Performance and Reliability Feature of Nanocrystal Memory Devices

In this paper, the authors analyzed the performance and reliability feature of the NMOS transistors containing nanocrystals in the gate. The silicon nanocrystals were grown by annealing a SiO₂ /SiO/SiO₂ structure in N₂ atmosphere for one hour and the nanocrystal MOSFETs were processed with standard CMOS technology. Programming and erasing characteristics are performed before and after cycling, and the charge-loss characteristics is also analyzed. A threshold voltage window of about 1V can be achieved and milliseconds programming and erasing time is required. Result indicated that stress induced leakage current (SILC) is the main reason for the discharge and lateral tunneling