Replacing the tunnel oxide of non-volatile memories by a high-k dielectric is addressed in this paper. This work reports in its first part an experimental study of conduction and trapping in Al 2 O 3 layers. The experimental data of these layers is then integrated in a novel endurance model suitable for flash memories with high-k tunnel oxide. Simulation results show that low (+8/-7V) operating voltages can be used to obtain large threshold voltage shifts, and despite a great amount of trapped negative charges (several 10 12 /cm 2 ), the programming window isn't closed after 10 7 write/erase (W/E) cycles