SBIR-STTR Award

For mission critical data storage on systems operating in natural space and nuclear weapons environments, the use of radiation hardened non-volatile memory (NVM) is imperative. Today’s complex computer controlled electronic systems use NVM to store critical data for proper operation. This typically includes configuration parameters which allow the system to return to a known configuration after the loss of power. If the critical data becomes corrupted, system recovery and operation is severely impacted. Current state of the art technologies being evaluated for radiation hardened NVM include Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM) (1Mb), Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FeRAM), chalcogenide-based Phase-change Random Access Memory (PRAM) (1Mb), and silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) (4Mb) based devices. Of these, the only qualified radiation-hardened NVM technology commercially available today is the SONOS based memory. Development of increased bit-density SONOS memories is necessary to meet increasing system demands for critical data storage. This Phase I research will identify, optimize and design a SONOS-based NVM cell architecture and demonstrate the feasibility of using the advanced memory cell to design a radiation-hardened large bit-density (64Mb or greater) NVM. The optimized NVM cell structure will be compatible with existing CMOS processes to allow for ease of manufacturability and use in embeddable applications.

Keywords:
Radiation Hardened, Nonvolatile Memory, Eeprom, Survivability, Ionizing Dose, Nvm, High Density

For mission critical data storage on systems operating in natural space and nuclear weapons environments, the use of radiation hardened (RH) non-volatile memory (NVM) is imperative. Today’s complex computer controlled electronic systems use NVM to store critical data for proper operation. This typically includes configuration parameters which allow the system to return to a known configuration after the loss of power. If the critical data becomes corrupted, system recovery and operation is severely impacted. Current state of the art technologies being evaluated for RH NVM include Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM) (1Mb), Ferroelectric Random Access Memory (FeRAM), chalcogenide-based Phase-change Random Access Memory (PRAM) (1Mb), and silicon-oxide-nitride-oxide-silicon (SONOS) (4Mb) based devices. Of these, the only qualified RH NVM technology commercially available today is the SONOS based memory. Development of higher bit-density SONOS memories is necessary to meet increasing system demands for critical data storage. During this effort, we will design a 128Mb RH NVM using the advanced NVM architecture and materials identified in Phase I. Relevant test structures will be fabricated in an advanced RH CMOS process to demonstrate functionality of key elements of the NVM design. Operational parameters of these structures will be characterized, including read/write times, retention, endurance, etc.

Keywords:
Radiation Hardened, Nonvolatile Memory, Nvm, Eeprom, Survivability, Ionizing Dose, High Density, 128mb