Tunnel oxide degradation in TANOS devices and its origin

Tunnel oxide degradation in TANOS devices and its origins were investigated in terms of program, erase, and endurance device operation modes. It was found that the erase operation may cause significant tunnel oxide degradation, while the degradation due to program operation is negligible. In the erase and endurance modes, tunnel oxide degradation is primarily controlled by the process of electron ejection from the SiN trapping layer to the substrate.