Embedded NVM devices with solid-phase crystallized poly-Si film on a glass substrate for system-on-panel applications

Embedded nonvolatile memory (NVM) devices with solid-phase crystallized polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films and an oxide-nitride-oxynitride (ONOn) stack structure on a glass panel were fabricated and investigated for system-on-panel applications. Memory-in-pixel and memory blocks are expected to be integrated in display panels as the integration of display systems progresses. Poly-Si thin-film transistor technology and a low temperature method to deposit an ultrathin tunneling layer using plasma-assisted oxynitridation were used to fabricate embedded poly-Si NVM devices on glass panels. A memory window from +2.4 to -1.72 V was obtained at a low operating voltage with an erasing voltage of +11 V and a programming voltage of -10 V. Moreover, an extrapolation of the performance of the fabricated poly-Si NVM device suggests that it retains a threshold voltage window of more than 80% between the programming and erasing states up to 10 years. The results demonstrate that the proposed devices with poly-Si layers using solid-phase crystallization and ONOn stack structures have suitable switching and retention characteristics for data storage applicable to real flat-panel display applications.