Process Improvements for 7th Generation 1Tb Quad-Level Cell 3D NAND Flash Memory in Mass Production

• Published in: 2023 IEEE International Memory Workshop (IMW) pp. 1 - 4
• Main Authors: Chung, Soochan, Ko, Dong-Hyeon, Lim, Joonsung, Kim, Kyungmoon, Takaki, Sejie, Seo, Yujeong, Lee, Byoungil, Park, Sejun, Lee, Jaeduk, Noh, Kyungyoon, Ahn, Su Jin, Hur, Sunghoi
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01-05-2023
• Subjects: Computer architecture; COP; Costs; Microprocessors; NAND Flash Memory; Nonvolatile memory; Performance evaluation; QLC; Technological innovation; Three-dimensional displays; V-NAND
• ISSN: 2573-7503
• DOI: 10.1109/IMW56887.2023.10145937

Over the past few decades, a greater need for 3D Vertical NAND (V-NAND) flash memory storage capacity has emerged. Compared to its prevailing technical predecessor, a quad-level cell (QLC) NAND flash memory can be a perfect replacement to meet the needs for the higher density and lower cost non-volatile memory market. However, despite these benefits, QLC's market share has not been growing significantly because of its worse device reliability and slower performance. In this Paper, a new highly mass-producible and highly reliable 1Tb QLC 3D NAND flash memory with 176-word-line (WL) and Cell-Over-Peripheral (COP) architecture along with a number of significant process advancements will be presented.