Title :
An Improved Model for Calculating Tunneling Current in Nanocrystal Memory
Author :
Pavel, Akeed A. ; Sharma, Ashwani ; Islam, Naz
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Missouri Univ., Columbia, MO
Abstract :
A methodology to compute tunneling currents in a nanocrystal (NC) memory cell is presented to reveal the positive impact of using metal NCs as storage nodes. An analytical model for quantifying the NC effect on electrostatic potential has been used with a transmission line analogy-based quantum mechanical method to calculate the tunneling current. The model includes the effects of the electron wave function penetration into the gate dielectric and also shows the influence of NCs´ spacing and material properties on the programming characteristic of the memory cell. Results can be used in optimizing the structure for maximum programming efficiency.
Keywords :
nanostructured materials; transmission lines; electron wave function penetration; electrostatic potentials; maximum programming; nanocrystal memory cell; transmission line analogy-based quantum mechanical method; tunneling current; Analytical models; Dielectrics; Electrons; Electrostatics; Material properties; Nanocrystals; Quantum mechanics; Transmission lines; Tunneling; Wave functions; Nanocrystal (NC) memory; tunneling;
Journal_Title :
Electron Device Letters, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/LED.2008.2006633
