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Published on: June 3, 2015
Hf-based high-k materials for Si nanocrystal floating gate memories
Larysa Khomenkova1, Bhabani S Sahu, Abdelilah Slaoui
1CIMAP, UMR CNRS/CEA/ENSICAEN/UCBN 6252, Ensicaen, 6 Bd Mal Juin, 14050 Caen Cedex 4, France. larysa.khomenkova@ensicaen.fr.
Nanoscale Research Letters
|June 30, 2011
Summary
Pure and Si-rich Hafnium Oxide (HfO2) tunnel layers enable high-performance nonvolatile memory. Optimized deposition and annealing yield a large memory window, ideal for low-voltage devices.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrical Engineering
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Exploring novel materials for advanced memory devices is crucial.
- Hafnium oxide (HfO2) is a promising high-k dielectric material.
- Silicon-based nanocrystal memory structures require effective tunnel layers.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate pure and Si-rich HfO2 as alternative tunnel oxide layers.
- Analyze the impact of silicon incorporation on HfO2 properties.
- Optimize deposition and annealing for enhanced charge storage and memory performance.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of HfO2 layers using radio frequency sputtering.
- Characterization of Si-rich SiO2 active charge storage layers.
- Capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements to assess charge trapping.
Main Results:
- Si incorporation modifies the properties of the Hf-based tunnel layer.
- Optimized deposition conditions and annealing treatment are critical.
- A significant memory window of approximately 6.8 V was achieved at ± 6 V sweeping voltage.
Conclusions:
- Pure and Si-rich HfO2 are viable alternatives for tunnel oxides in memory structures.
- The developed stack structures demonstrate potential for low-operating-voltage nonvolatile memory applications.
- Further optimization can lead to improved memory device performance.
