Nickel nanocrystal formation on HfO2 dielectric for nonvolatile memory device applications

Abstract

This letter presents the formation of nickel nanocrystal on HfO2 high-k dielectric and its application to the nonvolatile memory devices. The effects of the initial nickel layer thickness and annealing temperature on nickel nanocrystal formation are investigated. The n-metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor with nickel nanocrystals and HfO2 tunneling dielectrics is fabricated and its programming, data retention, and endurance properties are characterized to demonstrate its advantages for nonvolatile memory device applications.