Lower page only host burst writes

摘要

In a Multi Level Cell (MLC) memory array, a burst of data from a host may be written in only lower pages of a block in a rapid manner. Other data from a host may be written in lower and upper pages so that data is more efficiently arranged for long term storage.

主权项

1. A method of operating a block-erasable three-dimensional nonvolatile memory formed in a plurality of physical levels of memory cells disposed above a substrate comprising:
determining whether a particular write operation is a burst write and selecting a write mode accordingly as either a burst write mode or a non-burst write mode prior to storing data of the write operation in the block-erasable three-dimensional nonvolatile memory; in the non-burst write mode, storing data in first Multi Level Cell (MLC) update blocks as both lower page data and upper page data along word lines of the first MLC update blocks without previously storing the data in the block-erasable three-dimensional nonvolatile memory; in the burst write mode, storing burst data in second MLC update blocks as only lower page data along word lines of the second MLC update blocks; and subsequently, after the burst write mode ends, filling upper pages of the second MLC update blocks with previously written data that is copied from elsewhere in the block-erasable three-dimensional nonvolatile memory array while the burst data remains in the second MLC blocks.