Radiation Effects in Flash Memories: from Planar to 3D

Flash memories are essential components in modern electronic systems, including space applications that demand high-density, non-volatile storage. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the impact of ionizing radiation, both Total Ionizing Dose (TID) and Single Event Effects (SEE), on Flash memories. While radiation-induced degradation has long been associated with peripheral circuitry, the most scaled planar device generations reveal that memory cells themselves can be increasingly affected as well. The miniaturization of cells and then the shift from planar to 3D architectures introduce new reliability challenges that must be addressed. After outlining the evolution of Flash technology and its main reliability issues, we examine radiation effects on both memory cells and peripheral circuitry, including charge pumps, decoders, page buffers, and embedded controllers. Particular attention is given to cell-level effects: starting from planar Flash fundamentals and extending to 3D devices, with a focus on the two dominant technologies, Floating Gate and Charge Trap (Replacement-Gate) cells.