中国物理B ›› 2018, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (6): 67303-067303.doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/27/6/067303

• CONDENSED MATTER: ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE, ELECTRICAL, MAGNETIC, AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES • 上一篇    下一篇

Improved performance of Au nanocrystal nonvolatile memory by N2-plasma treatment on HfO2 blocking layer

Chen Wang(王尘), Yi-Hong Xu(许怡红), Song-Yan Chen(陈松岩), Cheng Li(李成), Jian-Yuan Wang(汪建元), Wei Huang(黄巍), Hong-Kai Lai(赖虹凯), Rong-Rong Guo(郭榕榕)   

  1. 1 Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Devices, School of Opto-electronic and Communiction Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen 361024, China;
    2 Xiamen Institute of Technology, Xiamen 361024, China;
    3 Department of Physics, Semiconductor Photonics Research Center, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
  • 收稿日期:2018-01-22 修回日期:2018-03-21 出版日期:2018-06-05 发布日期:2018-06-05
  • 通讯作者: Chen Wang E-mail:chenwang@xmut.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    Project supported by the High Level Talent Project of Xiamen University of Technology,China (Grant Nos.YKJ16012R and YKJ16016R) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.51702271).

Improved performance of Au nanocrystal nonvolatile memory by N2-plasma treatment on HfO2 blocking layer

Chen Wang(王尘)1, Yi-Hong Xu(许怡红)2, Song-Yan Chen(陈松岩)3, Cheng Li(李成)3, Jian-Yuan Wang(汪建元)3, Wei Huang(黄巍)3, Hong-Kai Lai(赖虹凯)3, Rong-Rong Guo(郭榕榕)1   

  1. 1 Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and Devices, School of Opto-electronic and Communiction Engineering, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen 361024, China;
    2 Xiamen Institute of Technology, Xiamen 361024, China;
    3 Department of Physics, Semiconductor Photonics Research Center, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China
  • Received:2018-01-22 Revised:2018-03-21 Online:2018-06-05 Published:2018-06-05
  • Contact: Chen Wang E-mail:chenwang@xmut.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    Project supported by the High Level Talent Project of Xiamen University of Technology,China (Grant Nos.YKJ16012R and YKJ16016R) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.51702271).

摘要: The N2-plasma treatment on a HfO2 blocking layer of Au nanocrystal nonvolatile memory without any post annealing is investigated. The electrical characteristics of the MOS capacitor with structure of Al-TaN/HfO2/SiO2/p-Si are also characterized. After N2-plasma treatment, the nitrogen atoms are incorporated into HfO2 film and may passivate the oxygen vacancy states. The surface roughness of HfO2 film can also be reduced. Those improvements of HfO2 film lead to a smaller hysteresis and lower leakage current density of the MOS capacitor. The N2-plasma is introduced into Au nanocrystal (NC) nonvolatile memory to treat the HfO2 blocking layer. For the N2-plasma treated device, it shows a better retention characteristic and is twice as large in the memory window than that for the no N2-plasma treated device. It can be concluded that the N2-plasma treatment method can be applied to future nonvolatile memory applications.

关键词: Au nanocrystal nonvolatile memory, N2-plasma, HfO2 dielectric film.

Abstract: The N2-plasma treatment on a HfO2 blocking layer of Au nanocrystal nonvolatile memory without any post annealing is investigated. The electrical characteristics of the MOS capacitor with structure of Al-TaN/HfO2/SiO2/p-Si are also characterized. After N2-plasma treatment, the nitrogen atoms are incorporated into HfO2 film and may passivate the oxygen vacancy states. The surface roughness of HfO2 film can also be reduced. Those improvements of HfO2 film lead to a smaller hysteresis and lower leakage current density of the MOS capacitor. The N2-plasma is introduced into Au nanocrystal (NC) nonvolatile memory to treat the HfO2 blocking layer. For the N2-plasma treated device, it shows a better retention characteristic and is twice as large in the memory window than that for the no N2-plasma treated device. It can be concluded that the N2-plasma treatment method can be applied to future nonvolatile memory applications.

Key words: Au nanocrystal nonvolatile memory, N2-plasma, HfO2 dielectric film.

中图分类号:  (Metal-insulator-semiconductor structures (including semiconductor-to-insulator))

  • 73.40.Qv
61.46.Hk (Nanocrystals) 52.77.-j (Plasma applications) 77.55.-g (Dielectric thin films)