阅读说明：本技术 闪存存储器单元字节可变高持久性数据存储器的共享源极线存储器架构 (Shared source line memory architecture for a flash memory cell byte-variable high-endurance data memory ) 是由 J-I·皮 K·休伊特 于 2019-08-16 设计创作，主要内容包括：存储器阵列包括(a)被布置成多个字节的多个存储器单元、(b)连接到每个字节的单独字线以及(b)多条共享源极线,每条共享源极线连接到至少两个字节,使得阵列中的每个字节可通过单独字线和共享源极线寻址。由于该存储器阵列架构,对第一字节执行的编程操作将共享源极线电压施加在非所选第二字节(其中禁止电压施加到连接到该第二字节的位线)上,产生了与常规存储器阵列中的对角(或行)编程干扰状况相对应的干扰状况。使用共享源极线可减少所需的源极线驱动器的数量,从而减少了该存储器阵列的开销面积,同时可实现传统的字节可变EEPROM的向后兼容性。(The memory array includes (a) a plurality of memory cells arranged in a plurality of bytes, (b) an individual word line connected to each byte, and (b) a plurality of shared source lines, each shared source line connected to at least two bytes, such that each byte in the array is addressable by an individual word line and a shared source line. Due to the memory array architecture, a program operation performed on a first byte applies a shared source line voltage on a non-selected second byte, with an inhibit voltage applied to the bit line connected to the second byte, creating a disturb condition corresponding to a diagonal (or row) program disturb condition in a conventional memory array. The use of shared source lines reduces the number of source line drivers required, thereby reducing the overhead area of the memory array, while achieving backward compatibility of conventional byte-alterable EEPROMs.)

1. A memory array, the memory array comprising:

a plurality of memory cells arranged in a plurality of bytes, each byte comprising one or more memory cells;

a plurality of word lines, each word line connected to a single byte of the plurality of bytes; and

a shared source line connected to the plurality of bytes;

enabling each of the plurality of bytes to be addressed by one of the individual word lines and the shared source line.

2. The memory array of claim 1, wherein each byte comprises a plurality of memory cells, and wherein, for each respective byte, the memory array comprises a respective bit line connected to each memory cell of the respective byte.

3. The memory array of any one of claims 1-2, wherein the plurality of bytes is a subset of bytes in the memory array.

4. The memory array of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of bytes comprises 2 bytes, 4 bytes, 8 bytes, 16 bytes, 32 bytes, 64 bytes, or 128 bytes.

5. The memory array of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein:

the plurality of bytes comprises at least a first byte and a second byte connected to the common source line; and is

The program operation performed on the first byte applies a source line voltage on the second byte corresponding to a diagonal program disturb condition.

6. The memory array of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein:

the plurality of bytes comprises at least a first byte and a second byte connected to the common source line; and is

The program operation performed on the first byte applies a source line voltage on the second byte corresponding to a row program disturb condition.

7. The memory array of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein:

the plurality of bytes comprises at least a first byte and a second byte;

the first byte is connected to a first word line of the plurality of word lines;

the second byte is connected to a second word line of the plurality of word lines;

the first byte and the second byte are connected to the common source line;

the first byte is connected to at least one first bit line; and is

The second byte is connected to at least one second bit line separate from the at least one first bit line.

8. The memory array of claim 7, further comprising a driver configured to, for a program operation performed on the first byte:

applying a first word line voltage on the first word line connected to the first byte;

applying a source line voltage on the shared source line connected to both the first byte and the second byte; and

applying an inhibit voltage on the at least one second bit line connected to the second byte.

9. The memory array of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the plurality of memory cells comprise NOR flash memory cells.

10. The memory array of claim 9, wherein the plurality of split-gate memory cells comprise embeddedA memory cell.

11. The memory array of any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the plurality of memory cells comprises a plurality of split gate memory cells.

12. The memory array of claim 11, wherein the plurality of split-gate memory cells comprises split-gate cells with a shared erase gate or a shared coupling gate.

13. The memory array of any one of claims 1 to 12, comprising a single source line driver for the shared source line, such that a total number of single source line drivers in the memory array is less than a total number of bytes in the memory array.

14. A memory device, the memory device comprising:

the memory array of any one of claims 1 to 13,

a plurality of individual word lines, each word line connected to a single byte of the plurality of bytes;

a plurality of shared source lines, each shared source line connected to at least two bytes of the plurality of bytes;

a plurality of word line drivers configured to apply voltages to the plurality of individual word lines; and

a plurality of source line drivers configured to apply a voltage to the plurality of shared source lines;

enabling each byte of the plurality of bytes to be addressed by (a) one of the individual word lines connected to a respective word line driver and (b) one of the shared source lines connected to a respective source line driver;

wherein, since each shared source line is connected to at least two bytes, a number of shared source lines in the memory device is less than a number of word lines in the memory device, and a number of source line drivers in the memory device is less than a number of word line drivers in the memory device.

15. A method of operating a memory array comprising at least a first byte and a second byte, a first word line and at least one first bit line connected to the first byte, a second word line and at least one second bit line connected to the second byte, and a shared source line connected to both the first byte and the second byte, the method comprising:

performing a program operation on the first byte by:

applying a first word line voltage on the first word line connected to the first byte;

applying a respective data voltage on the at least one first bit line connected to the first byte;

applying a source line voltage on the shared source line connected to both the first byte and the second byte; and

applying an inhibit voltage on the at least one second bit line connected to the second byte, the inhibit voltage reducing a disturb effect on the second byte caused by performing the program operation on the first byte.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to integrated circuit memory devices, and more particularly, to memory devices including memory arrays that utilize a shared Source Line (SL) architecture for byte alterable flash memory to achieve high endurance and/or reduce area of a die or chip.

Background

General purpose memory devices, such as Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM) flash memory devices, utilize byte selectable memory arrays.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a conventional byte selectable memory array that uses a single (byte) select transistor (circled) to select a particular byte of an array of memory cells (represented by a dashed line), e.g., to program or erase the selected byte.

Fig. 2 illustrates an exemplary conventional memory array architecture in which separate bytes are separated using separate injection wells, such as is employed in certain PMOS Electrically Erasable Cell (PEEC) and NMOS Electrically Erasable Cell (NEEC) designs by american micro chip Technology Inc. As shown, each horizontal word line may extend across a plurality of bytes, which are separated from each other by individual wells. However, such well-split architectures generally require a large area on the corresponding chip or die.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a conventional single gate memory cell design, which is used in the United states of AmericaSome embedded of core technologies Inc(ESF) memory cell design. The logic state of the memory cell is determined by the electronic charge (positive or negative) in the Floating Gate (FG). Specifically, an erase operation extracts electrons from the floating gate to the word line to create a positive charge in the floating gate, while a program operation injects electrons from the bit line into the floating gate by a channel current created in a doped channel under the word line, causing the floating gate to be negatively charged.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary design according to FIG. 3Three cross-sectional views of the ESF memory cell, and an operating voltmeter to illustrate read, erase, and program terminal conditions of an exemplary memory cell.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary dual floating gateSimilar details of an ESF memory cell, which also incorporates the design shown in fig. 3, but with a pair of floating gates. Specifically, fig. 5 shows (a) an SEM cross-sectional view of an exemplary dual floating gate memory cell, (b) a top layout view of the memory cell, (c) a circuit schematic of the memory cell, and (d) an exemplary operating voltmeter for the memory cell.

As is known in the art, selecting a particular cell in a memory array (e.g., for programming or erasing such a cell) typically applies at least one voltage to adjacent cells in the array, which may cause unnecessary "disturb" effects in the adjacent cells, which may affect the endurance life of such cells. The disturb effect caused by the program operation is referred to as a "program disturb" effect, and the disturb effect caused by the erase operation is referred to as an "erase disturb" effect. Program disturb effects are generally more pronounced and therefore more problematic.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary programming resulting from a program operation in a conventional memory arrayA program disturb effect, where multiple bytes in the array share a Word Line (WL) and a Select Line (SL). In particular, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a portion of a conventional memory array showing a particular bit cell (memory cell) currently selected for a programming operation, and three types of non-selected bit cells (cells a, b, and c) that may be affected by program disturb effects due to the programming operation on the selected bit cell. In this example, a word line WL is applied by applying a high program voltage Vpp to a source line SL₁Vcc is applied and 0.7V is applied to the bit lines to select selected bit cells, while non-selected cells on the same row require a high voltage (Vinh) to be applied to the corresponding bit lines to inhibit programming operations on such memory cells.

The disturb effect experienced by non-selected bit cells generally depends on the relationship between the corresponding non-selected cell and the selected cell (e.g., the cell being programmed (or erased)). Referring to FIG. 6, a "column disturb" condition occurs in a non-selected cell (e.g., the cell shown at "A") that is in the same column but in a different row than the selected cell. A "row disturb" condition occurs in non-selected bit cells (each shown at "B") that are in the same row but in a different column than the selected cell. As shown, an inhibit voltage Vinh is applied to the unselected columns' bit lines to reduce the row disturb effect. Finally, a "diagonal disturb" condition occurs in non-selected cells (each shown at "C") that are not in the same row or column as the selected cell. Diagonal interference effects are generally less pronounced than row and/or column interference effects and therefore less problematic. For example, memory cells in certain conventional arrays do not exhibit significant current decay after being subjected to a diagonal disturb condition of at least 100k cycles at 125 ℃.

FIG. 7 illustrates a memory cell cross section and disturb stress table, which collectively illustrates typical program disturb stress conditions in a conventional flash memory array, including row disturb, column disturb, and diagonal disturb stress conditions. The memory cell cross-sectional view shows exemplary voltages applied on respective word lines, source lines, and bit lines of unselected memory cells during a programming operation on an adjacent selected cell for (a) unselected memory cells arranged in the same row as the cell being programmed, (b) unselected memory cells arranged in the same column as the cell being programmed, and (c) unselected memory cells arranged in a diagonal relationship with the cell being programmed (e.g., in a row adjacent to the programmed cell and in an adjacent column). The disturb stress represents exemplary voltages applied to the cell being programmed and three types of unselected cells, as shown in the three cross-sectional views. As described above, a diagonal disturbance condition typically has little effect on the long term endurance of the cell, e.g., shows little attenuation beyond 100k cycles.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary layout of a portion of a byte alterable flash memory array 100 using split gate memory cells. In this example, each byte is connected to a separate word line and a separate source line, which is different from the other bytes, which is referred to as a "fully decoded" array. The exemplary flash memory array 100 is organized into bytes 102, where each byte includes 8 logical bits 104, each logical bit 104 including a pair of physical bit cells 106, such that each byte 102 includes 16 bit cells. The illustrated region of array 100 includes two bytes shown at 102A and 102B. The 16 bits in each byte 102A and 102B are connected by a respective source line (active) strap 110 and a pair of word line (poly-2) straps 112 that extend across the 16 bits, where the pair of word line straps 112 are connected to each other by vertically extending straps formed in a higher layer (not shown).

As shown in fig. 8, source strap 110 of byte 102A is disconnected from source strap 110 of byte 102B. Similarly, the two word line strips 112 of byte 102A are disconnected from the two word line strips 112 of byte 102B. Thus, array 100 defines a byte-variable architecture in which byte selection is achieved by physical separation of both source lines and word lines between adjacent bytes 102 in the direction of the source lines and word lines (in this example, the horizontal direction). Thus, each byte 102 in the array is independently addressable by a word line (specifically, a pair of connected word line straps 112 as shown in FIG. 8), a source line (specifically, a word line strap 110), and 8 bit lines, each connected to a single logical bit 104 (consisting of a pair of physical bit cells 106 as shown in FIG. 8) of a corresponding byte 102.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary schematic diagram of the fully decoded byte alterable flash memory array 100 shown in FIG. 8. Since each byte 102 is independently addressable by a word line (for byte erase) and a source line (for byte program), the array 100 is fully decoded, which is separate from the word line and source line of each other byte 102. In addition, the bytes in each column are connected to 8 shared bit lines, so that each logical bit in each byte is independently addressable. Since each byte is fully decoded during erase and program operations, it is not disturbed during such operations.

Fully decoded memory arrays typically require a large area on a die/chip. For example, a conventional memory array of 1 kbyte that is fully decoded includes a 1k source driver and a 1k word line driver. Each source driver is typically large because it needs to provide a programming current to the corresponding flash memory cell with little voltage drop.

There is a need for an improved embedded data flash memory array having the following features: (a) byte/word variability, (b) high endurance (e.g., program-disturb free or program-disturb resistant), (c) andESF (Embedded type)) NOR flash memory or other split gate flash memory cell architectures and operations are compatible, and/or (d) there is a need to reduce the area on the die/chip.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide an improved memory array. Some embodiments provide a byte-alterable flash memory architecture that utilizes a shared Source Line (SL) architecture that can achieve high endurance (e.g., program disturb similar to diagonal disturb in conventional memory arrays) and/or reduce program disturb inOverhead area on chip/die. In some embodiments, the memory array comprises NOR flash memory, e.g.ESF (Embedded type)) Memory or other split gate flash memory cells.

As used herein, a "byte" may include any number of bits, such as 1 bit, 2 bits, 3 bits, 4 bits, 5 bits, 6 bits, 7 bits, 8 bits, or more.

One embodiment provides a memory array comprising (a) a plurality of memory cells arranged in a plurality of bytes, (b) a plurality of individual word lines, each word line connected to one of the plurality of bytes, and (c) a shared source line connected to the plurality of bytes, such that each byte of the plurality of bytes is addressable by one of the individual word lines and the shared source line. Each byte may include a plurality of memory cells, and the memory array may include a plurality of bit lines connected to each byte, wherein the plurality of bit lines connected to each respective byte are connected to the plurality of memory cells in the respective byte.

In one implementation, the plurality of bytes is a subset of bytes in the memory array.

In one embodiment, the plurality of bytes comprises 2 bytes, 4 bytes, 8 bytes, 16 bytes, 32 bytes, 64 bytes, or 128 bytes.

In one embodiment, the plurality of bytes includes at least a first byte and a second byte connected to a common source line, and a program operation on the first byte applies a source line voltage on the second byte corresponding to a diagonal program disturb condition.

In one embodiment, the plurality of bytes includes at least a first byte and a second byte; the first byte is connected to a first word line of the plurality of word lines; the second byte is connected to a second word line of the plurality of word lines; the first byte and the second byte are connected to the common source line; the first byte is connected to at least one first bit line; and the second byte is connected to at least one second bit line separate from the at least one first bit line.

In one embodiment, a memory array includes a driver configured to, for a program operation performed on the first byte: applying a first word line voltage to the first word line connected to the first byte, applying a source line voltage to the shared source line connected to both the first byte and the second byte, applying an inhibit voltage to the at least one second bit line connected to the second byte.

In some implementations, the plurality of memory cells includes NOR flash memory cells. In some implementations, the plurality of memory cells includes a plurality of split gate memory cells. In some implementations, the plurality of split-gate memory cells includes split-gate cells with a shared erase gate. In some implementations, the plurality of split-gate memory cells includes split-gate memory cells with shared coupling gates. In some implementations, the plurality of split-gate memory cells include an embedded typeA memory cell.

In one implementation, the memory array includes a single source line driver for the shared source line, such that a total number of single source line drivers in the memory array is less than a total number of bytes in the memory array.

Another embodiment provides a memory device comprising a memory array comprising a plurality of memory cells arranged in a plurality of bytes; a plurality of individual word lines, each word line connected to one of the plurality of bytes; a plurality of shared source lines, each shared source line connected to at least two bytes of the plurality of bytes; a plurality of word line drivers configured to apply voltages to the plurality of individual word lines; and a plurality of source line drivers configured to apply a voltage to the plurality of shared source lines. Each byte of the plurality of bytes is addressable by (a) one of the individual word lines connected to a respective source word line driver and (b) one of the shared source lines connected to a respective source line driver. Since each shared source line is connected to at least two bytes, the number of shared source lines in the memory device is less than the number of word lines in the memory device, and the number of source line drivers in the memory device is less than the number of word line drivers in the memory device.

In one embodiment, each shared source line is connected to 2 bytes, 4 bytes, 8 bytes, 16 bytes, 32 bytes, 64 bytes, or 128 bytes. In one embodiment, the plurality of memory cells includes NOR flash memory cells. In one embodiment, the plurality of memory cells includes split gate memory cells. In one embodiment, the plurality of memory cells includes an embedded memoryA memory cell.

Another embodiment provides a method of operating a memory array that includes at least a first byte and a second byte, a first word line and at least one first bit line connected to the first byte, a second individual word line and at least one second bit line connected to the second byte, and a shared source line connected to both the first byte and the second byte. This includes performing a programming operation on the first byte by: applying a first word line voltage on the first word line connected to the first byte, applying a respective data voltage on the at least one first bit line connected to the first byte, and applying a source line voltage on the shared source line connected to both the first byte and the second byte.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises, during the programming operation on the first byte, applying an inhibit voltage on the at least one second bit line connected to the second byte, wherein the inhibit voltage reduces a disturb effect on the second byte due to the programming operation on the first byte.

Drawings

Exemplary aspects and embodiments of the disclosure are described below in conjunction with the following figures:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a conventional byte selectable memory array that uses a single byte select transistor to select a particular byte of the memory cell array (e.g., program or erase the selected byte);

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary conventional memory array architecture in which the bytes are separated using injection wells;

FIG. 3 shows an example of a conventional single gate memory cell design, which is embodied in some embedded type(ESF) memory cell design;

FIG. 4 shows three cross-sectional views of an exemplary flash memory cell and an operating voltage table to illustrate the read, erase and program functions of the exemplary memory cell;

FIG. 5 shows details of an exemplary dual floating gate flash memory cell, including showing (a) an SEM cross-sectional view of the exemplary memory cell, (b) a top layout view of the memory cell, (c) a circuit schematic of the memory cell, and (d) an exemplary operating voltmeter for the memory cell;

FIG. 6 illustrates exemplary program disturb effects caused by a program operation in a conventional memory array, including column disturb effects, row disturb effects, and diagonal disturb effects;

FIG. 7 illustrates a cross section of a memory cell and a disturb stress table showing typical program disturb stress conditions in a conventional flash memory array, including row disturb, column disturb, and diagonal disturb stress conditions;

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary layout of a portion of a conventional byte alterable flash memory array using split gate memory cells;

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary schematic diagram of the fully decoded byte-alterable flash memory array of FIG. 8;

10A and 10B illustrate schematic diagrams of two adjacent bytes in a byte variable split gate flash memory array using a shared source line according to an exemplary embodiment in which unselected memory cells are subject to a diagonal disturb condition (FIG. 10A) and an exemplary embodiment in which unselected memory cells are subject to a row disturb condition (FIG. 10B);

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary layout and schematic diagram of a byte alterable memory array that uses split gate memory cells and uses a shared source line in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present invention;

12A and 12B illustrate schematic diagrams of an exemplary shared source line memory array according to an exemplary embodiment in which unselected memory cells are subject to a diagonal disturb condition (FIG. 12A) and an exemplary embodiment in which unselected memory cells are subject to a row disturb condition (FIG. 12B); and is

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary memory device incorporating at least one shared source line memory array in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a byte-alterable flash memory array architecture that may utilize a shared Source Line (SL) architecture to improve memory cell endurance of the memory array and/or meet reduced die area requirements.

Some implementations of the invention may utilize a shared source line, where multiple bytes in a memory array share individual shared source lines. Any suitable number of bytes in the memory array may share the various shared source lines. Using a shared source line may reduce the number of source line drivers required and, thus, reduce the total overhead area of the on-chip array, while still reducing the effects of disturb compared to conventional memory array designs.

In some embodiments, a memory array may include (a) a plurality of memory cells arranged in a plurality of bytes, (b) a separate word line connected to each byte, and (b) a plurality of shared source lines, each shared source line connected to at least two bytes, such that each byte in the array is addressable by a separate word line and a shared source line. Each byte may include a plurality of memory cells, and the memory array may include a plurality of bit lines connected to each byte, wherein the plurality of bit lines connected to each respective byte are respectively connected to the plurality of memory cells in the respective byte. Due to the architecture of such memory arrays, a program operation on a first byte applies a shared source line voltage on an unselected second byte (and may apply an inhibit voltage to bit lines connected to the second byte), resulting in a disturb condition corresponding to a diagonal program disturb condition in conventional memory arrays. Each shared source line may be connected to any suitable number of bytes, such as 2 bytes, 4 bytes, 8 bytes, 16 bytes, 32 bytes, 64 bytes, or 128 bytes. The memory cells in the array may comprise NOR flash memory cells, e.g. embedded(ESF) memory cells or other split gate memory cells.

10A and 10B are schematic diagrams of a portion of an exemplary byte variable split gate flash memory array utilizing a shared source line connected to a plurality of bytes, according to an exemplary embodiment (FIG. 10A) in which unselected memory cells are subject to a diagonal disturb condition and an exemplary embodiment (FIG. 10B) in which unselected memory cells are subject to a row disturb condition. More specifically, fig. 10A and 10B are schematic diagrams of two adjacent bytes 202A and 202B in a byte variable split gate flash memory array 200, the memory array 200 being similar to the memory array 100 described above, but using a shared source line connected to bytes 202A and 202B (the shared source line may be connected to any number of bytes in the array 200, depending on the particular array design).

In the exemplary implementation shown in FIG. 10A, the data is provided by way of a WL in each case₁Shared source lines SL and BL_0-7Applying respective voltages Vcc, Vpp and "DATA" performs a byte programming operation on byte 202A. Vpp is also applied to the unselected neighboring byte 202B via the shared source line, and an inhibit voltage Vinh is applied to the bit line BL of byte 202B, as shown_8-15And 0V may be applied to the WL of byte 202B₂. As shown in FIG. 10A, as a result of the shared source line configuration and exemplary bias conditions, the unselected byte 202B is affected by a voltage corresponding to a diagonal program disturb condition (see, e.g., FIGS. 6 and 7, discussed below) that is known to be the least problematic disturb condition.

In the exemplary implementation shown in FIG. 10B, the byte program operation is performed under the same bias conditions as the exemplary implementation of FIG. 10A, but with the WL applied to byte 202B₂Is a non-zero voltage Vcc instead of 0V in the implementation of fig. 10A. As shown in FIG. 10B, as a result of the shared source line configuration and exemplary bias conditions, the unselected byte 202B is affected by a voltage corresponding to a row program disturb condition (see, e.g., FIGS. 6 and 7, discussed below) that is similar to a diagonal disturb condition and therefore relatively trouble-free.

Fig. 11 shows an exemplary layout (top) and schematic (bottom) of a byte variable array 300 according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the byte variable array 300 using split gate memory cells and a shared source line. In this example, each row of four bytes 302A-302D shares a common source line 310.

Fig. 12A and 12B are schematic diagrams of an exemplary shared source line memory array 400 according to an exemplary implementation in which unselected memory cells are subject to a diagonal disturb condition (fig. 10A) and an exemplary implementation in which unselected memory cells are subject to a row disturb condition (fig. 10B). The array 400 shown in fig. 12A and 12B may correspond to the partial array shown in fig. 10A and 10B.

As shown in fig. 12A and 12B, each row of bytes 402 is connected to a shared source line SL. In the exemplary implementation shown in FIG. 12A, the electrical current is generated by applying the corresponding currentVoltages Vcc, Vpp and "DATA" are applied to WL respectively₁And a shared source line SL₁And BL_0-7A byte program operation is performed on byte 402A. Also as shown, via a shared source line SL₁Vpp is applied to the unselected neighboring byte 402B and an inhibit voltage Vinh is applied to the bit line BL of byte 402B_8-150V may also be applied to the WL of byte 402B_x+2. As shown in fig. 12A, as a result of the shared source line configuration and exemplary bias conditions, the unselected byte 402B is affected by a voltage corresponding to a diagonal program disturb condition (see, e.g., fig. 6 and 7, discussed below) that is known to be the least problematic disturb condition.

In the exemplary implementation shown in FIG. 12B, the byte program operation is performed under the same bias conditions as the exemplary implementation of FIG. 12A, but with the WL applied to the unselected byte 402B_x+2Is a non-zero voltage Vcc instead of 0V in the implementation of fig. 12A. As shown in FIG. 12B, as a result of the shared source line configuration and exemplary bias conditions, the unselected byte 402B is affected by a voltage corresponding to a row program disturb condition (see, e.g., FIGS. 6 and 7, discussed below) that is similar to a diagonal disturb condition and therefore relatively trouble-free.

Implementations of the invention can have various advantages over conventional memory arrays. For example, connecting multiple bytes (e.g., 2 bytes, 4 bytes, 8 bytes,. etc.) to a shared source line reduces the number of source line drivers in the array while leaving the unselected bytes subject to a disturb condition during a program operation that corresponds to a diagonal disturb condition in (worst case) conventional memory arrays. The equivalent diagonal disturb condition provided by the present shared source line architecture can achieve high endurance (lifetime) of the memory array. Thus, for example, performing a program operation on a selected byte may cause a slight disturb effect on non-selected bytes on the same shared source line as the selected byte and may not cause significant attenuation of non-selected bytes even after performing at least 100k program cycles on the selected byte.

Embodiments of the invention may reduce the number of source line drivers (e.g., as a ratio/percentage of the number of bytes in the array), thereby reducing the footprint required for the source line drivers and reducing the overall size of the chip/die.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary memory device 500 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Memory device 500 may include one or more memory chips (or dies) 502. Each memory chip 502 may include an array of memory bytes 504, source line drivers 506, word line drivers 508, current source and analog HV sources 510, sense amplifiers and Ysel nodes 522, and any other suitable circuit components. As described above, each byte in the memory array 504 may be connected to a separate word line (each word line connected to a respective word line driver) and a shared source line (each shared source line connected to a respective source line driver). Each shared source line may be connected to any suitable number of bytes, such as 2 bytes, 4 bytes, 8 bytes, 16 bytes, 32 bytes, 64 bytes, or 128 bytes.

As a result of using a shared source line, for example, using one shared source line per N bytes may reduce the number of source line drivers (and thus the footprint required by the source line drivers on the chip) by a factor of N compared to conventional chip layouts. For example, if chip 502 includes 1024 bytes and each set of 4 bytes is connected to a shared source line, the chip may include 1024 word line drivers, but only 256 source line drivers (1024 divided by 4), so the required source driver footprint may be reduced to one-fourth or about one-fourth.

The concepts disclosed herein, including the use of a shared source line to address multiple bytes, are applicable to various types of memory cells, including SuperFlash ESF memory (discussed above) and other suitable types of cells. For example, the concepts disclosed herein may also be applied to any array having memory cells that use a common source between two floating gates and/or two select gates, such as SuperFlash memory cells and stacked-gate memory cells (e.g., polysilicon 1 and polysilicon 2 gates formed in a self-aligned stacked arrangement. the concepts disclosed herein may also be applied to any suitable split-gate flash memory cells, including, for example, (a) split-gate cells that use a shared erase gate, such as the memory cells disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6747310, specifically the memory cells disclosed in FIGS. 2A-4E and corresponding portions of the specification, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, and (b) split-gate cells that use a shared coupling gate, such as the memory cells disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8711363, specifically the memory cells disclosed in FIG. 1 and corresponding portions of the specification, this disclosure is incorporated herein by reference.