Improved flash cell performance by N2O annealing of interpoly oxide

Abstract

In this letter, we report the effects of N2O annealing of interpoly oxide on flash cell performance. It is demonstrated that by adding an N2O anneal after interpoly oxide formation, improved cycling endurance is achieved, The program and erase efficiencies are also improved significantly, compared to the control cell without N2O anneal. The cells with N2O anneal show higher cell current (i.e., drain current), which can be ascribed to a lower threshold voltage and higher transconductance, compared to the control cell.