PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 16209520
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-12
Publication Date: 2019-04
Patent Classification: ["365", "185180"]

Abstract:
A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes: a memory cell array and a control circuit. The control circuit executes a first reading operation and a second reading operation. The first reading operation is an operation of reading a threshold voltage set in the selected memory cell by setting a voltage between a control gate electrode and source of the selected memory cell to a first value. The second reading operation is an operation of reading a threshold voltage set in the selected memory cell by setting a voltage between the control gate electrode and source of the selected memory cell to a second value lower than the first value. When executing the second reading operation, the control circuit keeps a voltage of the control gate electrode of the selected memory cell to 0 or a positive value.

Claim (Index 8):
A method of performing a reading operation in a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, the nonvolatile semiconductor memory device including a memory cell array which comprises: a memory string including a plurality of memory cells connected in series therein, each of the memory cells being configured programmable to plural written states from an erased state, the plural written states including a first state assigned to a lowest threshold voltage distribution among the plural written states; a first select transistor connected to one end of the memory string; a second select transistor connected to the other end of the memory string; a bit line connected to the memory string via the first select transistor; a source line connected to the memory string via the second select transistor; and a word line connected to a control gate electrode of each of the memory cells, the method of performing a reading operation being configured to apply a reading voltage to the control gate electrode of a selected memory cell in the memory string to determine whether the selected memory cell is conductive or not, and thereby execute data reading of the selected memory cell, the method comprising:\n performing a first operation for the selected memory cell, the first operation including setting a value of the reading voltage of the control gate electrode relative to a voltage of a source of the selected memory cell to a first value and detecting a current flowing in the bit line by a bit line control circuit; and performing a second operation for the selected memory cell, the second operation including setting the value of the reading voltage of the control gate electrode relative to the voltage of the source of the selected memory cell to a second value smaller than the first value based on a result detected by the bit line control circuit in the first operation while applying to the source line a source line voltage of a positive voltage value, and detecting the current flowing in the bit line by the bit line control and thereby determining whether a threshold voltage of the selected memory cell is in a range within the lowest threshold voltage distribution among the plural written states and over the lowest threshold voltage distribution.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 51.0
- Percentile: 98.0
- Lexical Diversity: 2.96078
- Patent Class: 365.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: open
- Component Type: 1
- Foreign Priority: True
- Related Applications: ['15263518', '15915129', '13749029', '13246004', '14088744']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.8171973015844276
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.5467084721863404
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.7901484186446189
- Mean Citation Score: 395.541526
- Max Citation Score: 406.444
- Similarity Product: 389.07215250492095

Labels:
- Claim Label 101: 1
- Claim Label 102: 1
- Claim Label 103: 1
- Claim Label 112: 1
- Combined Label: 1
- Label 101 Adjusted: 1

Dataset: test