Silicon nanowire charge-trap memory incorporating self-assembled iron oxide quantum dots

Abstract

Charge-trap non-volatile memory devices based upon the precise integration of quantum dot storage elements with silicon nanowire field-effect transistors are described. Template-assisted assembly yields an ordered array of FeO QDs within the trenches that separate highly aligned SiNWs, and injected charges are reversibly stored via Fowler-Nordheim tunneling into the QDs. Stored charges shift the transistor threshold voltages, providing the basis for a memory device. Quantum dot size is found to strongly influence memory performance metrics.

Keywords: Fowler-Nordheim tunneling; non-volatile memory devices; self-assembly; semiconductor quantum dots; silicon nanowires.