Common line current for program level determination in flash memory

1. A method of determining how many states are written per cell in a page of flash memory comprising:

generating a representative current from bit line currents of a plurality of bit lines connected to flash memory cells of the page; and

comparing the representative current with a predetermined reference current to obtain an indication of how many states are written per page.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the representative current is generated from a regulator connected to the plurality of bit lines during a read operation, the representative current being proportional to the total current through the plurality of bit lines during a read operation.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the flash memory is a NAND flash memory and the regulator controls the voltage level of the source line that connects to the source side of a plurality of NAND strings containing the page of flash memory cells.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the bit line currents are generated under read conditions corresponding to a flash memory cell threshold voltage that is below the threshold voltage of a flash memory cell programmed with more than one bit per cell.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising generating the representative current through a current mirror which generates a mirror current that is proportional to the bit line currents of the plurality of bit lines connected to flash memory cells of the page.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the mirror current is approximately 1/1000 of the current in the plurality of bit lines.

7. A multi-level cell flash memory comprising:

a plurality of flash memory cells forming a page;

a common source line connected to the plurality of flash memory cells forming the page so as to sink current flowing through all of the plurality of flash memory cells;

a current mirror configured to provide a mirror current that is proportional to the current in the common source line; and

a current comparison circuit that compares the mirror current with a predetermined reference current.

8. The flash memory of claim 7 wherein the flash memory is a NAND flash memory and the common source line is connected to the source side of a plurality of NAND strings that contain the plurality of flash memory cells forming the page.

9. The flash memory of claim 7 wherein the common source line is connected to a first transistor that is controlled by a regulator to maintain source line voltage, and the regulator controls a second transistor in the current mirror that is smaller than the first transistor to provide a mirror current that is smaller than the current in the common source line.

10. The flash memory of claim 7 further comprising a reference current generator that generates the predetermined reference current.

11. The flash memory of claim 10 further comprising a reference current storage unit that maintains a value reflecting the predetermined reference current in nonvolatile storage and provides the value to the reference current generator.

12. The flash memory of claim 10 further comprising a voltage comparator comparing a predetermined reference voltage with a voltage at a node between the reference current generator and the current mirror.

13. A method of identifying a degree of programming of a page of flash memory comprising:

providing a current to a plurality of memory cells that form the page of flash memory through a common line while the plurality of memory cells are subjected to read conditions;

mirroring the current through the common line to generate a mirror current that is proportional to the current in the common line; and

comparing the mirror current with a predetermined reference current to determine if the current through the plurality of cells reflects programming beyond a predetermined degree.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising obtaining the predetermined reference current from mirror current values observed with known degrees of programming.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the obtaining the predetermined reference current is performed as part of a product configuration routine.

16. The method of claim 13 further comprising, subsequent to the comparing, writing data in the plurality of cells only if the comparing reflects that the plurality of cells are not programmed beyond the predetermined degree.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein the plurality of memory cells are configured to have four memory states and the predetermined degree corresponds to cells programmed to only two lower memory states.