Read-Only Memory (ROM) Integrated Circuit

The original read-only memory (or ROM) integrated circuits were a type of memory that was programmed once and could not be overwritten or changed. In the factory, programmable read-only memory (PROM) chips provide the manufacturers the opportunity to store software in a region of a personal computer or other electronic device that cannot be erased, thus the name "firmware" and the classification as nonvolatile memory.