Patent ID: 7463522

Claim:
A non-volatile storage system, comprising: at least one NAND string having a plurality of non-volatile storage elements; a plurality of word lines in communication with the at least one NAND string; and one or more control circuits in communication with the plurality of word lines, the one or more control circuits: (a) perform first boosting of the at least one NAND string on a source side of a first word line before boosting the at least one NAND string on a drain side of a second word line, the second word line is on a drain side of the first word line, (b) during the first boosting, apply a voltage to the first word line to provide a first non-volatile storage element of the plurality of non-volatile storage elements which is associated with the first word line in a conducting state, and apply a voltage to the second word line to provide a second non-volatile storage element of the plurality of non-volatile storage elements which is associated with the second word line in a conducting state, and (c) perform second boosting of the at least one NAND string on the drain side of the second word line, after the first boosting, while applying a voltage to the first word line to provide the first non-volatile storage element in a non-conducting state, and while applying a program voltage to the second word line.