Impact of temperature on the amplitude of RTN fluctuations in 3-D NAND flash cells

In this work, we present a comprehensive analysis of the impact of temperature on the amplitude of random telegraph noise (RTN) fluctuations in 3-Dimensional (3-D) NAND Flash cells. We clearly show that the average amplitude of RTN fluctuations increases when temperature is reduced. This piece of evidence is explained by means of TCAD simulations in terms of stronger nonuniformities in the inversion of the polysilicon channel at lower temperatures. In particular, the temperature reduction results in more relevant differences in the electron concentration between the centers and the boundaries of the polysilicon grains, increasing the impact on cell current of RTN traps placed at or close to the grain boundaries.