A nonvolatile nanocrystal (NC) memory containing a ferritin core was fabricated. A ferritin monolayer was formed through a droplet evaporation technique. High-pressure hydrogen (HP-H-2) annealing effectively reduced iron oxide (Fe2O3) to form conductive iron NC. In addition, HP-H-2 annealing also improved memory characteristics by passivation of the interface states at Si/HfO2. The authors observed good memory characteristics, including fast program/erase (P/E) operation, a memory window of 1.75 V under +/- 6 V, and a stable memory window up to 10(4) s at 85 degrees C. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.