Single electron tunneling and Coulomb blockade effect in HfAlO∕Au nanocrystals/HfAlO trilayer nonvolatile memory structure

Abstract

Single electron tunneling and Coulomb blockade effect have been observed in the HfAlO∕Au nanocrystals/HfAlO trilayer floating gate nonvolatile memory structure. This trilayer floating gate memory structure exhibits a significant memory window, and resonant tunneling current peaks and Coulomb staircase are obtained at 20K low temperature. Compared to the ordinary single electron devices, this is the first time that a clear single electron tunneling oscillation has been observed in the floating gate memory structure. This resonant tunneling phenomenon in floating gate memory may open a door toward application as single electron device.