Improvement of charge storage characteristics on floating gated nonvolatile memory devices with In2O3 nanoparticles embedded polyimide gate insulator

Nanofloating gate memory (NFGM) devices using In2O3 nanoparticles as charge storages embedded in polyimide gate insulator were fabricated. Self-assembled In2O3 nanoparticles were formed inside the polyimide matrix as a result of chemical reactions between indium ions and polymer precursors. The average diameter and the particle density were 7 nm and 6x10(11) cm(-2), respectively. The memory window of fabricated NFGM device due to the charging effect of In2O3 particles was larger than 4.4 V. The charge storage characteristics of NFGM devices with In2O3 nanoparticles embedded in polyimide gate insulator were significantly improved by the postannealing in a 3% diluted hydrogen in N-2 ambient. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.