Method and apparatus for hot carrier injection

The invention is directed to a memory cell with a floating gate and a method for charging the floating gate using channel-initiated secondary electron injection (CISEI). In the device of the present invention, a positive bias voltage of about 1.1 volts to about 3.3 volts is applied between the drain and the source when introducing charge onto the floating gate. A negative bias voltage of about -0.5 volts or more negative is applied to the substrate and the source. The drain substrate bias induces a sufficient amount of secondary hot electrons to be formed with a sufficient amount of energy to overcome the energy barrier between the substrate and the floating gate to charge the floating gate.