Ionizing radiation effects on Non Volatile Read Only Memory cells

Threshold voltage (V-th) and drain-source current (I-DS) behaviour of nitride read only memories (NROM) were studied both in situ during irradiation or after irradiation with photons and ions. V-th loss fluctuations are well explained by the same Weibull statistics regardless of the irradiation species and total dose. Results of drain current measurements in-situ during irradiation with photons and ions reveal a step-like increase of I-DS with the total irradiation dose. A brief physical explanation is also provided.