Performance study of side block oxide band gap engineered SONOS: A device simulation approach

High density Non Volatile Memory (NVM) requires large threshold window and small leakage current which will decrease detrapping of charge from storage dielectric. In order to achieve this, a novel device structure called side block oxide band gap engineered SONOS(SBO-BESONOS) is proposed. SBO-BESONOS overcomes the short channel effects when device size is reduced to nanometer regime. The side block oxide suppresses source/drain electric field interference with channel conduction. It reduces leakage current significantly and increases gate controllability over the channel. The band gap engineering improves retention >10yrs with large threshold window >4V and a small gate voltage. This device can be used for Multi Level Cell(MLC) applications where high bit density is required. The side block oxide improves device performance at elevated temperature. The device characterization delivers promising results in terms of threshold window, retention, leakage current and programming threshold and also fully compatible with state-of-the-art CMOS technology.