Applications of a Novel Hot Carrier Injection Model in Flash EEPROM Design

The use of numerical simulation has become an invaluable tool in the competitive environment of technology and device development. Effective process and device simulation can reduce the time and cost associated with new product development and can provide a means for rapid assessment of new design concepts. The scaling of voltages and geometries in flash EEPROM has highlighted the need for models which more accurately reproduce device terminal currents. A new model for hot-carrier gate current has been developed and integrated into 2D hydrodynamic (HYDRO) HFIELDS, a numerical device simulator developed in the University of Bologna. This paper presents a selection of design issues analysed using the enhanced simulator.