NONVOLATILE SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY DEVICE HAVING THREE-LEVEL MEMORY CELLS AND OPERATING METHOD THEREFOR

摘要

A 3-level non-volatile semiconductor memory device and a driving method thereof are provided to increase the operation speed of the memory device during a programming process by simultaneously controlling threshold voltages of first and second memory cells. A 3-level non-volatile semiconductor memory device includes a memory array(100), a page buffer(200), and a row decoder(300). The memory array includes first and second strings having first and second memory cells, respectively. The first string is coupled with a first bit line and the second string is coupled with a second bit line. The page buffer is coupled with the memory array through first and second bit lines and configured to map one to three bit data to threshold voltage levels of a series of first and second memory cells. The row decoder controls the word line of a selected memory cell. The first and second memory cells are distributed on the first and second strings and controlled by the same word line.