Patent ID: 11257555

Abstract:
The present invention relates to systems and methods for implementing wear leveling in a flash memory device that emulates an EEPROM. The embodiments utilize an index array, which stores an index word for each logical address in the emulated EEPROM. Each bit in each index word is associated with a physical address for a physical word in the emulated EEPROM, and the index word keeps track of which physical word is the current word for a particular logical address. The use of the index word enables a wear leveling algorithm that allows for a programming command to a logical address to result in: (i) skipping the programming operation if the data stored in the current word does not contain a “1” that corresponds to a “0” in the data to be stored, (ii) reprogramming one or more bits of the current word in certain situations, or (iii) shifting to and programming the next physical word in certain situations.