Patent ID: 7898864

Claim:
A method for operating a non-volatile storage system, comprising: tracking a number of program-erase cycles experienced by a set of storage elements in the non-volatile storage system; receiving a request to read a state of at least one selected storage element in the set of storage elements, the set of storage elements is in communication with a set of word lines, and the at least one selected storage element is in communication with a selected word line WLn of the set of word lines; and in response to the read request: reading a state of at least one unselected storage element in the set of storage elements, the at least one unselected storage element is in communication with WLn+1, an adjacent, drain-side word line of WLn; applying different state-demarcating voltages to WLn, and applying a different set of read pass voltages to WLn+1 for each state-demarcating voltage applied to WLn, a corresponding read pass voltage in each set of read pass voltages is associated with the state of the at least one unselected storage element, and a level of the corresponding read pass voltage is a function of the number of program-erase cycles; and determining the state of the at least one selected storage element by sensing whether the at least one selected storage element is conductive when the corresponding read pass voltage is applied to WLn+1, and when one or more of the state-demarcating voltages are applied to WLn.