Memory Effect of Metal-Oxide-Silicon Capacitors with Self-Assembly Double-Layer Au Nanocrystals Embedded in Atomic-Layer-Deposited HfO2 Dielectric

We report the chemical self-assembly growth of Au nanocrystals on atomic-layer-deposited HfO2 films aminosilanized by (3-Aminopropyl)-trimethoxysilane aforehand for memory applications. The resulting Au nanocrystals show a density of about 4 x 10(11) cm(-2) and a diameter range of 5-8 nm. The metal-oxide-silicon capacitor with double-layer Au nanocrystals embedded in HfO2 dielectric exhibits a large C - V hysteresis window of 11.9 V for +/- 11 V gate voltage sweeps at 1 MHz, a flat-band voltage shift of 1.5 V after the electrical stress under 7 V for 1 ms, a leakage current density of 2.9 x 10(-8) A/cm(-2) at 9 V and room temperature. Compared to single-layer Au nanocrystals, the double-layer Au nanocrystals increase the hysteresis window significantly, and the underlying mechanism is thus discussed.