The inventive concept relates generally to electronic memory technologies, and more particularly to nonvolatile memory systems that monitor data integrity.
Semiconductor memory devices can be roughly divided into two categories according to whether they retain stored data when disconnected from power. These categories include volatile memory devices, which lose stored data when disconnected from power, and nonvolatile memory devices, which retain stored data when disconnected from power. Examples of volatile memory devices include dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and static random access memory (SRAM), and examples of nonvolatile memory devices include read only memory (ROM), magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM), resistive random access memory (RRAM), and flash memory.
A typical memory system operates under the control of a memory controller. The memory controller receives information (e.g., data, requests, etc.) from an external device (e.g., host, application processor, etc.) and controls a memory device based on the received information. Unfortunately, the information may be corrupted during transmission or reception. Accordingly, a data integrity field (DIF) may be provided with the information in order to allow detection of the corruption.
In a conventional nonvolatile memory device, the DIF is stored in a page, together with user data. The presence of the DIF, however, restricts the amount of user data that can be stored in the same page. Accordingly, there is a general need for techniques and technologies that reduce the amount of space occupied by a DIF within a nonvolatile memory device.