High-performance nonvolatile HfO₂ nanocrystal memory

In this letter, we demonstrate high-performance non-volatile HfO₂ nanocrystal memory utilizing spinodal phase separation of Hf-silicate thin film by 900 °C rapid thermal annealing. With this technique, a remarkably high nanocrystal density of as high as 0.9 ∼ 1.9 × 10¹2 cm^-2 with an average size < 10 nm can be easily achieved. Because HfO₂ nanocrystals are well embedded inside an SiO₂-rich matrix and due to their sufficiently deep energy level, we, for the first time, have demonstrated superior characteristics of the nanocrystal memories in terms of a considerably large memory window, high-speed program/erase (P/ E) (1 μs/0.1 ms), long retention time greater than 10⁸ s for 10% charge loss, and excellent endurance after 10⁶ P/E cycles.