High performance gadolinium oxide nanocrystal memory with optimized charge storage and blocking dielectric thickness

The gadolinium oxide nanocrystal (Gd₂O₃-NCs) memory has been demonstrated with large memory window and good reliabilities. It has been proven that the charges are stored in the crystallized Gd₂O₃-NCs which are surrounded by trapping-free amorphous phase of Gd₂O₃ film. The calculated deep trapping energy level is about 1.7eV below the conduction of the Gd₂O₃-NCs, and the energy band diagram of the Gd₂O₃-NCs memory has been proposed. In this study, we optimize the thickness of Gd₂O₃ thin film to investigate the effect on the charge storage mechanism. The thickness of Gd₂O₃ thin film and blocking oxide could simultaneously dominate the operation speed and charge loss phenomenon. Thus, the most suitable film thicknesses for the Gd₂O₃-NCs memory were proposed for future mass production nonvolatile memory application.