Total Ionizing Dose Effects of 55-nm Silicon-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide-Silicon Charge Trapping Memory in Pulse and DC Modes

The ^60Co-\gamma ray total ionizing dose radiation responses of 55-nm silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) memory cells in pulse mode (programmed/erased with pulse voltage) and dc mode (programmed/erased with direct voltage sweeping) are investigated. The threshold voltage and off-state current of memory cells before and after radiation are measured. The experimental results show that the memory cells in pulse mode have a better radiation-hard capability. The normalized memory window still remains at 60% for cells in dc mode and 76% for cells in pulse mode after 300 krad(Si) radiation. The charge loss process physical mechanisms of programmed SONOS devices during radiation are analyzed.