EEPROM stands for Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory. EEPROM is a type of non-volatile primary memory and modified version of EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) which uses electrical signals to erase and program the contents rather than UV signals which was used previously in EPROM. It is used as a chip in computers to store the digital data.
There are two types of EEPROM:
- Serial EEPROM
- Parallel EEPROM
History
EEPROM was developed in 1978 at Intel by George Perlegos. Being a non-volatile memory means it retains all the data even power is off and stores a large capacity of data or bits compared to EPROM. It is used as flash memories in its later version and also, to store BIOS of the computer.
Characteristics
- Less time consuming: EEPROM takes 5-10 milliseconds to erase the content electronically unlike, EPROM takes minutes to erase the same content using UV signals.
- Programmable and erasable content: It can reprogrammed n number of times and that life cycle has to be defined by the manufacture and it can be maximum of 1 million life cycles in modern EEPROMs.
- No detaching of chip: To reprogram or erase the content, there is no need to take the chip out of the computer.
Advantages
- Fast erasing of data as it uses electrical signals and can erase all contents or can erase by particular byte.
- Data stored is non-volatile and retains even if the power is off.
- Easy to reprogram without taking it out from computer and does not require any additional equipments for reprogramming.
Disadvantages
- Data retention problem as insulator used is not a perfect insulator and manufacture provides data retention upto 10 years.
- It requires different voltages for reading, writing and erasing the content.
Last Updated :
30 Apr, 2020
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