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:
May. 17, 2016
Filed:
Aug. 13, 2013
Fuchen Mu, Austin, TX (US);
Chen He, Austin, TX (US);
Yanzhuo Wang, Austin, TX (US);
FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR, INC., Austin, TX (US);
Abstract
Methods and systems are disclosed for extended erase protection for non-volatile memory (NVM) cells during embedded erase operations for NVM systems. The embodiments described herein utilize an additional threshold voltage (Vt) check after soft programming operation within an embedded erase operation completes to provide extended erase protection of NVM cells. In particular, the threshold voltages for NVM cells are compared against a threshold voltage (Vt) check voltage (V) level and an additional embedded erase cycle is performed if any NVM cells are found to exceed the threshold voltage (Vt) check voltage (V) level. The threshold voltage (Vt) check voltage (V) level can be, for example, a voltage level that is slightly higher than an erase verify voltage (V) level and lower than read voltage level (V).