The investigation is dedicated to the detailed microstructure characterization of explosively welded clads, in which, exceptionally and for cognitive purposes, a very high detonation speed of about 2800 m/s was used to manufacture bimetallic aluminum-nickel plates. The study involves detailed microstructural characteristics of the bonded zone at micro and nano level, especially focused on the expanded melted regions consisted mostly of Al3Ni, Al3Ni2 and AlNi phases. In situ heating experiment in transmission electron microscope allowed observing microstructure transformation revealing that additionally present metastable Al9Ni2 phase was transformed to Al3Ni and Al3Ni2. Microhardness measurements across the welded zone showed the increase of the microhardness of nickel alloy plate from 153 up to 170 HV when approaching to the Ni201/A1050 interface, while the value for aluminum plate was of 45 HV. Within the melted zones the microhardness was found to be 135 HV and it enormously increased to 850 HV after annealing of the sample at 500 °C. This change was due to the transformation of the interface region from the waves with the melted zones into the continuous layers of two intermetallic phases: Al3Ni and Al3Ni2. The second phase grew at the expense of the Al3Ni.

No abstract

Flash memories are the preferred choice for data storage in portable gadgets. The charge trapping nonvolatile flash memories are the main contender to replace standard floating gate technology. In this work, we investigate metal/blocking oxide/high-k charge trapping layer/tunnel oxide/Si (MOHOS) structures from the viewpoint of their application as memory cells in charge trapping flash memories. Two different stacks, HfO2/Al2O3 nanolaminates and Al-doped HfO2, are used as the charge trapping layer, and SiO2 (of different thickness) or Al2O3 is used as the tunneling oxide. The charge trapping and memory windows, and retention and endurance characteristics are studied to assess the charge storage ability of memory cells. The influence of post-deposition oxygen annealing on the memory characteristics is also studied. The results reveal that these characteristics are most strongly affected by post-deposition oxygen annealing and the type and thickness of tunneling oxide. The stacks before annealing and the 3.5 nm SiO2 tunneling oxide have favorable charge trapping and retention properties, but their endurance is compromised because of the high electric field vulnerability. Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) in O2 significantly increases the electron trapping (hence, the memory window) in the stacks; however, it deteriorates their retention properties, most likely due to the interfacial reaction between the tunneling oxide and the charge trapping layer. The O2 annealing also enhances the high electric field susceptibility of the stacks, which results in better endurance. The results strongly imply that the origin of electron and hole traps is different—the hole traps are most likely related to HfO2, while electron traps are related to Al2O3. These findings could serve as a useful guide for further optimization of MOHOS structures as memory cells in NVM.