Practical Considerations for Minimizing Problems WhenUsing Programmers and Greenliant NOR Flash Memory
Application NoteMay 2010

INTRODUCTION

AC Power Requirements

The expected yield when writing or programming
Greenliant EEPROMs with a programmer is 100%. In
practice, when using a device programmer, customers may
experience less than 100% yields due to environmental
and equipment maintenance issues.

AC power should conform to the following:

Following the guidelines below will decrease the false
failures and damaged devices during the programmingoperation.

Programmer Considerations
The following programmer requirements should be met:
1. Power Supplies: a 50 to 100 µf capacitor shouldbe placed on each power supply. A 1 to 10 µf
capacitor should be placed on each socket for theDUT.
2. Absolute VDD and VPP (for the GLS27SFxxx family) levels and spikes should fall within Greenliant’sspecifications detailed in the data sheet.
3. Ground planes or parallel ground paths should beused to minimize inductance.
4. The programmer should be connected to AC
power via an isolation transformer, e.g. Sola,Oneac.
5. The programmer should use SDP to write to thedevice (for the GLS29xExxx families) at all times.
6. Multisite programmers should have a separate
VSS bus connection for each socket. Never use aseries connection for VSS.

Environmental Conditions
The following environmental conditions should be maintained at the time of programming:
1. Temperature: 25°C ± 3°C, with transients lessthan 3°C per hour
2. Relative Humidity: 35% to 65%
3. Dust Content: less than 1mg/m3
4. Mechanical Vibration: less than .2g from 5 Hz to50 Hz, less than .5g from 50 Hz to 500 Hz© 2010 Greenliant Systems, Ltd.

1. Frequency: 50 or 60 Hz ± .5%
2. Amplitude: 105 or 215 Vac ± 5 Vac
3. Ground Resistance: less than 100
4. Programmer should not be in the vicinity of large
stepper or inductive start motors.

Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) Protection
Proper ESD protection is essential to eliminate damage tosemiconductor devices.
1. Antistatic flooring, work surfaces, and clothing
2. ESD ground independent of AC power ground
3. A ground stake should be used with 1 M isolation
between the ESD ground and the power ground.
4. Proper use of ground straps with appropriate connections
5. Use of antistatic paper or antistatic jackets for paper

Shielding
1. Work area should be shielded from stray electromagnetic fields. For example, the programmer
should be in a Faraday cage.
2. Operators should wear antistatic finger cots or
gloves while handling devices.

Maintenance and Calibration
Proper maintenance and calibration procedures should be
followed to insure consistent programming results over time.
1. Programmers should be calibrated per the manufacturers recommendations at the recommendedintervals.
2. Sockets should be replaced prior to the manufacturer’s
recommended limit for the number of insertions.
3. Work area should remain free of debris, dirt, andliquids.
4. Programmer and work surfaces should be cleaned
at regular intervals.
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Using Programmers and Greenliant NOR Flash Memory
Application Note
May 2010

Summary
By following the above recommendations, the customer
will experience consistent programmer yields at or near
100% due to a reduction in false programming
failures and improperly programmed devices caused
by programmer problems. The number of damaged
devices caused by mishandling will be reduced oreliminated.

© 2010 Greenliant Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
Greenliant, the Greenliant logo, SSF, CSF and ComboMemory are trademarks of Greenliant Systems, Ltd.
All other trademarks are recognized as being held by their respective owners.
These specifications are subject to change without notice.

Greenliant Systems • 3970 Freedom Circle, Suite 100 • Santa Clara, CA 95054, USA
Telephone: +1 408 200 8000 • Fax: +1 408 200 8099 • www.greenliant.com© 2010 Greenliant Systems, Ltd.

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