Eprom's - How long do they last?

[Trenton_net]

Hey Everyone,

So regarding Eprom's, how long do they generally last? I assume only the most intense ultraviolet light for several sustained minutes would do anything to one?

[Bad_Ad84]

Depends how they are stored?

If the window (assuming its a Windowed eprom) is covered, then 10-30+ years.

If you dont have the Window covered, sunlight can erase them within a month or so.

Edit:

good link:
http://my.ais.net/BD/05/xtreme/SF/Bit-Rot/

[Trenton_net]

Depends how they are stored?

If the window (assuming its a Windowed eprom) is covered, then 10-30+ years.

If you dont have the Window covered, sunlight can erase them within a month or so.

Edit:

good link:
http://my.ais.net/BD/05/xtreme/SF/Bit-Rot/

Ah, thats great. Question: Does Fuse PROM chips suffer from the same fate? I assume because of the irreversible nature of it, probably not (But probably costs a lot more money)?

[Melchior]

Well considering they are basically silicon diodes, and the oldest silicon (TTL/DTL) systems are still running at 40+ years...

PROM love you "long time".

[l_oliveira]

Trust me ... MASK ROMs do ROT too ... :shrug:

Of course they may last 30-40 even 100 years, but if the silicon has impurities of any kind a ROM could fail. I still have the bit-rotten MASKROM of the Famicom Parodius I fixed for a friend. :nod: