Silicon Nanocrystals Synthesized by Electron-beam Co-evaporation Method and Their Application for Nonvolatile Memory

Abstract

The Silicon nanocrystals designed for nonvolatile memory applications are firstly prepared by electron beam co-evaporation of Si and SiO2 hybrid. Transmission electron microscopy observation and Raman scattering certify the formation of Si NCs. Metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor structure with Si NCs embedded in the gate oxide is fabricated to characterize the memory behaviors. High-frequency capacitance-voltage and capacitance-time measurements demonstrate the memory effect of the structure resulting from the charging/discharging behaviors of Si NCs. It is found that flat-band voltage can be changed by adjusting the concentration of Si and SiO2 in hybrids. The Si nanocrystals memory device has yielded good retention characteristics with small charge loss.