High performance gadolinium oxide nanocrystal memory with optimized charge storage and blocking dielectric thickness

The gadolinium oxide nanocrystal (Gd
₂
O
₃
-NCs) memory has been demonstrated with large memory window and good reliabilities. It has been proven that the charges are stored in the crystallized Gd
₂
O
₃
-NCs which are surrounded by trapping-free amorphous phase of Gd
₂
O
₃
film. The calculated deep trapping energy level is about 1.7eV below the conduction of the Gd
₂
O
₃
-NCs, and the energy band diagram of the Gd
₂
O
₃
-NCs memory has been proposed. In this study, we optimize the thickness of Gd
₂
O
₃
thin film to investigate the effect on the charge storage mechanism. The thickness of Gd
₂
O
₃
thin film and blocking oxide could simultaneously dominate the operation speed and charge loss phenomenon. Thus, the most suitable film thicknesses for the Gd
₂
O
₃
-NCs memory were proposed for future mass production nonvolatile memory application.