1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a charge trapping device and a method for manufacturing the same and, more particularly, to a charge trapping device suitable for being applied in a flash memory device and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
A flash memory device is one of the indispensable components in current electronic systems. A flash memory device is widely applied due to its large capacity, miniature size, non-volatility, low-power consumption, low cost, and recordable/rewritable characteristics. Particularly, flash memory devices are suitable for being applied in portable electronic products, such as cell phones, digital cameras, USB and so on.
Flash memory devices can be largely classified into floating gate type flash memory devices and polysilicon-oxide-nitride-silicon (SONOS) type flash memory devices. With reference to
SONOS type flash memory devices directly use the ONO dielectric layer between the floating gate and the control gate as a memory unit.
So far, many researchers have made efforts in developing flash memory devices with improved operation characteristics and charge retention. However, these flash memory devices generally use a single-layered silicon nitride layer as a charge trapping layer, and few reports centre on the modification of the charge trapping layer.
The object of the present invention is to provide a charge trapping device that has excellent programming, and erasing and charge retention properties. Accordingly, it can be applied in a flash memory device to present improved operation characteristics and excellent charge retention and thus enhanced performance.
To achieve the object, the present invention provides a charge trapping device, comprising: a substrate, having a first surface and an opposite second surface; a tunneling insulating layer, disposed on the first surface of the substrate; a charge trapping layer, disposed on the tunneling insulating layer and including a first dielectric layer and a second dielectric layer, in which the first dielectric layer is connected to the tunneling insulating layer, the second dielectric layer is disposed over the first dielectric layer, and a conduction band offset between the first dielectric layer and the substrate is larger than that between the second dielectric layer and the substrate; and a blocking insulating layer, disposed on the charge trapping layer and connected to the second dielectric layer.
Accordingly, through the stacked type charge trapping layer, the present invention can improve the operation characteristics including programming and erasing and presents excellent charge retention. Particularly, regarding the charge trapping layer of the present invention, a dielectric layer with a smaller conduction band offset is stacked after a dielectric layer with a larger conduction band offset, and thereby the programming speed and erasing speed can be simultaneously enhanced. Therefore, the situation observed in conventional charge trapping devices that the programming speed is large while the erasing speed is small can be improved.
In the charge trapping device according to the present invention, the materials of the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer may be any conventional high-k material, such as silicon nitride, hafnium oxide, hafnium aluminum oxide and hafnium silicate. Preferably, the material of the first dielectric layer is silicon nitride, hafnium oxide, hafnium aluminum oxide or hafnium silicate, and the material of the second dielectric layer is hafnium oxide, hafnium aluminum oxide or hafnium silicate. More preferably, the materials of the first dielectric layer and the second dielectric layer respectively are silicon nitride and hafnium oxide; hafnium aluminum oxide and hafnium oxide; hafnium oxide and hafnium silicate; hafnium aluminum oxide and hafnium aluminum oxide, in which the aluminum/hafnium ratio of the first dielectric layer is larger than that of the second dielectric layer; or hafnium silicate and hafnium silicate, in which the silicon/hafnium ratio of the first dielectric layer is smaller than that of the second dielectric layer.
In the charge trapping device according to the present invention, the substrate may be an Si substrate, and in more detail may be a P-type Si substrate. Additionally, the substrate may have a source and a drain.
In the charge trapping device according to the present invention, the material of the tunneling insulating layer may be any conventional material used in a tunneling insulating layer, such as silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, hafnium aluminum oxide and so on.
In the charge trapping device according to the present invention, the material of the blocking insulating layer may be any conventional material used in a blocking insulating layer, such as silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, hafnium aluminum oxide and so on.
The charge trapping device according to the present invention may further comprise a control gate disposed on the blocking insulating layer. Herein, the material of the control gate can be any conventional material used in a control gate, such as tantalum nitride, molybdenum nitride and so on.
The charge trapping device according to the present invention may further comprise a first electrode and a second electrode respectively connected to the control gate and the second surface of the substrate. Herein, the materials of the first electrode and the second electrode may be any electrode material, such as Al—Si—Cu, Al and so on.
Moreover, the present invention further provides a method for manufacturing the above-mentioned charge trapping device, comprising: providing a substrate having a first surface and an opposite second surface; forming a tunneling insulating layer on the first surface of the substrate; forming a charge trapping layer on the tunneling insulating layer, wherein the charge trapping layer includes a first dielectric layer and a second dielectric layer, the first dielectric layer is connected to the tunneling insulating layer, the second dielectric layer is disposed over the first dielectric layer, and a conduction band offset between the first dielectric layer and the substrate is larger than that between the second dielectric layer and the substrate; and forming a blocking insulating layer on the charge trapping layer, wherein the blocking insulating layer is connected to the second dielectric layer.
The method of the present invention may further comprise: forming a control gate on the blocking insulating layer.
The method of the present invention may further comprise: respectively forming a first electrode and a second electrode on the control gate and the second surface of the substrate.
In the method according to the present invention, the charge trapping layer may be formed by chemical vapor deposition, such as atomic layer deposition (ALD), metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD).
In conclusion, the charge trapping layer of the charge trapping device according to the present invention has a stacked type structure, in which a dielectric layer with a smaller conduction band offset is stacked after a dielectric layer with a larger conduction band offset. Accordingly, in comparison with a conventional single-layered charge trapping layer, the present invention can simultaneously enhance programming speed and erasing speed of the charge trapping device, and present excellent charge retention.
Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
With reference to
Subsequently, as shown in
Then, as shown in
Finally, as shown in
With reference to
Accordingly, as shown in
The method for manufacturing the charge trapping devices according to Embodiments 2 to 4 is the same as that described in Embodiment 1, except that the charge trapping layer conditions according to Embodiments 2 to 4 are shown in Table 1 and the charge trapping layer and the blocking insulating layer according to Embodiments 2 to 4 are formed through atomic layer deposition (ALD).
Please refer to
The structures and the manufacturing methods of the charge trapping devices according to Comparative Embodiments 1 and 2 are the same as those described in Embodiment 1, except that the charge trapping layer according to Comparative Embodiments 1 and 2 is in a single-layered structure, the charge trapping layer in Comparative Embodiment 1 is made of silicon nitride in a thickness of 80 angstrom by a horizontal furnace, and charge trapping layer in Comparative Embodiment 2 is made of hafnium oxide in a thickness of 60 angstrom by a metal organic chemical vapor deposition system.
The structures and the manufacturing methods of the charge trapping devices according to Comparative Embodiments 3 to 6 are the same as those described in Embodiments 2 to 4, except that the charge trapping layer conditions according to Comparative Embodiments 3 to 6 are shown in Table 2, in which the charge trapping layer according to Comparative Embodiments 4-6 is in a single-layered structure, and the two-layered structure of the charge trapping layer according to Comparative Embodiment 3 is formed by stacking a dielectric layer with a smaller conduction band offset and then a dielectric layer with a larger conduction band offset.
The charge trapping devices according to Embodiment 1 and Comparative Embodiments 1 and 2 are operated by channel Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) programming/erasing and the flat-band voltage shift (ΔVfb) is measured so as to evaluate the operation characteristics and charge retention of the charge trapping devices according to Embodiment 1 and Comparative Embodiments 0.1 and 2.
From the results shown in
The charge trapping devices according to Embodiments 2 and 3 and Comparative Embodiments 3, 4 and 5 are operated by channel Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) programming/erasing and the flat-band voltage shift (ΔVfb) is measured so as to evaluate the operation characteristics and charge retention of the charge trapping devices according to Embodiments 2 and 3 and Comparative Embodiments 3, 4 and 5.
From the results shown in
The charge trapping devices according to Embodiment 4 and Comparative Embodiment 6 are operated by channel Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) programming/erasing and the flat-band voltage shift (ΔVfb) is measured so as to evaluate the operation characteristics and charge retention of the charge trapping devices according to Embodiment 4 and Comparative Embodiment 6.
From the results shown in
Accordingly, the above-mentioned experiments can prove that the stacked type charge trapping layer according to the present invention can significantly improve the programming speed and erasing speed of a charge trapping device in comparison with a charge trapping device with a single-layered charge trapping layer. In addition, the charge trapping device provided by the present invention can present excellent charge retention. Particularly, the present invention provides the idea that a dielectric layer with a smaller conduction band offset is stacked after a dielectric layer with a larger conduction band offset so as to enhance the programming speed as well as the erasing speed of a charge trapping device. Thereby, the present invention can improve the situation observed in conventional charge trapping devices that the programming speed is large while the erasing speed is small. Moreover, the present invention denies the general concept that the programming speed can be enhanced only by first stacking a charge trapping layer with a small conduction band offset.
Although the present invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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098124696 | Jul 2009 | TW | national |