Patent ID: 7120062

Claim:
A method for soft-programming an electrically erasable nonvolatile memory device, comprising: performing a first soft-programming with a first soft-programming multiplicity of memory cells in given operating conditions that are based on a maximum current which is available for writing operations and which can be generated within the memory device, the first soft-programming multiplicity corresponding to simultaneous soft-programming of a first plurality of memory cells of the memory device; and performing a second soft-programming of memory cells with a second soft-programming multiplicity differing from the first soft-programming multiplicity in a case where depleted memory cells are still present among the first plurality of memory cells after said first soft-programming, the second soft-programming multiplicity corresponding to simultaneous soft-programming of a second plurality of memory cells of the memory device, said first and second soft-programming being performed without increasing said maximum current which is available for writing operations and which can be generated within the memory device.