Performance and reliability of a 4Mb Si nanocrystal NOR Flash memory with optimized 1T memory cells

We present excellent performance and reliability characteristics of a Silicon nanocrystal (Si-nc) 4 Mb NOR Flash array (90 nm technology node). Main original technological improvements are a cylindrical symmetry of the 1-Transistor bitcell, which significantly increases the coupling ratio (particularly critical in Si-nc memories), and the use of an optimized ONO control dielectric, which prevents from parasitic charge trapping during cycling. Results shown here in terms of memory performance, high temperature reliability, endurance and disturbs are, at our knowledge, outstanding compared to literature state-of-the-art and demonstrate the high potential of this technology for embedded memory applications.