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EEPROM (also written E2PROM and pronounced "e-e-prom", "double-e prom", "e-squared", or simply "e-prom") stands for Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory and is a type of non-volatile memory used in computers and other electronic devices to store small amounts of data that must be saved when power is removed, e.g., calibration tables or device configuration. Unlike bytes in most other kinds of non-volatile memory, individual bytes in a traditional EEPROM can be independently read, erased, and re-written. When larger amounts of static data are to be stored (such as in USB flash drives) a specific type of EEPROM such as flash memory is more economical than traditional EEPROM devices. EEPROMs are organized as arrays of floating-gate transistors. An EPROM usually must be removed from the device for erasing and programming, whereas EEPROMs can be programmed and erased in-circuit, by applying special programming signals. Originally, EEPROMs were limited to single byte operations which made them slower, but modern EEPROMs allow multi-byte page operations. It also has a limited life - that is, the number of times it could be reprogrammed was limited to tens or hundreds of thousands of times. That limitation has been extended to a million write operations in modern EEPROMs. In an EEPROM that is frequently reprogrammed while the computer is in use, the life of the EEPROM can be an important design consideration. It is for this reason that EEPROMs were used for configuration information, rather than random access memory. ==History== Eli Harari at Hughes Aircraft invented the EEPROM in 1977 utilising Fowler-Nordheim tunneling through a thin floating gate. 〔http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4115914.pdf〕〔http://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2012/03/102745933-05-01-acc.pdf〕Hughes went on to produce the first EEPROM devices. In 1978, George Perlegos at Intel developed the Intel 2816, which was built on earlier EPROM technology, but used a thin gate oxide layer enabling the chip to erase its own bits without a UV source. Perlegos and others later left Intel to form Seeq Technology, which used on-device charge pumps to supply the high voltages necessary for programming EEPROMs.〔(Seeq Technology )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「EEPROM」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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