WRITE PROTECTED, NON-VOLATILE MEMORY DEVICE WITH USER PROGRAMMABLE SECTOR LOCK CAPABILITY

摘要

A user-programmable write protection scheme provides flexibility and superior write protect features for an integrated circuit memory which comprises an array (11) of non-volatile erasable and programmable memory cells, including a plurality of sectors. Command logic (23) detects command sequences indicating operations for the array, including a program operation, a sector erase operation, a read operation, a sector lock operation, and a sector unlock operation. The sector protect logic (31) includes sector lock memory, including non-volatile memory cells that store sector lock signals for at least one sector in the array. Among other functions, the sector protect logic inhibits sector erase and program operations to a particular sector in response to a set sector lock signal corresponding to the particular sector, and to a first state of control signals in the set of control signals.