Silicon nanocrystals synthesized by electron-beam co-evaporation method and their application for nonvolatile memory

In this paper, the silicon nanocrystals (Si NCs)/SiO2 hybrid films designed for nonvolatile memory applications are prepared by electron-beam co-evaporation of Si and SiO2. Transmission electron microscopy images and Raman spectra verify the formation of Si NCs. Metal-oxide-semi conductor 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 further demonstrate the memory effect of the structure resulting from the charging or discharging behaviors of Si NCs. It is found that the memory window can be changed by adjusting the Si/SiO2 wt. ratio in source material. The memory devices with Si NCs/SiO2 hybrid film as floating gate yield good retention characteristics with small charge loss. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.