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US 7,072,216 B2Granted
Method for reading flash memory cell, NAND-type flash memory apparatus, and NOR-type flash memory apparatus
AssigneeHynix Semiconductor Inc.
InventorKi Seog Kim
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a method of reading a flash memory cell, a NAND-type flash memory apparatus, and a NOR-type flash memory apparatus. According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the resolution capability and reduce the determination time by means of different voltages applied at the read operation of the flash device. As a result, it is possible to reduce sizes of circuits such as a page buffer as well as the memory cell of the flash device.
Claims4
A method for reading a flash memory cell having a gate terminal, a drain terminal, and a source terminal, comprising the steps of:
- applying a channel voltage to the gate terminal, applying a read voltage to the drain terminal, and applying a power supply voltage to the source terminal, wherein the channel voltage is lower than a threshold voltage of the cell in a programmed state and higher than a threshold voltage of the cell in an erased state, wherein the read voltage is lower than the power supply voltage and higher than a ground voltage;
- and
- reading information stored in the cell by comparing a voltage of the drain terminal with a reference voltage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.