Comparison of electrical and reliability characteristics of different tunnel oxides in SONOS flash memory

Abstract

The characteristics of polysilicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) devices with different tunnel oxides are studied. The tunnel oxide fabricated by high-temperature oxide (HTO) with additional NO annealing treatment (HTO (NO*)) has better performance than that fabricated by HTO only and in-situ steam generated oxide (ISSG) including operation window, retention, and endurance. Besides, the properties of charge-to-breakdown are also observed. The study can provide a straightforward way of reliability for future flash memory application