Title :
Effects of the Localization of the Charge in Nanocrystal Memory Cells
Author :
Gasperin, Alberto ; Amat, Esteve ; Porti, Marc ; Martin-Martinez, J. ; Nafria, M. ; Aymerich, Xavier ; Paccagnella, Alessandro
Author_Institution :
Dipt. di Ing. dell´´Inf., Univ. di Padova, Padova, Italy
Abstract :
In this paper, we present a peculiar characteristic of nanocrystal (NC) memory (NCM) cells: The programming (P) windows measured in linear and subthreshold regions are different. A floating-gate flash memory cell with a similar structure does not show the same behavior, and the P window (PW) is independent of the current level of the extrapolation, as expected. By performing 2-D TCAD simulations, we demonstrated that this characteristic of NCM cells is due to the localization of the charge into the NCs. We investigate the correlation between the difference of the PWs in linear and subthreshold regions and the number, width, and position of the NCs.
Keywords :
circuit CAD; circuit simulation; flash memories; nanotechnology; 2D TCAD simulation; floating-gate flash memory cell; nanocrystal memory cells; programming window; subthreshold regions; Extrapolation; Flash memory; Flash memory cells; Leakage current; Linear programming; Nanocrystals; Nonvolatile memory; Phase change materials; Silicon; Threshold voltage; Charge trapping; Flash memories; TCAD; floating gate (FG); nanocrystal (NC) memories (NCMs); nonvolatile memories; simulations;
Journal_Title :
Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TED.2009.2028404
