Investigation of Cell Variation Effect on Z-Interference in Charge-Trap-Based 3-D NAND Flash Memory

In this article, we investigated the effects of cell variations, specifically the variations in gate length ( ${L}_{\text {g}}$ ), spacer length ( ${L}_{\text {s}}$ ), filler oxide thickness ( ${T}_{\text {f}}$ ), channel thickness ( ${T}_{\text {ch}}$ ), tunneling oxide thickness ( ${T}_{\text {tox}}$ ), charge trap nitride thickness ( ${T}_{\text {ctn}}$ ), and blocking oxide thickness ( ${T}_{\text {box}}$ ), on the z-direction interference (Z-interference) in charge-trap-based 3-D NAND flash memory. Most previous studies have primarily focused on Z-interference degradation caused by the physical scaling of Z-dimensions, which has become a major obstacle in developing advanced multilevel cell technologies such as quad-level cell (QLC) and penta-level cell (PLC). However, with the physical scaling issue, the limitations of the fabrication process are causing cell variation. Nevertheless, research on Z-interference resulting from cell variation remains insufficient in existing studies. Therefore, we analyzed the impact of cell variation on threshold voltage ( ${V}_{\text {th}}$ ) distribution through the Monte Carlo simulation, incorporating technology computer-aided design (TCAD) and experimental data. These results not only offer a comprehensive understanding of Z-interference but also provide valuable insights for formulating process design guidelines.