Feasibility of SIO2/Al2O3 tunnel dielectric for future Flash memories generations

In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of SiO₂/Al₂O₃ stack tunnel dielectric for future Flash memory generations using statistical leakage current simulations. We show that the statistical Monte Carlo (MC) simulator we employed reproduces accurately leakage currents measured on SiO₂/Al₂O₃ dielectric capacitors. Exploiting its statistical capabilities, we calculate leakage current distributions in Flash memory retention conditions. We show that the high defectiveness of AI₂O₃ stacks strongly reduces the potential improvement of Flash retention due to the introduction of AI₂O₃ tunnel dielectric.