Patent ID: 8320192

Claim:
A method of programming a memory cell, the method comprising: applying a first electric potential to a first electric terminal of the memory cell; applying a second electric potential to a second electric terminal of the memory cell; applying a third electric potential to a third electric terminal of the memory cell, the first electric terminal separated from the third electric terminal by a channel region; wherein applying the first electric potential and the third electric potential generates a flow of accelerated first charge carriers of a first type of conductivity from the third electric terminal to the first electric terminal, the flow of accelerated first charge carriers generating second charge carriers of a second type of conductivity by impact ionisation of the accelerated first charge carriers within the channel region; wherein applying the second electric potential accelerates the second charge carriers to thereby inject the second charge carriers in a charge trapping structure of the memory cell; wherein the first charge carriers are negatively charged particles, and wherein the second charge carriers are positively charged particles.