Evaluation of rapid thermal nitrided ONO interpoly dielectric resistance to plasma process-induced damage

Investigative studies to improve the resistance to plasma process-induced damage and data-retention time of ONO in flash memory devices via a rapid thermal nitridation (RTN) process in N/sub 2/O ambient have been carried out. Experimental results revealed that an extra RTN step (1050/spl deg/C, 30 s) after nitride deposition during ONO growth indeed leads to a better quality stacked dielectric layer over the conventional process. Brief explanations of the beneficial effects of RTN are provided in this paper.