Experimental Study of Data Retention in Nitride Memories by Temperature and Field Acceleration

We present a detailed investigation of data retention in nitride memories by means of temperature- and field-accelerated experiments. Using cell array stress test (CAST) structures, we show that a very different retention time is extracted from high-temperature and field extrapolations, revealing a change in the dominant charge-loss mechanism when the temperature is reduced to the room value. Finally, the dependence of data retention on electrical stress is studied on the arrays, showing that only a small reduction of the extrapolated retention time appears when increasing the stress dose, with no anomalous cell behaviors.