Charge trapping characteristics of Au nanocrystals embedded in remote plasma atomic layer-deposited Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} film as the tunnel and blocking oxides for nonvolatile memory applications
Remote plasma atomic layer deposited (RPALD) Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} films were investigated to apply as tunnel and blocking layers in the metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor memory utilizing Au nanocrystals (NCs) for nonvolatile memory applications. The interface stability of an Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} film deposited by RPALD was studied to observe the effects of remote plasma on the interface. The interface formed during RPALD process has high oxidation states such as Si{sup +3} and Si{sup +4}, indicating that RPALD process can grow more stable interface which has a small amount of fixed oxide trap charge. The significant memory characteristics were also observed in this memory device through the electrical measurement. The memory device exhibited a relatively large memory window of 5.6 V under a 10/-10 V program/erase voltage and also showed the relatively fast programming/erasing speed and a competitive retention characteristic after 10{sup 4} s. These results indicate that Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} films deposited via RPALD can be applied as the tunnel and blocking oxides for next-generation flash memory devices.