Improved Data Retention of InSnZnO Nonvolatile Memory by H2O2 Treated Al2O3 Tunneling Layer: A Cost-Effective Method

An experiential aspect regarding the improvement of retention characteristics of InSnZnO (ITZO) thin-film transistor-based nonvolatile memory (TFT-NVM) devices with a hydrogen peroxide H
₂
O
₂
treated Aluminum oxide (Al
₂
O
₃
) tunneling layer is reported. A better performance in retention of ~92% (after ten years), a smaller subthreshold swing of 96 mV/decade, and a higher field effect mobility of 31.08 cm
²
/V·s were obtained in H
₂
O
₂
treated TFT-NVM devices compared with untreated one. Furthermore, employing the H
₂
O
₂
-treatment in the Al
₂
O
₃
layer provided oxygen-rich (O/Al ratio = 1.45) and OH-residuals free Al
₂
O
₃
, which effectively minimized the interface states (1.34 × 1011 cm
^-2
eV
^-1
) between the ITZO/(Al
₂
O
₃
/SiOx/SiO
₂
) stack through strong oxidation. These results suggest that high-quality Al
₂
O
₃
dielectric layer can be obtained through cost-effective H
₂
O
₂
oxidation techniques for TFT-NVM devices.