• The manufacturer of ROM fills the programs
into the ROM at the time of manufacturing
the ROM.
• After this, the content of the ROM can't be
altered, which means you can't reprogram,
rewrite, or erase its content later.
• However, there are some types of ROM where
you can modify the data.
• ROM contains special internal electronic fuses
that can be programmed for a specific
interconnection pattern (information).
• The binary information stored in the chip is
specified by the designer and then embedded
in the unit at the time of manufacturing to
form the required interconnection pattern
(information).
• Once the pattern (information) is established,
it stays within the unit even when the power is
turned off. So, it is a non-volatile memory as it
holds the information even when the power is
turned off, or you shut down your computer.
• The information is added to a RAM in the form
of bits by a process known as programming
the ROM as bits are stored in the hardware
configuration of the device. So, ROM is a
Programmable Logic Device (PLD).
• The block of ROM has 'n' input lines and 'm'
output lines.
• Each bit combination of the input variables is
known as an address.
• Each bit combination that comes out through
output lines is called a word.
• The number of bits per word is equal to the
number of output lines, m.
• The address of a binary number refers to one
of the addresses of n variables.
• So, the number of possible addresses with 'n'
input variables is 2n.
• An output word has a unique address, and as
there are 2n distinct addresses in a ROM, there
are 2n separate words in the ROM.
• The words on the output lines at a given time
depends on the address value applied to the
input lines.
• the bit value of the memory cell is 0 if the
transistor is at a ground level otherwise it is 1.
• The bit line is connected to the power supply via a
resistor.
• To read the value of the memory cell the word line is
activated which connects the transistor to the ground.
• This drops the voltage of the bit line to 0 if the
transistor is connected to the ground.
• If there is no connection between transistor and
ground the bit line remains at high voltage indicating 1.
• The state of the memory cell at the connection to the
ground is defined during the chip fabrication.
INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF ROM:
• The internal structure comprises two basic
components: decoder and OR gates.
• A decoder is a circuit that decodes an
encoded form (such as binary coded decimal,
BCD) to a decimal form.
• So, the input is in binary form, and the output
is its decimal equivalent.
• All the OR gates present in the ROM will have
outputs of the decoder as their output.
• Consider 64 x 4 ROM
• It consists of 64 words of 4 bits each.
• There are six input lines, so we have 26 = 64,
so we can specify 64 addresses (or minterms)
• There would be four output lines and one of
the 64 words will be available on the output
lines
• For each address input, there is a unique
selected word.
• For example, if the input address is 000000,
word number 0 will be selected and applied to
the output lines.
• If the input address is 111111, word number
63 is selected and applied to the output lines.
Masked Read Only Memory (MROM):
• It is the oldest type of read only memory (ROM).
• It has become obsolete so it is not used anywhere in
today's world.
• It is a hardware memory device in which programs and
instructions are stored at the time of manufacturing by
the manufacturer.
• So it is programmed during the manufacturing process
and can't be modified, reprogrammed, or erased later.
• The MROM chips are made of integrated circuits.
• Chips send a current through a particular input-
output pathway determined by the location of
fuses among the rows and columns on the chip.
• The current has to pass along a fuse-enabled path,
so it can return only via the output the
manufacturer chooses.
• This is the reason the rewriting and any other
modification is not impossible in this memory.
Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM):
• PROM is a blank version of ROM.
• It is manufactured as blank memory and
programmed after manufacturing. We can say
that it is kept blank at the time of
manufacturing. You can purchase and then
program it once using a special tool called a
programmer.
• In the chip, the current travels through all possible
pathways.
• The programmer can choose one particular path
for the current by burning unwanted fuses by
sending a high voltage through them.
• The user has the opportunity to program it or to
add data and instructions as per his requirement.
• Due to this reason, it is also known as the user-
programmed ROM as a user can program it.
• To write data onto a PROM chip; a device called
PROM programmer or PROM burner is used.
• The process or programming a PROM is known as
burning the PROM.
• Once it is programmed, the data cannot be
modified later, so it is also called as one-time
programmable device.
• Uses: It is used in cell phones, video game
consoles, medical devices, RFID tags, and more.
Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory
(EPROM):
• EPROM is a type of ROM that can be
reprogrammed and erased many times.
• The method to erase the data is very different;
it comes with a quartz window through which a
specific frequency of ultraviolet light is passed
for around 40 minutes to erase the data.
• So, it retains its content until it is exposed to
the ultraviolet light. You need a special device
called a PROM programmer or PROM burner
to reprogram the EPROM.
• Uses: It is used in some micro-controllers to
store program, e.g., some versions of Intel
8048 and the Freescale 68HC11.
Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read
Only Memory (EEPROM):
• ROM is a type of read only memory that can
be erased and reprogrammed repeatedly, up
to 10000 times.
• It is erased and reprogrammed electrically
without using ultraviolet light..
• The data in this memory is written or erased
one byte at a time; byte per byte
• Uses: The BIOS of a computer is stored in this
memory
FLASH ROM:
• It is an advanced version of EEPROM.
• The advantage of using this memory is that you
can delete or write blocks of data around 512
bytes at a particular time. Whereas, in EEPROM,
you can delete or write only 1 byte of data at a
time. So, this memory is faster than EEPROM.
• It can be reprogrammed without removing it from
the computer.
• It is also highly durable as it can bear high
temperature and intense pressure.
• Uses: It is used for storage and transferring data
between a personal computer and digital devices.
• It is used in USB flash drives, MP3 players, digital
cameras, modems and solid-state drives (SSDs).
• The BIOS of many modern computers are stored
on a flash memory chip, called flash BIOS.
