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Updated: Jan 17, 2026

In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy with Biasing and Fabrication of Asymmetric Crossbars Based on Mixed-Phased a-VOx
Published on: May 13, 2020
Temperature-induced interfacial intermixing and trap modulation in ONO-based flash memory capacitors
Hyunseok Son1, Kyumin Sim1, Hae Chul Hwang2
1Department of Electronic Engineering, Kwangwoon University, Seoul 01897, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
We investigated the effects of hydrogen annealing on the electrical properties and reliability of NAND flash memory capacitors featuring an oxide-nitride-oxide charge-trap dielectric stack. A thin interfacial SiOxNytransition layer, inherently formed between SiO2and Si3N4during processing, was analyzed for compositional and structural changes across annealing temperatures ranging from 300 °C to 500 °C. Key electrical characteristics, including capacitance-voltage behavior, programming speed, data retention, and endurance, were evaluated as a function of annealing temperature. The results demonstrate that annealing in forming gas at temperatures between 400 °C-450 °C optimally enhances device performance by increasing charge injection, reducing interface trap density, and stabilizing the memory window. Structural analysis by transmission electron microscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy revealed improved passivation of interface traps and the formation of deep trap states in the nitride, which together contribute to improved charge retention and reduced charge loss through trap-assisted tunneling.
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