Patent ID: 8861258

Claim:
A method for performing an operation to change a resistance state of a memory cell, comprising: performing a first programming phase by applying one or more program voltages to the memory cell until the memory cell passes a program verify test, the memory cell comprises a resistance-switching material; in response to the memory cell passing the program verify test in the first programming phase, performing a stability test phase by applying one or more disturb voltages to the memory cell and performing a stability verify test for the memory cell; determining a number of times the memory cell passes the stability verify test in the stability test phase; based on the number of times the memory cell passes the stability verify test is the stability test phases, determining whether further programming of the memory cell is warranted based on the stability test phase; and if further programming is warranted based on the stability test phase, performing a second programming phase by applying one or more program voltages to the memory cell.