Low-damage NH₃ plasma treatment on SiO₂ tunneling oxide of chemically-synthesized gold nanoparticle nonvolatile memory

Characteristics of chemically-synthesized (CS) gold nanoparticle (Au-NP) nonvolatile memories (NVMs) with low-damage NH₃ plasma treatment on a tunneling oxide (TO) layer have been investigated. Although the dot density of CS Au-NPs is decreased, the programming efficiency of memories with optimized NH₃ plasma treatment condition is enhanced due to the formation of a trapezoid-like energy band diagram of the TO layer by nitrogen incorporation. With the extraction of relative permittivity and electron affinity of the TO layer, the capacitance-voltage (C-V) and programming behaviors of CS Au-NP memories with low-damage NH₃ plasma treatment on the TO layer are well-fitted by the TCAD (Technology Computer-Aided-Design) simulation. Further, the built-in electric field induced by the trapezoid-like energy band diagram of the TO layer can suppress the leakage current of the TO layer, thereby improving the data retention properties. The low-damage NH₃ plasma treatment that results in no plasma damage to the TO layer has been proposed to be the probable candidate for future NVM applications.