Single Event Upsets Induced by Direct Ionization from Low-Energy Protons in Floating Gate Cells

Floating gate cells in advanced NAND Flash memories, with single-level and multi-level cell architecture, were exposed to low-energy proton beams. The first experimental evidence of single event upsets by proton direct ionization in floating gate cells is reported. The dependence of the error rate versus proton energy is analyzed in a wide energy range. Proton direct ionization events are studied and energy loss in the overlayers is discussed. The threshold LET for floating gate errors in multi-level and single-level cell devices is modeled and technology scaling trends are analyzed, also discussing the impact of the particle track size.