Characteristics of nano-floating-gate memory with Au nanoparticles in SiO2 dielectrics

Abstract

Nano-floating-gate memory (NFGM) devices containing SiO2 layers embedded with nanoparticles were fabricated, and their electrical characteristics were evaluated. The Au nanoparticles were successfully fabricated by the horizontal sputtering and served as a charge storage node of the NFGM devices. The size and density of the Au nanoparticles were easily controlled by setting the sputtering thickness of the Au thin film used. The memory window of the fabricated NFGM devices on a silicon-on-insulator substrate was about 3 V at a gate bias of +/- 10 V. The feasibility of using Au nanoparticles dispersed in SiO2 oxide layers for NFGM device application was also presented.