SG-TFS: A versatile embedded flash with silicon nanocrystals as the storage medium

Since Tiwari introduced the nanocrystal memory concept in 1996, much progress has been made in the areas of nanocrystal deposition, storage stack engineering, process integration, cell design, and array architecture. This paper describes the highly versatile flash technology, SG-TFS, in terms of its applicability from low-end to high-end, from code storage to data storage, and from consumer to automotive market segments. SG-TFS stands for split-gate thin film storage and is built with silicon nanocrystals as its storage medium. Superior performance and reliability are demonstrated with a 90 nm 16 Mbit memory array.