A Scalable Self-Aligned Contact NOR Flash Technology

A highly manufacturable self-aligned contact ETOX
^™
NOR flash memory technology scalable beyond the 40nm node is presented. The technology has been demonstrated on an MLC-capable 256Mb array at the 65nm node with the smallest cell area (0.036μm
²
) reported to date. Key features include aggressively scaled drain space, symmetric S/D layout for superior lithography and device scaling, novel self-aligned contact integration with excellent spacer reliability, and equivalent CMOS performance to the conventional ETOX
^™
process flow.