Architecture of non volatile memory with multi-bit cells

The typical characteristic of flash memory technology, its flexibility, is seen as the main factor that explains the strong evolution of its demand, continuously generating new applications with the typical pervasiveness of the innovative semiconductor products. But the flexibility also determines the peculiar position of this product in the market. Flash memories are not a dedicated product, but they can, according to the environment, appear sometimes either as a standard part or as an application-specific circuit. For all applications, however, Flash memories always play a strategic role. Matrix architecture is one the most complex item in a memory chip design. Dimensions must be reduced to the minimum and space optimisation must be maximized. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.