Evaluation of rapid thermal nitrided ONO interpoly dielectric resistance to plasma process-induced damage

Abstract

Investigative studies to improve the resistance to plasma process-induced damage and data-retention time of ONO in Flash memory devices via a rapid thermal nitridation (RTN) process in N2O ambience have been carried out. Experimental results revealed than an extra RTN step (1050°C, 30s) after the nitride deposition during the ONO growth indeed leads to a better quality stacked dielectric layer over the conventional process. Brief explanations on the beneficial effects of RTN are provided in this paper.