Comparison of discrete-storage nonvolatile memories: advantage of hybrid method for fabrication of Au nanocrystal nonvolatile memory

Abstract

In this paper, the memory characteristics of two kinds of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors embedded with Au nanocrytals are investigated: hybrid MOS with nanocrystals (NCs) fabricated by chemical syntheses and rapid thermal annealing (RTA) MOS with NCs fabricated by RTA. For both kinds of devices, the capacitance versus voltage (C–V) curves clearly indicate the charge storage in the NCs. The hybrid MOS, however, shows a larger memory window, as compared with RTA MOS. The retention characteristics of the two MOS devices are also investigated. The capacitance versus time (C–t) measurement shows that the hybrid MOS capacitor embedded with Au nanocrystals has a longer retention time. The mechanism of longer retention time for hybrid MOS capacitor is qualitatively discussed.