Synthesis of cobalt-based nanocrystal layer in silicon dioxide for nonvolatile memory applications

Cobalt silicide (CoSi) nanocrystal (NC) layer distributed within narrow spatial region is synthesized by thermal annealing of a sandwich structure comprised of a thin cobalt (Co) film sandwiched between two silicon-rich oxide (SiO(x)) layers. It is shown that the size of the CoSi NCs can be controlled by varying the Co film thickness, an increase in the size with increasing thickness. Capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements on a test metal/oxide/semiconductor (MOS) structure with floating gate based on CoSi NCs of 3.8 nm in diameter and 1.4 x 10(12) cm2 in density are shown to have C-V characteristics suitable for nonvolatile memory applications, including a C-V memory window of about 9.5 V for sweep voltages between -15 V and +8, a retention time >10(8) s, and an endurance > 10(6) program/erase cycles.