title: Thermal stability of metal-silicide nanocrystal nonvolatile memory with barrier engineered tunnel layers.
abstract: WSi2 nanocrystal nonvolatile memory devices were fabricated with a silicon oxide-nitride-oxide (SiO2: 2 nm/Si3N4:2 nm/SiO2:3 nm) tunnel layer. WSi2 nanocrystals of 2.5 nm diameters and a density of 3.6 x 10(12) cm(-2) were formed using radio frequency magnetron sputtering and annealing processes. The WSi2 nanocrystal nonvolatile memory device exhibited strong thermal stability during writing/erasing operations at temperatures up to 125 degrees C. When the writing/erasing voltages were applied at +10 V/-10 V for 500 ms, the memory window of the initial approximately 2.6 V decreased by approximately 1.1 V at 25 degrees C and 0.4 V at 125 degrees C after 10(4) sec, respectively. These results show that WSi2 nanocrystals with barrier-engineered tunnel layers are possible for application in nonvolatile memory devices.
authors.affiliation: Quantum-Function Research Laboratory and Department of Physics, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Uk
authors.initials: DU
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Seon Pil
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dong Seok
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Hyo Jun
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Eun Kyu
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Hee-Wook
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: You
authors.forename: Won-Ju
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Cho