US Patent 7839160 Stress programming of transistors

Methods for stressing transistors in order to program the transistors and for determining whether such transistors have indeed been programmed are described herein. The novel methods may include initially stressing a transistor by applying to the transistor a voltage greater than operational voltages of the transistor to create defects in the transistor. A current flowing through the transistor may then be measured to determine whether the transistor has been programmed, the measured current indicative of the presence of the defects.