We propose, for the first time, highly reliable flash-type EEPROM cell fabrication using in-situ multiple rapid thermal processing (RTP) technology. In this study, rapid thermal oxynitridation tunnel oxide (RTONO) film formations followed by in-situ arsenic (As)-doped floating-gate polysilicon growth by rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition (RTCVD) technologies are fully utilized. The results show that after 5104 program/erase (P/E) endurance cycles, the conventional cell shows 65% narrowing of the threshold voltage (Vt) window, whereas the RTONO cell indicates narrowing of less than 20%. A large number of nitrogen atoms (1020 atoms/cm3) are confirmed by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), pile up at the SiO2/Si interface and distribute into bulk SiO2. It is considered that in the RTONO film stable Si-N bonds are formed which minimize electron trap generation as well as the neutral defect density, resulting in lower Vt shifts in P/E stress. In addition, the RTONO film reduces the number of hydrogen atoms because of final N2O oxynitridation. The SIMS data shows that by the in-situ RTCVD process As atoms (91020 atoms/cm3) are incorporated uniformly into 1000--thick film. Moreover, the RTCVD polysilicon film indicates an extremely flat surface. The time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) characteristics of interpoly oxide-nitride-oxide (ONO) film exhibited no defect-related breakdown and 5 times longer breakdown time as compared to phosphorus-doped polysilicon film. Therefore, the flash-EEPROM cell fabricated has good charge storing capability.

A tunnel film(9 nm thick) formed by a rapid thermal oxidation in dry oxygen-rapid thermal nitridation in NH3-rapid thermal oxynitridation in N2O (ONN) sequence is applied to a stacked-gate flash memory cell, in which writing and erasing are carried out by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling at a drain and at a channel, respectively. The writing, erasing, endurance, disturbance and retention characteristics of the memory cells with ONN tunnel films are, for the first time, compared to those of the memory cells with conventional tunnel films such as dry oxide, N2O-oxynitride and reoxidized nitrided oxide tunnel films. No significant difference of the writing and erasing characteristics was observed among the memory cells with the various tunnel films. However, the amount of Vth window narrowing in the endurance characteristics of the memory cells with ONN (-12.9%) and reoxidized nitrided oxide(-11.4%) tunnel films were much smaller than those of the memory cells with RTO(-34.0%) and NO (-38.2%) after 106 write/erase cycles. Furthermore, the decrease in Vth in the drain disturbance characteristics of the memory cells with ONN tunnel films (21.2%) after weak electron-ejecting stress of 105 cycles was smaller than those of the memory cells with the other films(51.4-64.4%). The retention characteristics of the memory cells with ONN tunnel films under the thermal stress of 200, 5.9105 sec were superior(ΔVth=-2.1%) to those of the memory cells with the other films(ΔVth=-5.4 - -8.2%). The reasons of these findings are because ONN films exhibit smaller number of charge traps and interface states induced by write/erase cycle stress, and suppress leakage curent stimulated by the weak electron-ejecting bias and the thermal stress, compared to the dry oxide, the N2O-oxynitride and the reoxidized nitrided oxide. ONN films are found to be suitable for use as tunnel films of fiash memory cells.