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Endurance characterization and improvement of floating gate semiconductor memory devices
Descriptive
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Text
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Title
Endurance characterization and improvement of floating gate semiconductor memory devices
SubTitle
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NonSort
Identifier
ETD_1597
Identifier
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http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.2/rucore10001600001.ETD.000051734
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eng
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theses
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Topic
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Subject
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(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Semiconductor storage devices
Subject
(ID = SBJ-3);
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Flash memories (Computers)
Abstract
Low power consumption, virtually zero latency, extremely fast boot-up for OS and applications, fast data access, portability, and high shock resistance are some of many reasons that make Flash memory devices an ideal choice for a vast variety of consumer electronics. Flash memory is a specific type of non-volatile EEPROM. A typical Flash memory cell looks similar to a MOSFET, except that it has a dual-gate structure. Flash memory cells use the principle of threshold voltage modulation to alter the channel current (Ids) when a reference read voltage (Vread) is applied to the control gate. Different levels of Ids are, in turn, interpreted as unique logic states. Fowler-Nordheim tunneling is used to achieve threshold voltage modulation in NAND Flash memory cells.
Despite its high performance potential, NAND Flash memory suffers from the drawback of limited program/erase endurance. High field/current stress caused by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling (during program/erase cycling) leads to tunnel oxide degradation, which eventually limits the endurance characteristics of NAND Flash memory cells. One of the most significant tunnel oxide degradation mechanisms is charge trapping. This work is devoted to the study of charge trapping and its effects on the endurance characteristics and reliability of NAND Flash memory devices. Cell threshold voltage shift and memory window narrowing, a direct consequence of tunnel oxide degradation caused by charge trapping, are typical failure modes in NAND Flash memory cells.
In this work, endurance characterization of NAND Flash memory devices and a detailed analysis has been conducted reconfirming the issue of limited program/erase endurance. Subsequently, a novel NAND Flash memory cell design has been proposed which eliminates tunnel oxide degradation caused by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling. Device simulations (using the Sentaurus TCAD tool suite by Synopsys®, Inc.) and corresponding analysis show that, as compared to conventional cells, the proposed cell design offers a 10 times reduction in intrinsic threshold voltage shift. That, according to the measured endurance characteristics of cells fabricated in this work, translates to an improvement of over 200 times in program/erase endurance. In a nutshell, the proposed cell design offers superior reliability and endurance as compared to conventional NAND Flash memory cells.
Despite its high performance potential, NAND Flash memory suffers from the drawback of limited program/erase endurance. High field/current stress caused by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling (during program/erase cycling) leads to tunnel oxide degradation, which eventually limits the endurance characteristics of NAND Flash memory cells. One of the most significant tunnel oxide degradation mechanisms is charge trapping. This work is devoted to the study of charge trapping and its effects on the endurance characteristics and reliability of NAND Flash memory devices. Cell threshold voltage shift and memory window narrowing, a direct consequence of tunnel oxide degradation caused by charge trapping, are typical failure modes in NAND Flash memory cells.
In this work, endurance characterization of NAND Flash memory devices and a detailed analysis has been conducted reconfirming the issue of limited program/erase endurance. Subsequently, a novel NAND Flash memory cell design has been proposed which eliminates tunnel oxide degradation caused by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling. Device simulations (using the Sentaurus TCAD tool suite by Synopsys®, Inc.) and corresponding analysis show that, as compared to conventional cells, the proposed cell design offers a 10 times reduction in intrinsic threshold voltage shift. That, according to the measured endurance characteristics of cells fabricated in this work, translates to an improvement of over 200 times in program/erase endurance. In a nutshell, the proposed cell design offers superior reliability and endurance as compared to conventional NAND Flash memory cells.
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electronic resource
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xv, 116 p. : ill.
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M.S.
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Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-116)
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by Faraz Khan
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Khan
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Faraz I.
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Faraz I. Khan
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Sheng
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Kuang
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Kuang Sheng
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Lu
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Yicheng
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internal member
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Yicheng Lu
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Jiang
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Wei
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Wei Jiang
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Rutgers University
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Graduate School - New Brunswick
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2009
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2009-05
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Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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rucore19991600001
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doi:10.7282/T3XK8FRM
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ETD graduate
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The author owns the copyright to this work.
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Copyright protected
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Open
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Khan
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Faraz
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Faraz Khan
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Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
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I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
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