Apparatus for programming a voltage within a storage element

摘要

The present invention is an apparatus for storing a voltage level within a storage element such as an EEPROM. The apparatus includes a track and hold circuit that receives the voltage level to be stored and an integrator that determines a target voltage to be applied to the storage element representative of a voltage level less than the received voltage level. The apparatus further includes a voltage ramp circuit that applies a voltage ramp signal to the storage element for increasing an amount of voltage held in the storage element while simultaneously reading a voltage level of the storage element to determine whether the voltage of the storage element matches the target voltage and a comparator that deactivates the voltage ramp signal when the voltage of the storage element matches the target voltage. The integrator also reads a resulting stored voltage of the storage element, determines a new target voltage, and controls the voltage ramp circuit and the comparator to apply the new target voltage to the storage element a predetermined number of times.