A 2T-MONOS Embedded Flash Macro with 65nm SOTB Technology Achieving 0.15 pJ/bit Read Energy with 80 MHz Access for IoT Applications

To expand IoT application ranges, ultra-low active energy operations are essential in edge devices. Especially, read energy reduction in embedded Flash memory is strongly required to enable real-time sensing with limited energy generated by energy harvesting. In this work, 1.5MB and 256KB 2T-MONOS embedded Flash macros are developed with 65nm SOTB technology, adopting low-energy sense amplifier and data transmission circuit techniques which enhance intrinsic advantages of SOTB devices. These macros achieve read energy of 0.15 pJ/bit with 80 MHz random read access capability, which is low enough to utilize EH technologies as energy sources.