Comprehensive investigations on defects’ stability caused lateral charge loss in Ti-doped 3D NAND

The comprehensive investigations on defects’ stability caused lateral charge loss are investigated in Ti-doped 3D NAND. The detailed study shows that the Ti-doping strategy could reduce pre-existing shallow traps in pure Si 3 N 4 . The stability of Ti Si and Ti i defects are observed under program/erase stress, but unstable Ti N defects with shallow-trap levels (0.41 eV) also occur. Based on unstable defects, the device simulations are carried out revealing its effects on lateral charge loss, which indicates that Ti N defects should be reduced for reliability. Our results strongly suggest the stability of Ti-related defects could be key points for lateral charge loss.