Optimization of the ATW non-volatile memory for connected smart objects

The development of new wireless devices is growing up, driven by the market of connected things for many applications: communications, cloud and health. In this scenario the current consumption of memory devices plays a key role. To save the battery of these devices, we need to develop the components that consume less and less. In this paper we propose to improve the performances of an original architecture of nonvolatile memory cell: the Asymmetrical Tunnel Window (ATW) cell. We compare here the standard Flash floating gate memory cell with the new proposed device, with an accurate experimental investigation of programming window and energy consumption. Moreover we optimized the ATW cell architecture by modifying the ratio of oxides lengths and thicknesses. Finally, we experimentally demonstrate an improvement of 4 times on the programming efficiency with respect the standard memory.