PURPOSE: To make a nonvolatile semiconductor memory mountable on a semiconductor device corresponding to multi-purpose and the like, the same semiconductor device as a light-sensing element in particular, by using a method and a device for control which enable electric erasure of this nonvolatile semiconductor memory of which a manufacturing process is the same as a CMOS process and which can be manufactured with an excellent yield and has a similar construction to the one of an ultraviolet erasure system.

CONSTITUTION: At the time of erasure of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory (EPROM) 15, voltages of a drain layer 3 and a source layer 2 are controlled by a reference voltage control circuit 24 and a drain voltage control circuit 22 and thereby channel hot electrons are generated. Holes made into impact ions thereby are captured by controlling a voltage of a floating gate electrode 5 by a gate control circuit 23 through a control gate electrode 7. Erasure of data is executed by recovering the voltage of the floating gate electrode 5 by injection of these holes.