ABSTRACT
Trap density and trap depth in nitride are strongly process sensitive. Nitride films applied in nonvolatile memories (NVMs) devices may exhibit varying device characteristics due to variation in nitride process parameters. Oxynitride films were applied in early IBM CT NVM devices to overcome limitations of MNOS devices in memory window, charge retention, and cyclic endurance. Some of the unique and distinguishing electrical properties of SRIs, and in particular silicon-rich nitrides (SRNs), will be elaborated here due to their relevance and applications to NVM devices and due to greater thermal and structural stability compared to silicon-rich oxides (SROs). The dielectric constant of single-phase SRN is found to be somewhat larger that nitride and oxynitrides. However, due to higher conductivity and shallower traps, such films have limited application in NVM devices. Conventional dielectric films are those dielectric films with long history of process development and integration in silicon based microelectronics, including defect control, reproduce ability, high yield production history, and reliability.
