Use of Al2O3 as inter-poly dielectric in a production proven 130Â nm embedded Flash technology

We have successfully integrated 2 Mb arrays with SiO2/Al2O3 stacks as inter-poly dielectric (IPD) fabricated in a proven 130 nm embedded Flash technology. Gate stack write/erase high voltages (HV) can be reduced by 3 V. Write/erase distributions show evidence of bit pinning which can be explained by barrier lowering along Al2O3 grain boundaries. Reliability assessment of the 2 Mb array reveals promising data retention and cycle endurance, indicating the absence of charge trapping in the high-k IPD. Despite several integration issues, these results demonstrate the high potential of Al2O3 IPDs in embedded Flash technologies.