Patent ID: 8081514

Claim:
A method for operating a non-volatile storage system, comprising: performing an iteration of a multiple-iteration program operation for a set of non-volatile storage elements, the set includes at least first, second and third strings of non-volatile storage elements in communication with first, second and third bit lines, respectively; the performing an iteration includes: (a) in a first time period, pre-charging a potential of the first bit line to a first level while fixing potentials of the second and third bit lines; (b) in at least part of a second time period after the first time period, pre-charging the second bit line to a second level while floating the first bit line and fixing the potential of the third bit line; and (c) in a third time period after the second time period, driving the potential of the first bit line to a third level which is higher than the first level while floating the second and third bit lines, and concurrently applying a program voltage to a non-volatile storage element in the first string, a non-volatile storage element in the second string, and a non-volatile storage element in the third string.