2 V 120 nsec 8/16-bit microcontroller with embedded flash EEPROM

A conventional single-transistor Flash EEPROM memory has been integrated into a 0.8 /spl mu/m double-metal CMOS high speed low voltage process for custom integrated circuit applications. In general, this type of cell is not suitable for low voltage high speed read applications, because of the broad distribution of its threshold voltage after erasing. We overcome this issue by the novel 2 step erase-verify algorithm to precisely control the threshold voltage throughout the entire memory cells after erasing. In conjunction with this algorithm, several novel circuits design technology has achieved 2 V 120 nsec 8/16 bit microcontroller with embedded 64 Kbyte Flash EEPROM.