TCAD Simulation of Data Retention Characteristics of Charge Trap Device for 3-D NAND Flash Memory

We have developed a reliable and predictable TCAD modeling method for retention characteristics of the charge trap NAND Flash device. This modeling method can explain various retention phenomena related to temperature, program pattern, and bake time. The temperature dependency is well described by direct tunneling and thermionic emission, the pattern dependency can be explained by carrier diffusion and the short time retention can be described by the electron-hole dynamics in the storage nitride layer.