Method for erasing flash electrically erasable programmable read-only

Abstract

A flash Electrically-Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) includes a plurality of floating gate transistor memory cells, a plurality of wordlines connected to the cells and a power supply for generating erase pulses. A controller controls the power supply to apply an erase pulse to all wordlines which are not deselected. Then, an erase verify procedure is applied to the cells in sequence. If all cells connected to a wordline pass the erase verify test, the wordline is deselected such that subsequent erase pulses will not be applied to the wordline and possibly cause the cells to become overerased. In one embodiment of the invention, erase verify is performed on all of the cells after an erase pulse is applied. The erase operation is completed when all cells pass erase verify. In another embodiment, erase verify is applied to each cell in sequence, with erase pulses being applied until each current cell passes erase verify. The wordlines can be deselected individually or in groups. The invention results in a tightening of the threshold voltage distribution of the cells.