Patent ID: 8331144

Claim:
A method of programming a non-volatile memory device, comprising: programming a row of M-bit non-volatile memory cells in the non-volatile memory device with respective first bits of data associated with a page of data, where M is an integer greater than one; classifying a first plurality of the M-bit non-volatile memory cells in the row as aggressor cells and a second plurality of the M-bit non-volatile memory cells in the row as victim cells by identifying as aggressor cells those M-bit non-volatile memory cells in the row that remain erased after said programming the row with the first bits of data, but are to be programmed with respective second bits of data associated with an additional page of data; and programming the aggressor cells with the respective second bits of data associated with the additional page of data in advance of programming the victim cells with the respective second bits of data associated with the additional page of data.