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:
Nov. 22, 2005
Filed:
Oct. 02, 2003
Darlene G. Hamilton, San Jose, CA (US);
Zhizheng Liu, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Mark W. Randolph, San Jose, CA (US);
Yi He, Freemont, CA (US);
Edward Hsia, Saratoga, CA (US);
Kulachet Tanpairoj, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Mimi Lee, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Alykhan Madhani, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Darlene G. Hamilton, San Jose, CA (US);
Zhizheng Liu, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Mark W. Randolph, San Jose, CA (US);
Yi He, Freemont, CA (US);
Edward Hsia, Saratoga, CA (US);
Kulachet Tanpairoj, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Mimi Lee, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Alykhan Madhani, Santa Clara, CA (US);
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Abstract
A method of erasing a flash electrically erasable read only memory (EEPROM) device composed of a plurality of memory cells includes pre-programming the plurality of memory cells, applying an erase pulse to the plurality of memory cells followed by an erase verification. The erase verification is followed by soft programming any memory cells having a threshold voltage below a predetermined minimum level and applying a positive gate stress to the plurality of memory cells. The erase method prevents overerasing and provides a tightened threshold voltage distribution.