Single level cell programming in a multiple level cell non-volatile memory device
First Claim
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1. A method for single level programming in a multiple level memory cell, the method comprising:
- writing single level data to one of a plurality of bits of the memory cell; and
writing reinforcing data to the remaining plurality of bits of the memory cell such that a threshold voltage of the memory cell is adjusted to one of two desired threshold voltages representing the single level data.
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Abstract
A multiple level cell memory array has an area that can be programmed as single level cells. The cells to be programmed are initially programmed with the desire data into either the least significant or most significant bit of the cell. A second programming operation the programs reinforcing data that adjusts the threshold level of the cell to the appropriate level for the desired data.
18 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for single level programming in a multiple level memory cell, the method comprising:
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writing single level data to one of a plurality of bits of the memory cell; and writing reinforcing data to the remaining plurality of bits of the memory cell such that a threshold voltage of the memory cell is adjusted to one of two desired threshold voltages representing the single level data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method for programming single level data in a multilevel memory cell, comprising:
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assigning a first memory cell level to represent single level data having a first level; assigning a second memory cell level to represent single level data having a second level wherein a third memory cell level exists between the first memory cell level and the second memory cell level; and programming the memory cell to one of the first or second memory cell levels representative of the level of the single level data. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for programming a single bit of data in a multilevel memory cell having more than two data states wherein each data state is represented by a range of threshold voltages of the memory cell, comprising:
programming the multilevel cell to only one of two data states of the more than two data states such that a first data state of the more than two data states represents a most negative threshold voltage of the memory cell and a second data state of the more than two data states represents a most positive threshold voltage of the memory cell. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A method for programming an array of multilevel cells with multilevel and single level data wherein the data is represented by a plurality of bits each bit representing a level, comprising:
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programming single level data to a multilevel cell by programming one bit of the multilevel cell to one of two threshold levels such that the two threshold levels comprise the least and greatest threshold levels of the memory cell; programming multilevel data to a memory cell by programming the cell to one of a plurality of levels wherein each level is representative of the multilevel data; and programming a least significant bit of the multilevel data to a memory cell and a most significant bit of the multilevel data to a different memory cell.
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17. A memory device, comprising:
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an array of multilevel memory cells each memory cell configured to store multilevel data comprising a plurality of bits of data wherein each bit has a logical address; and control circuitry configured to program each logical address to a different memory cell of the array of memory cells such that no adjacent logical addresses are stored in the same memory cell; and wherein the control circuitry is further configured to determine if data to be stored is one of single level data and multilevel data and to program single level data to a memory cell to one of two levels such that the two levels comprise a least and a greatest threshold potential of the memory cell wherein at least a third level is present between the two levels and program multilevel data to a memory cell to a threshold potential representative of the multilevel data. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification