Synthesis and characterization of aerosol silicon nanocrystal nonvolatile floating-gate memory devices

This letter describes the fabrication and structural and electrical characterization of an aerosol-nanocrystal-based floating-gate field-effect-transistor nonvolatile memory. Aerosol nanocrystal nonvolatile memory devices demonstrate program/erase characteristics comparable to conventional stacked-gate nonvolatile memory devices. Aerosol nanocrystal devices with 0.2 ?m channel lengths exhibit large threshold voltage shifts (>3?V), submicrosecond program times, millisecond erase times, excellent endurance (>105?program/erase cycles), and long-term nonvolatility (>106?s) despite thin tunnel oxides (55–60 Å). In addition, a simple aerosol fabrication and deposition process makes the aerosol nanocrystal memory device an attractive candidate for low-cost nonvolatile memory applications. © 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Ostraat, M., De Blauwe, JW., Green, ML., Bell, LD., Brongersma, ML., Casperson, J., ... Atwater, HA. (2001). Synthesis and characterization of aerosol silicon nanocrystal nonvolatile floating-gate memory devices. Applied Physics Letters, 79(3), 433-435. DOI: 10.1063/1.1385190