwise (the “no” path of step S 1040 ), it sends a message to inform the processing unit  910  that errors presented in this sector cannot be fixed by the error correction algorithm with the read horizontal ECC (step S 1050 ). 
       FIG. 11  is a flowchart illustrating a method for reading data, performed by a processing unit, according to an embodiment of the invention. After receiving a notification indicating that errors presented in a message of a sector cannot be fixed by an error correction algorithm with the corresponding horizontal ECC of the sector (step S 1110 ), the processing unit  910  determines addresses of the other sectors within the same RAID group (step S 1120 ). For example, refer to  FIG. 5B . Assume that the message  510 [0][0][0] of the sector  410 [0][0][0] has unrecoverable errors although a typical error correction algorithm is used with the horizontal ECC  530 [0][0][0]: The other sectors within the same RAID group, sectors  410 [0][1][0] to  410 [j][i][0], can be employed by the error correction algorithm to fix the error bit(s) presented in the message  510 [0][0][0]. The processing unit  910  informs the sector-decoding unit  960  and the RAID-decoding unit  930  that a vertical correction procedure has been activated (step S 1130 ). After receiving the information, the sector-decoding unit  960  will read and decode values received through one of the storage-unit access interfaces  230 [0] to  230 [j], and alter the output of the decoded results to the RAID-decoding unit  930  rather than the buffer  950 . Next, the processing unit  910  repeatedly performs a loop for directing the storage-unit access interfaces  230 [0] to  230 [j] to read the determined sectors. In the loop, the processing unit  910  directs an associated storage-unit access interface to read values of the next sector (step S 1140 ). The directed storage-unit access interface transmits the read-out values to the sector-decoding unit  960 . The sector-decoding unit  960  decodes a message therefrom and transmits the decoded message to the RAID-decoding unit  930 , and then, the RAID-decoding unit  930  generates a new message according to the currently stored result and the newly received message, where the currently stored result is derived from a collection of previously received message. After receiving a notification indicating that the data read has completed from the directed storage-unit access interface (step S 1150 ), the processing unit  910  determines whether values of all other sectors within the same RAID group have been completely read (step S 1160 ). If so (the “yes” path of step S 1160 ), then the loop ends; otherwise (the “no” path of step S 1160 ), the processing unit  910  directs an associated storage-unit access interface to read values of the next sector (step S 1140 ). After the loop ends, the processing unit  910  informs the sector-decoding unit  960  and the RAID-decoding unit  930  that the vertical correction procedure ends (step S 1170 ). After receiving the information, the sector-decoding unit  960  will alter the output of the decoded results back to the buffer rather than the RAID-decoding unit  930 . On the other hand, after receiving the information, the RAID-decoding unit  930  stores the up-to-date message to the buffer  950  as the recovery result. 
       FIG. 12  is a system block diagram for programming data according to an embodiment of the invention. The processing unit  1210  may be implemented in numerous ways, such as with dedicated hardware, or with general-purpose hardware (e.g., a single processor, multiple processors or graphics processing units capable of parallel computations, or others) that is programmed using microcode or software instructions to perform the functions recited hereinafter. Any of the storage units  10 [0][0] to  10 [j][i] may include multiple memory cells, each of which is practiced by a TLC. The processing unit  1210  may program data wordline by wordline, where each wordline may store values of several pages. Although the embodiment will describe having specific features in the following paragraph, such as three pages being included per wordline, it should be noted that these are merely exemplary features, and the invention is equally applicable to systems having more or fewer pages per wordline. A single page may store a message of 8K, 16K, 32K or 64K bytes. Since each TLC of a wordline may leak the stored charges or absorb additional charges resulting from the programming of nearby wordline(s) and, thus, alter its threshold voltage, what is needed are operations for programming each TLC several rounds to maintain the stored value as expected. The programming methods to be described as follows may be referred to as a F&amp;F (Foggy and Fine) manner.  FIGS. 17A to 17C  are schematic diagrams illustrating the variations of threshold voltage distributions of TLCs on a wordline that has undergone three rounds of programming according to an embodiment of the invention. After the first round of programming, the threshold voltage distribution is shown as the solid line  FIG. 17A . It could be observed from  FIG. 17A  that, after the first coarse programming, the threshold voltage distribution does not reflect the eight distinguishing states as expected. The subsequent programming of the nearby wordlines affects the previously stored charges of TLCs on the wordline, making the threshold voltage distribution worse, as shown in the dash lines of  FIG. 17A . The second round of the programming is then performed to the TLCs on the same wordline to modify the stored charges to achieve the ideal threshold voltage. After that, the threshold voltage distribution is shown as the solid line of  FIG. 17B , which reflects the eight distinguishing states. However, after the subsequent programming of the nearby wordlines, the adjacent states of threshold voltage distribution may be affected by overlap, as shown in the dash lines of  FIG. 17B . In order to achieve the ideal distribution, the third round of programming is then performed to the TLCs on the same wordline to produce a wider interval between any two states of the threshold voltage distribution. The resulting threshold voltage distribution after the three rounds of programming may refer to  FIG. 17C . Refer back to  FIG. 12 . In order to overcome the aforementioned limitations, the buffer  1250  is configured to store three pages of values while the DRAM  1240  is configured to temporarily store nine pages of values received from an electronic device via the processing-unit access interface  250 . The processing unit  1210  may direct a DMA controller  1220  to store the values from the processing-unit access interface  250  into a designated address of the DRAM  1240 , where the latest received page of values may overwrite the earliest received one. It should be understood that the values of the overwritten page have been steadily stored in the designated memory cells after three rounds of the programming to be described as follows. The DRAM  1240  may be integrated into the SOC (System On Chip) including at least the components  230 [0 . . . j],  250 ,  1210 ,  1230  and  1250 , or implemented in an independent chip. The processing unit  1210  may direct the DMA controller  1230  to read three pages of values from the DRAM  1240  and store the read values into the buffer  1250 , and direct an associated storage-unit access interface, such as one of the storage-unit access interfaces  230 [0] to  230 [j], to program the values of the buffer  1250  into the designated TLCs of the designated wordline of the designated storage unit.  FIG. 13  is a schematic diagram showing a TLC block of a storage unit according to an embodiment of the invention. The TLC block  1300  may store 192 pages of values in total, labeled from PG0 to PG191. Each wordline may store three pages of values, and the wordlines are labeled from WL0 to WL63. Please refer to  FIG. 16C . All LSBs of TLCs on each wordline form one page of values collectively while all CSBs and MSBs of TLCs on each wordline collectively form the other two pages of values, respectively. In order to stabilize the programmed values of the storage unit, the processing unit  1210  not only programs the latest received three pages of values, which are stored in the DRAM  1240 , into the TLC block  1300 , but also reads the prior six pages of values from the DRAM  1240  in two batches, which have been programmed into the storage unit, and programs the read pages into the TLCs on the designated wordlines again via the designated storage-unit access interface. For example, after programming the page values PG6 to PG8 into the TLCs on the wordline WL2, the processing unit  1210  directs the DMA controller  1230  to read page values PG0 to PG2 from the DRAM  1240  and store the read data into the buffer  250  and directs the designated storage-unit access interface to program the values of the buffer  250  into the TLCs on the wordline WL0, and then, directs the DMA controller  1230  to read page values PG3 to PG5 from the DRAM  1240  and store the read data into the buffer  250  and directs the designated storage-unit access interface to program the values of the buffer  250  into the TLCs on the wordline WL1.  FIG. 21  is a schematic diagram depicting a programming sequence for wordlines of a storage unit according to an embodiment of the invention. The programming sequence may be recorded in a lookup table  2100 , and therefore, the processing unit  1210  determines which wordline and pages to be programmed in each batch accordingly. The lookup table  2100  contains three fields respectively recording a sequential number for the first, second and third rounds of programming for each of the wordlines WL0 to WL63. Due to the values stored in the TLCs not being stable until a specified rounds of programming, the processing unit  1210  first determines whether the requested values have been programmed into the TLCs stably after receiving a data read command from an electronic device via the processing-unit access interface  250 . If so, the processing unit  1210  reads values from a designated address of a designated storage unit via the associated storage-unit access interface, such as one of the storage-unit access interfaces  230 [0] to  230 [j], and replies to the electronic device with the read values; otherwise, it reads values to be programmed into the designated address of the designated storage unit from the DRAM  1240  and replies to the electronic device. It should be noted that the DRAM  1240  or a register (not shown) may store information regarding the fact that the values, which are stored in the DRAM  1240  temporarily, will be programmed into which address of which storage unit, and the processing unit  1210  may determine whether the requested values have been programmed into the TLCs stably in light of the stored information. Specifically, if the address of the requested values falls within the addresses to be programmed for the values of the DRAM  1240  according to the information stored in the DRAM  1240  or the register (not shown), then the processing unit  1210  determines that the requested values haven&#39;t been programmed into the TLCs stably. 
       FIG. 14  is a flowchart illustrating a method for programming data, performed by a processing unit, according to an embodiment of the invention. After receiving a data write command and a data write address from an electronic device via the processing-unit access interface  250  (step S 1410 ), the processing unit  1210  directs the DMA controller  1220  to store values to be programmed into the DRAM  1240 , which are obtained from the processing-unit access interface  250  (step S 1420 ). It is determined whether a specified number of page values have been received completely (step S 1430 ), for example, values from the nth page to the (n+2)th page. If so, the processing unit  1210  performs a physical data programming (steps S 1440  to S 1470 ); otherwise, it continues to receive the remaining page values from the processing-unit access interface  250  (steps S 1410  to S 1420 ). In the physical data programming, the processing unit  1210  directs the DMA controller  1230  to store the latest three pages of values of the DRAM  1240  into the buffer  1250  (step S 1440 ), and directs an associated storage-unit access interface, such as one of the storage-unit access interfaces  230 [0] to  230 [j], to program the values of the buffer  1250  into the TLCs of the designated wordline of the designated storage unit (step S 1450 ). In order to stabilize the programmed values of the storage unit from being affected by the data programming for the nearby wordlines, the processing unit  1210  further directs the DMA controller  1230  to store the prior six pages of values of the DRAM  1240 , which have been programmed lately, into the buffer  1250  again in two batches, and, during each batch, directs an associated storage-unit access interface, such as one of the storage-unit access interfaces  230 [0] to  230 [j], to program the values of the buffer  1250  into the TLCs on the designated wordline again. Specifically, the processing unit  1210  directs the DMA controller  1230  to store the third-last to the last pages of values prior to that programmed in step S 1450 , which are obtained from the DRAM  1240 , into the buffer  1250 , such as the (n−3)th to (n−1)th pages, and directs the associated storage-unit access interface to program the values of the buffer  1250  into the TLCs on the designated wordline of the designated storage unit again (step S 1460 ). Following that, the processing unit  1210  directs the DMA controller  1230  to store the sixth-last to the fourth-last pages of values prior to that programmed in step S 1450 , which are obtained from the DRAM  1240 , into the buffer  1250 , such as the (n−6)th to (n−4)th pages, and directs the associated storage-unit access interface to program the values of the buffer  1250  into the TLCs on the designated wordline of the designated storage unit again (step S 1470 ). 
       FIG. 15  is a flowchart illustrating a method for reading data, performed by a processing unit, according to an embodiment of the invention. After receiving a data read command and a data read address from an electronic device via the processing-unit access interface  250  (step S 1510 ), the processing unit  1210  determines whether the requested values have not been programmed into the TLCs stably (step S 1520 ). If so, the processing unit  1210  directs the DMA controller  1220  to read the requested values from the DRAM  1240  and replies to the requesting electronic device with the read values via the processing-unit access interface  250  (step S 1530 ); otherwise, it reads values from the data read address of a designated storage unit via an associated storage-unit access interface (step S 1540 ), and replies to the requesting electronic device with the read values via the processing-unit access interface  250  (step S 1550 ). 
     The flash memory having TLCs may further store vertical ECCs to secure the stored data (including messages and horizontal ECCs) so as to form the two-dimensional ECC protection. An embodiment of the invention introduces a placement for the messages and ECCs to improve the efficiency of data programming. Assume that i=3, j=3 and each wordline stores three pages of messages with horizontal ECCs, or vertical ECCs:  FIG. 18A  is a schematic diagram of the data placement with vertical ECCs of the RS(48,45) within a RAID group according to an embodiment of the invention. A RAID group is formed to contain 48 pages on the first wordlines WL0 of the 16 storage units  10 [0][0] to  10 [3][3], where the first wordline WL0 of the storage unit  10 [3][3] as shown in shadow stores three pages of vertical ECCs.  FIG. 18B  is a schematic diagram of the data placement with vertical ECCs of the RS(96,93) within a RAID group according to an embodiment of the invention. A RAID group is formed to contain 96 pages on the first and second wordlines WL0 and WL1 of the 16 storage units  10 [0][0] to  10 [3][3], where the second wordline WL1 of the storage unit  10 [3][3] as shown in shadow stores three pages of vertical ECCs. The stored values may be recoverable when a whole storage unit of the flash memory, such as one of the storage units  10 [0][0] to  10 [3][3], fails because the page values with the horizontal ECCs, and the associated vertical ECCs within a RAID group are spread in different physical storage units. On top of that, the aforementioned placement may also improve the efficiency of data programming. Please refer to  FIG. 6 . The processing unit  610  may direct the arbiter  660  to program the page values into the first wordline of each storage unit in a predefined sequence.  FIG. 19B  is a timing diagram for programming data according to an embodiment of the invention. The storage-unit access interfaces  230 [0] to  230 [3] are denoted as channels CH0 to CH3 respectively, and storage units associated with each storage-unit access interface are denoted as CE 0  to CE 3  respectively.  FIG. 19B  illustrates an example of programming three data pages PG0, PG1 and PG2 including messages, horizontal ECCs, and/or vertical ECCs into the first wordlines WL0 of the storage units  10 [0][0] to  10 [3][3]. The arbiter  660  transmits relevant portions of the data pages PG0, PG1 and PG2 to buffers (not shown) of the first connected storage units CE 0  via the channels CH0 to CH3, respectively, and then issues data write commands to the connected storage units CE 0 , so as to start the physical data programming. The storage unit CE 0  enters the busy state for a time period to program the data pages PG0, PG1 and PG2 stored in the buffer into TLCs on the wordline WL0 after receiving the data write command. When the storage units CE 0  perform the physical data programming, the channels CH0 to CH3 are available and the arbiter  660  can employ the channels CH0 to CH3 to transmit relevant portions of the data pages PG0, PG1 and PG2 to buffers (not shown) of the second connected storage units CE 1 . Those skilled in the art may observe that the aforementioned data placement for a RAID group results in the reduction of spare time on the channels CH0 to CH3 and yields better data throughput in the transmission to the storage units. 
     The storage units  10 [0][0] to  10 [j][i] of  FIG. 6  may be devised to contain multiple TLCs.  FIGS. 20A to 20D  are flowcharts for programming data, performed by a processing unit, according to an embodiment of the invention. During a data programming for a RAID group, the processing unit  610  sets a message counter to zero and an ECC counter to zero (step S 2011 ) and controls the multiplexer  640  to couple the DRAM  620  to the buffer  650  (step S 2013 ). Subsequently, a loop including steps S 2021  to S 2087  is repeatedly performed until all messages within the RAID group are programmed into the designated storage units completely, for example, the wordlines WL0 of the storage units  10 [0][0] to  10 [j][i] as shown in  FIG. 18A , or the wordlines WL0 and WL1 of the storage units  10 [0][0] to  10 [j][i] as shown in  FIG. 18B . 
     Steps S 2021  to S 2031  are preparation steps for programming data into designated wordlines of all storage units. The processing unit  610  employs a variable q to record which storage-unit access interface is used for the current data programming, and a variable p to record which storage unit associated with the used storage-unit access interface is to be programmed for the current data programming. In order to stabilize the programmed values of the storage unit, the described method for programming values on wordlines as shown in  FIG. 14  may be adopted to ensure each wordline can be repeatedly programmed at least three times, and each round of programming is interlaced with that of the nearby wordlines. At the beginning of the data programming for the first wordline of the first storage unit, the processing unit  610  sets p=0 and q=0 (step S 2021 ). The processing unit  610  then determines which wordline or pages are to be programmed, for example, the wordline WL0 or the pages PG0 to PG2 (step S 2023 ). The message counter is maintained at zero or set to MAXi×MAXj×n, and the ECC counter is set to zero, where the constant MAXj indicates a total number of the storage-unit access interfaces, the constant MAXI indicates a total number of the storage units associated with one storage-unit access interface, and the variable n indicates a total number of the completed wordline(s) for this RAID group (step S 2025 ). Taking the data placement for a RAID group with the vertical RS(96,93) ECC as shown in  FIG. 18B  as an example, the message counter is maintained to zero if the data programming is related to the first wordline WL0, and is set to 4×4×1=16 if the data programming is related to the second wordline WL1. 
     Steps S 2031  to S 2035  are performed to program messages and horizontal ECCs into the designated storage unit  10 [q][p]. The processing unit  610  directs the DMA controller  621  to store three pages of messages of the DRAM  620  into the buffer  650  through the multiplexer  640 , and into a buffer (not shown) of the RAID-encoding unit  630  simultaneously (step S 2031 ). Next, the processing unit  610  directs the arbiter  660  to read the values of the buffer  650  and instruct the storage-unit access interface  230 [q] to program the read values into the storage unit  10 [q][p] (step S 2033 ). After that, the processing unit  610  increments the message counter by three (step S 2035 ). The programming timings for each storage unit may be referred to in the description of  FIG. 19 . 
     Steps S 2041 , S 2081  and S 2087  are performed to determine which storage-unit access interface and storage unit are to be used for the next data programming. After determining that the message counter value is lower than a threshold (the “no” path of step S 2041 ), the processing unit  610  increments the variable q by one (step S 2081 ). Taking the data placement for a RAID group with the vertical RS(96,93) ECC as shown in  FIG. 18B  as an example, the message counter value being lower than the threshold (for example, 93) indicates that the messages within the RAID group have not been programmed completely. Then, it is determined whether the variable q exceeds or equals the constant MAXj (step S 2083 ). If not, the process proceeds to step S 2031 ; otherwise, the processing unit  610  increments the variable p by one and sets the variable q to zero (step S 2085 ) and determines whether the variable p exceeds or equals the constant MAXi (step S 2087 ). When the variable p exceeds or equals the constant MAXi (the “yes” path of step S 2087 ), it indicates that the designated wordlines of all storage units are completely programmed and the process proceeds to step S 2021  to continue a data program for the next wordline. Otherwise (the “no” path of step S 2087 ), the process proceeds to step S 2031 . 
     Due to the vertical ECCs being required to be program at least three times to become stable, an embodiment of the invention introduces a procedure for storing the vertical ECCs generated at the first time into the DRAM  620 , and obtaining the generated vertical ECCs from the DRAM  620  for the subsequent re-programming, rather than calculating the vertical ECCs again. Taking the data placement for a RAID group with the vertical RS(96,93) ECCs as shown in  FIG. 18B  as an example, in another implementation for reprogramming the vertical ECCs, the RAID-encoding unit  630  reloads values of the wordlines WL0 and WL1 of the 16 storage units, except for the wordline WL1 of the storage unit  10 [3][3], and accordingly regenerates the vertical ECCs to be reprogram in the wordline WL1 of the storage unit  10 [3][3], however, it consumes redundant time to do so. Steps S 2051  to S 2079  are performed to program the vertical ECCs to the designated storage unit  10 [q][p]. After determining that the message counter value is higher than or equal to the threshold (the “yes” path of step S 2041 ), the processing unit  610  increments the variable p by one (step S 2051 ). Next, the processing unit  610  determines whether the vertical ECC within the RAID group has been generated (step S 2053 ). If so, the processing unit  610  directs the storage-unit access interface  230 [q] to obtain the previously calculated results temporarily stored the DRAM  620 , and program the obtained results into the storage unit  10 [q][p] (steps S 2061  to S 2068 ); otherwise, it directs the storage-unit access interface  230 [q] to obtain the encoding results by the RAID-encoding unit  630  and program the obtained results into the storage unit  10 [q][p] (steps S 2071  to S 2079 ). 
     A loop including steps S 2071  to S 2079  is repeatedly performed until all vertical ECCs generated by the RAID-encoding unit  630  are completely programmed into a designated storage unit. Specifically, the processing unit  610  controls the multiplexer  640  to couple the RAID-encoding unit  630  to the buffer  650  (step S 2071 ), directs the RAID-encoding unit  630  to output three pages of the vertical ECCs to the buffer  650  via the multiplexer  640 , and directs the DMA controller  621  to store the calculated results of a buffer (not shown) of the RAID-encoding unit  630  into the DRAM  620  (step S 2073 ). Next, the processing unit  610  directs the arbiter  660  to instruct the storage-unit access interface  230 [q] to read the values of the buffer  650  and program the values into the designated wordline of the storage unit  10 [q][p] (step S 2075 ). After incrementing the ECC counter by three (step S 2076 ), the processing unit  610  determines whether the ECC counter value is higher than or equal to a threshold, for example, the constant l, (step S 2077 ). If so, the process proceeds to step S 2069 ; otherwise, after the variable p is incremented by one (step S 2079 ), the process loops back to step S 2073  to continue the programming for the uncompleted vertical ECCs. 
     A loop including steps S 2061  to S 2068  is performed repeatedly until all vertical ECCs temporarily stored in the DRAM  620  are completely programmed into a designated storage unit. Specifically, the processing unit  610  directs the DMA controller  621  to store three pages of the vertical ECCs temporarily stored in the DRAM  620  into the buffer  650  via the multiplexer  640  (step S 2061 ). Next, the processing unit  610  directs the arbiter  660  to instruct the storage-unit access interface  230 [q] to read the values of the buffer  650  and program the values into the designated wordline of the storage unit  10 [q][p] (step S 2063 ). After incrementing the ECC counter by three (step S 2065 ), the processing unit  610  determines whether the ECC counter value is higher than or equals the threshold, for example, the constant l, (step S 2067 ). If so, the process proceeds to step S 2069 ; otherwise, after the variable p is incremented by one (step S 2068 ), the process loops back to step S 2061  to continue the programming for the uncompleted vertical ECCs. Finally, the processing unit  610  determines whether the whole data programming requested by the electronic device is completed (step S 2069 ). If so, the process ends; otherwise, the multiplexer  640  is controlled to couple the DRAM  620  to the buffer  650  (step S 2080 ), the process loops back to step S 2021  to continue the data programming for the next RAID group. Details of steps S 2033 , S 2063  and S 2075  may refer to the description of  FIG. 8 . 
     Although the embodiment has been described as having specific elements in  FIGS. 1 to 3 ,  FIG. 6 ,  FIG. 9  and  FIG. 12 , it should be noted that additional elements may be included to achieve better performance without departing from the spirit of the invention. While the process flow described in  FIGS. 7A to 7B ,  FIG. 8 ,  FIGS. 10 to 11 ,  FIGS. 14 to 15  and  FIGS. 20A to 20D  includes a number of operations that appear to occur in a specific order, it should be apparent that these processes can include more or fewer operations, which can be executed serially or in parallel (e.g., using parallel processors or a multi-threading environment). 
     While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.