A superior oxide/nitride/oxide (ONO) gate stack was demonstrated. High density plasma chemical vapor deposition was used to deposit the silicon nitride layer instead of the conventional low-pressure chemical vapor deposition for silicon/oxide/nitride/oxide/silicon technology. The densified nitride layer was performed by high-temperature dry oxidation to form a thermally grown blocking oxide layer on the silicon nitride rather than a deposited oxide layer. The ONO gate stack shows large memory window, high breakdown voltage, and reliable endurance characteristics, which is a potential candidate for future nonvolatile memory technology. (C) 2004 The Electrochemical Society.