Al/Al2O3/Sm2O3/SiO2/Si structure memory for nonvolatile memory application

Abstract

In this paper, we propose an Al/Al2O3/Sm2O3/SiO2/Si structure memory using a high-k Sm2O3 film and Al2O3 film as a charge-trapping layer and blocking layer for nonvolatile memory application, respectively. The Al/Al2O3/Sm2O3/SiO2/Si structure memories annealed at 600 °C exhibited a large memory window of ∼4.7 V (measured at a sweep voltage range of ±7 V), a low program/erase voltage of 7 V/−8 V (operated at 1 ms/10 ms), and a small charge loss of ∼8.4% (measured time up to 104 s and at room temperature) because of the higher probability for trapping the charge carrier due to the formation of the Sm2O3 trapping layer with high dielectric constant and the large surface roughness. The Al/Al2O3/Sm2O3/SiO2/Si structure is a promising candidate for future advanced thin-film transistor memory devices.