BE-TANOS: Feasibility and technology limitations

The aim of this work is to investigate the physical mechanisms behind the write/erase and retention performances of band gap engineering (BE) layers used as tunnel oxide in charge trap memory stack. The investigation of the BE layers alone will be completed with the analyses of its integration within a TANOS (TaN/Alumina/Nitride/Oxide/Silicon) stack, pointing out the correlation between electrical performance and reliability limits.Good write/erase/retention performances can be achieved with BE tunnel oxide by using silicon nitride layer integrated in SiO₂-Si₃N₄-SiO₂ stack, as long as all different mechanisms are taken into account in optimizing stack composition: hole injection which improves erase efficiency, charge trapping and de-trapping from the thin silicon nitride which causes program instabilities and initial charge loss which does not significantly impact long term retention. All these phenomena make very crucial the BE tunnel process control and difficult its use for multi-level application.     

Effect of trapped charge accumulation on the retention of charge trapping memory

The accumulation process of trapped charges in a TANOS cell during P/E cycling is investigated via numerical simulation.The recombination process between trapped charges is an important issue on the retention of charge trapping memory.Our results show that accumulated trapped holes during P/E cycling can have an influence on retention,and the recombination mechanism between trapped charges should be taken into account when evaluating the retention capability of TANOS.     

Cycling degradation in TANOS stack

The aim of this work is to investigate the physical mechanisms behind TANOS (TaN/Alumina/Nitride/Oxide/Silicon) cycling degradation. A comparison of the degradation induced in the TANOS stack by unipolar or bipolar stress has allowed the separation the different degradation contributions. A comparison with standard floating gate (FG) stack has also been carried out to confirm these degradation mechanisms. Finally, different stack configurations are reported, showing the key factors affecting the degradation and giving trends for improving cycling degradation.     

A new write/erase method to improve the read disturbcharacteristics based on the decay phenomena of stress leakage currentfor flash memories

This paper describes a new write/erase method for flash memory to improve the read disturb characteristics by means of drastically reducing the stress leakage current in the tunnel oxide. This new write/erase operation method is based on the newly discovered three decay characteristics of the stress leakage current. The features of the proposed write/erase method are as follows: 1) the polarity of the additional pulse after applying write/erase pulse is the same as that of the control gate voltage in the read operation; 2) the voltage of the additional pulse is higher than that of a control gate in a read operation, and lower than that of a control gate in a write operation; and 3) an additional pulse is applied to the control gate just after a completion of the write/erase operation. With the proposed write/erase method, the degradation of the read disturb life time after 10⁶ write/erase cycles can be drastically reduced by 50% in comparison with the conventional bipolarity write/erase method used for NAND type flash memory. Furthermore, the degradation can he drastically reduced by 90% in comparison with the conventional unipolarity write/erase method fur NOR-, AND-, and DINOR-type flash memory. This proposed write/erase operation method has superior potential for applications to 256 Mb flash memories and beyond     

陷阱俘获存储器中电荷积累过程对保持特性的影响

本文通过数值模拟的方法对陷阱俘获存储器单元在多次擦写过程中的电荷积累过程进行了分析。由于多次擦写后陷阱电荷的积累,电荷之间的复合过程成为一个重要的问题。分析结果显示擦写过程中积累的空穴会对存储器的保持特性产生影响,同时在分析器件保持特性的时候电荷之间的复合机制必须加以考虑。     

Atmos—An electrically reprogrammable read-only memory device

An adjustable threshold MOS (Atmos) transistor is described that can be used as an electrically reprogrammable read-only memory by changing the charge content of a floating polysilicon gate. This floating gate is charged negatively (write) by means of a nonavalanche mechanism and charged positively (erase) by the avalanche breakdown of source or drain junction and subsequent hole injection into the oxide. The write time is between 10 and 100 ms, the erase time on the order of 1 s. The charge retention of the floating gate is about 90 percent after storage for 1000 h at 125°C.     

Narrow distribution of threshold Voltage in 4-Mbit MONOS memory-cell array with F-N channel write and direct/F-N tunneling erase operation as a single transistor structure

This paper describes the narrow and nonspreading distribution of threshold voltage in metal-oxide-nitride-oxide semiconductor (MONOS) memory cell array with Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) channel write operation and direct/F-N tunneling erase operation as a single transistor structure. We fabricated a 4-Mbit MONOS memory test chip using 0.25-/spl mu/m technology. The gate length of the memory cell was shrunk to 0.18 /spl mu/m. The distribution of threshold voltage for many operations were evaluated. The range of threshold voltage distribution is small, within 0.5 V in 12-14 V for programming and -8.5 to -9 V for erasing. It was also narrow for program/erase cycles up to 10/sup 4/ and after exposure to temperatures of 300/spl deg/C for 17 h and 150/spl deg/C for 304 h. These characteristics of narrow Vth distribution represent advantages of the MONOS memory device both for nonverify operation in program/erase mode and for low supply voltage operation in read mode. Another advantage is that no anomalous leak cell or tail bit is evident in the data retention result, demonstrating high reliability. The MONOS memory device is a promising candidate for use in cheaper and more scalable gate length fabrication processes compared with floating gate for highly reliable embedded applications.     

Low-voltage alterable EAROM cells with nitride-barrier avalanche-injection MIS (NAMIS)

Design and characteristics of NAMIS-EAROM cells alterable with voltages of about 10 V are demonstrated. The NAMIS cell employs a very thin silicon nitride film grown by direct thermal nitridation of a silicon substrate as the first insulating layer in a stacked-gate structure. Carrier injection into a floating gate is greatly enhanced due to low energy-barrier heights of silicon nitride. Further, a device structure suitable for low-voltage write/erase is presented. Writing is performed by using a single pulse of 10 V, 1 ms. Erasing is achieved by pulses of -5 and 10 V, 1 ms. Repetition of write/erase cycling is possible more than 10⁵times. Memory retention is expected to be much longer than 10 years at 125°C. The nonvolatility in the NAMIS cell is compatible with low-voltage operation, write/erase cycling, and read capacity over conventional FAMOS-type or MNOS-type memories.     

Erase and Retention Improvements in Charge Trap Flash Through Engineered Charge Storage Layer

The simultaneous improvement in the erase and retention characteristics in a TANOS $(hbox{TaN}{-}hbox{Al}_{2}hbox{O}_{3}{-}hbox{Si}_{3}hbox{N}_{4}{-}break hbox{SiO}_{2}{-}hbox{Si})$ Flash memory transistor by utilizing the band-engineered and compositionally graded $hbox{SiN}_{x}$ trap layer is demonstrated. With the process optimizations, a $≫ hbox{4}$ V memory window and excellent 150 $^{circ}hbox{C}$ 24-h retention (0.1–0.5 V charge loss) for a programmed $Delta V_{t} = hbox{4} hbox{V}$ with respect to the initial state are obtained. The band-engineered $hbox{SiN}_{x}$ charge storage layer enables Flash scaling beyond the floating-gate technology with a promise for improved erase speed, retention, lower supply voltages, and multilevel cell applications.      

三维圆柱形电荷俘获存储器件的继续微缩对其性能的影响

本文详细地研究了关键尺寸的继续微缩对三维圆柱形无结型电荷俘获存储器器件性能的影响。通过Sentaurus三维器件仿真器,我们对器件性能的主要评价指标进行了系统地研究,包括编程擦除速度和高温下的纵向电荷损失及横向电荷扩散。沟道半径的继续微缩有利于操作速度的提升,但使得纵向电荷损失, 尤其是通过阻挡层的纵向电荷损失,变得越来越严重。栅极长度的继续微缩在降低操作速度的同时将导致俘获电荷有更为严重的横向扩散。栅间长度的继续微缩对于邻近器件之间的相互干扰有决定性作用,对于特定的工作温度及条件其值需谨慎优化。此外,栅堆栈的形状也是影响电荷横向扩散特性的重要因素。研究结果为高密度及高可靠性三维集成优化提供了指导作用。     

Optimization of gate stack parameters towards 3D-SONOS application

A planar SONOS capacitor was used to optimize different parameters of the gate stack, in view of integration in a 3D cell. It is found that a poly-Si substrate strongly degrades the channel mobility but program and retention are not compromised. The ONO stack is found to scale down to 3/4/5 nm for tunnel oxide/trapping nitride/blocking oxide, respectively. FUSI gate could be an interesting option to improve the erase operation.     

A new technique for hot carrier reliability evaluations of flashmemory cell after long-term program/erase cycles

In this paper, we provide a methodology to evaluate the hot-carrier-induced reliability of flash memory cells after long-term program/erase cycles. First, the gated-diode measurement technique has been employed for determining the lateral distributions of interface state (N_it) and oxide trap charges (Q_ox) under both channel-hot electron (CHE) programming bias and source-side erase-bias stress conditions. A gate current model was then developed by including both the effects of N_it and Q_ox. Degradation of flash memory cell after P/E cycles due to the above oxide damage was studied by monitoring the gate current. For the cells during programming, the oxide damage near the drain will result in a programming time delay and we found that the interface state generation is the dominant mechanism. Furthermore, for the cells after long-term erase using source-side FN erase, the oxide trap charge will dominate the cell performance such as read disturb. In order to reduce the read-disturb, source bias should be kept as low as possible since the larger the applied source erasing bias, the worse the device reliability becomes     

A novel P-channel nitride-trapping nonvolatile memory device with excellent reliability properties

A novel P-channel nitride trapping nonvolatile memory device is studied. The device uses a P/sup +/-poly gate to reduce gate injection during channel erase, and a relatively thick tunnel oxide (>5 nm) to prevent charge loss. The programming is carried out by low-power band-to-band tunneling induced hot-electron (BTBTHE) injection. For the erase, self-convergent channel erase is used to expel the electrons out of nitride. Experimental results show that this p-channel device is immune to read disturb due to the large potential barrier for hole tunneling. Excellent P/E cycling endurance and retention properties are demonstrated. This p-channel device shows potential for high-density NAND-type array application with high-programming throughput (>10 Mb/sec).     

A two-transistor SIMOS EAROM cell

A new, electrically alterable, nonvolatile memory cell, consisting of a floating gate memory transistor and an access transistor, has been developed using the self-aligned n-channel stacked-gate injection-type MOS (SIMOS) technique. Programming is achieved by two mechanisms: channel injection of hot electrons and field emission. Analysis of experimental data shows that the contribution of the field emission mechanism to programming is significantly high when the memory device operates in the depletion mode. Erase occurs via field emission of electrons from the floating gate through a thin oxide thermally grown on monosilicon to an n/SUP +/-diffusion area placed outside the channel region of the memory transistor. This additional floating gate/n/SUP +/-diffusion overlap is also utilized to increase the programming efficiency by applying a voltage to the n/SUP +/-diffusion terminal in addition to the gate and the drain voltage. This voltage is shown to have a strong influence on the two programming mechanisms. Memory retention compares favorably with that of the most advanced electrically programmable, read-only memory (EPROM) devices. Endurance is limited by charge trapping in the thin erase oxide to approximately 10000 write/erase cycles.     

An investigation of erase-mode dependent hole trapping in flashEEPROM memory cell

Hot-hole generation during electrical erase in flash memory cells was investigated and found to be strongly dependent on the lateral electric field of the gated diode junction. It is shown, by erasing the memory cell at a low source voltage in combination with a negative gate voltage, that the operating point can be chosen well away from the onset of avalanche. Using this erasing scheme appreciably reduces the amount of hole trapping in the tunnel oxide. As a result, data retention is significantly improved as compared with conventional erasure     

Improving radiation hardness of EEPROM/flash cell by N2Oannealing

The effects of an N₂O anneal on the radiation effects of a split-gate electrical erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM)/flash cell with a recently-proposed horn-shaped floating gate were studied. We have found that although the cells appear to survive 1 Mrad(Si) Co⁶⁰ irradiation without data retention failure, the write/erase cycling endurance was severely impeded after irradiation. Specifically, the write/erase cycling endurance was degraded to 20 K from the pre-irradiation value of 50 K. However, by adding an N₂ O annealing step after the interpoly oxidation, the after-irradiation write/erase cycling endurance of the resultant cell can be significantly improved to over 45 K. N₂O annealing also improves the after-irradiation program and erase efficiencies. The N₂O annealing step therefore presents a potential method for enhancing the robustness of the horn-shaped floating-gate EEPROM/flash cells for radiation-hard applications     

Bias polarity dependent effects of P+floating gate EEPROMs

EEPROM devices with either N-type or P-type floating gate were fabricated and characterized. Program/erase speeds and stress-induced leakage current-related retention characteristics for both types of devices are explained. Discrepancies between previously published reports on P-type floating gate devices and PMOS gate current measurements are resolved. The feasibility of integrating P-type floating gate EEPROMs in high density memory arrays is examined.     

Experimental and Simulation Analysis of Program/Retention Transients in Silicon Nitride-Based NVM Cells

A new characterization technique and an improved model for charge injection and transport through ONO gate stacks are used to investigate the program/retention sequence of silicon nitride-based (SONOS/TANOS) nonvolatile memories. The model accounts for drift–diffusion transport in the conduction band of silicon nitride (SiN). A priori assumptions on the spatial distribution of the charge at the beginning of the program/retention operations are not needed. We show that the carrier transport in the SiN layer impacts the spatial distribution of the trapped charge and, consequently, several aspects of program and retention transients. A few model improvements allow us to reconcile the apparent discrepancy between the values of silicon nitride trap energies extracted from program and retention experiments, thus reducing the number of model parameters.      

An erase model for FAMOS EPROM devices

A physical model is presented which explains the various features of the UV erase process in FAMOS EPROM devices. An erase sensitivity factor is defined in this model, and correlated with experimental results. The erase sensitivity factor was found to be proportional to the floating-gate photoinjecting area, and inversely proportional to oxide thickness and total capacitance of the floating gate. Photoinjection of electrons from thin strips on the floating-gate edges are shown to be responsible for the charge removal from the floating gate. Quantum yields in the order of 10^-4were measured for this erase process and correlated with values found in the literature. In addition, theI-Vand spectral characteristics of photoinjected currents as low as 10^-15A from poly-Si to SiO2in FAMOS devices were measured and compared to data from Si-SiO2structures. Special features pertaining to the erase of a fully covered floating-gate FAMOS cell were investigated: the decrease in erase rate at lowDelta V_{t}is discussed, as well as the optical access to the floating gate in these devices. Based on experimental and theoretical grounds, hole injection is discounted as a possible erase mechanism in the structures investigated.     

Hafnium silicate as control oxide in non-volatile memories

SONOS-type MIS capacitors with hafnium silicate as a control oxide are characterized and compared to devices featuring a conventional SONOS gate stack. Write operation is comparable for both gate stack types. Erase operation for the devices with hafnium silicate is improved since the parasitic injection of electrons from the gate is suppressed due to the low electric field in the high-k material. This reduction in leakage current through the gate enhances oxide stability. However, measurements indicate that charge retention for the gate stack with hafnium silicate is degraded for high charge densities. Band bending of the control oxide under high electric fields increases the tunneling probability for trapped charges. Additionally, initial flatband voltage decay is observed due to charge trapping in the hafnium silicate layer. Reducing the thickness of the hafnium silicate layer is possible, maintaining favorable erase properties while minimizing the charge decay rate during retention.