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:
Apr. 21, 2009
Filed:
Jun. 02, 2005
Lorenzo Bedarida, Milan, IT;
Fabio Tassan Caser, Milan, IT;
Simone Bartoli, Cambiago, IT;
Giorgio Oddone, Genoa, IT;
Lorenzo Bedarida, Milan, IT;
Fabio Tassan Caser, Milan, IT;
Simone Bartoli, Cambiago, IT;
Giorgio Oddone, Genoa, IT;
Atmel Corporation, San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
A system and method for reducing soft-writing in a multilevel flash memory during read or verify includes a memory cell. A first and second reference cells are coupled to the memory cell and are configured to receive a first and a second voltage. A current comparison circuit is coupled to the first and second reference cells and to the memory cell and is configured to compare current flow through the memory cell with current flow through the first and second reference cells, and to determine whether the memory cell holds a first range of values while the first reference cell receives the first voltage, and if the memory cell does not hold the first range of values, to determine whether the memory cell holds a second range of values while the second reference cell receives the second voltage, thereby reducing soft-writing during the read operation.