Patent ID: 7352635

Claim:
In a non-volatile memory array partitioned into an user array portion and a redundant array portion such that a defective location in the user array portion is replaceable by a corresponding redundant location in the redundant array portion, a method of reading data from a group of memory locations straddling both the user and redundant array portions of the memory, comprising: providing a group of access circuits including a group of data latches for latching data associated with both the user array portion and the redundant array portion; providing a data bus; buffering addresses of defective locations of the user array portion in a defect map buffer; buffering redundant data from the data latches of the redundant array portion in a redundant data buffer; and enabling exchange of data between the data bus and the user portion data latches in response to a current address of the user array portion that does not correspond to a defective location in the defect map buffer, and enabling exchange of data between the data bus and a corresponding redundant data in the redundant data buffer in response to a current address of the user array portion that corresponds to a defective location in the defect map buffer.