Charge storage characteristics of Au nanocrystals embedded in high-k gate dielectrics on Si

Abstract

The charge storage characteristics of metal-oxide-semiconductor structures containing Au nanocrystals in atomic-layer-deposited high-k gate dielectrics were studied. Cross-sectional high-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals that the Au nanocrystals are self-assembled in the high-k dielectric matrix after high temperature annealing in N2 ambient. The memory effect was observed from capacitance-voltage (C-V) relations and a satisfactory charge retention characteristic was obtained in the sample using Al2O3 as the gate dielectric than in the one using Hf2AlOx. Moreover, a saturation of electron storage in the metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors was also observed.

Improved performance of non-volatile memory with Au-Al2O3 core-shell nanocrystals embedded in HfO2 matrix

“…In the past decade, tremendous efforts have been invested into research of nanocrystal (NC) memories from materials and structures. Semiconductor nanocrystals such as Si, 1 Ge, 2 metal nanocrystals such as Al, 3,4 Ag, 5 Ni, 6 W, 7-9 Pt, 10 Au, [11][12][13][14] Ru, 15 Co, 16,17 ,Ir, 18 and oxide nanocrystals such as IrO x , 19 RuO (Ref. 20) have been reported.…”

Atomic Layer Deposition of High‐k Oxides of the Group 4 Metals for Memory Applications

“…[14][15][16][17] Though these applications have their unique requirements, they can still benefit from the precursor and material developments in high-k ALD research for MOSFETs and DRAMs. More detailed discussion on current trends in new materials for memory development, including flash technology and logic devices in DRAM technology, is given in another article in this special issue.…”

High-performance non-volatile CdS nanobelt-based floating nanodot gate memory

“…Radio frequency magnetron sputtering was another commonly used method to fabricate metal nanodots. 11 In this method, the power of sputtering should be precisely controlled in order to prevent destruction of the tunnelling layer, and an extra annealing process is required. Based on the above consideration, exploring simple ways to fabricate high quality metal nanodots in FNGMs has practical meaning.…”