The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 16, 2025
Filed:
Oct. 05, 2021
Applicant:
Rambus Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Inventor:
Mark D. Kellam, Siler City, NC (US);
Assignee:
Rambus Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G11C 11/42 (2006.01); G11C 13/04 (2006.01); G11C 16/10 (2006.01); G11C 16/12 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
G11C 11/42 (2013.01); G11C 13/04 (2013.01); G11C 16/102 (2013.01); G11C 16/12 (2013.01);
Abstract
A flash memory cell of a flash memory device is illuminated with light during programming and/or erasing. The wavelength of the light is selected such that the photons impinging on the flash memory cell have an energy that approaches the barrier height (conduction band offset) of the tunnel insulator. Illuminating the flash memory cell during programming/erase increases the tunneling current through the tunnel insulator by way of the photon assisted tunneling (PAT) effect.