Patent attributes
A method for programming a nonvolatile memory array including an array of memory cells, each memory cell including a substrate, a control gate, a charge storage element, a source region and a drain region, includes performing a program operation on a group of memory cells, where the group of memory cells includes a plurality of subgroups. A verify status value is stored for each subgroup, the verify status value indicating a verify status of each subgroup, wherein the verify status value indicates whether an associated subgroup has been program verified. A program verify operation is performed on a selected subgroup when the verify status value associated with the selected subgroup indicates that the selected verify subgroup has not been program verified.
