We have successfully demonstrated SONOS memories with embedded Si-NCs in silicon nitride. This new structure exhibits excellent characteristics in terms of larger memory windows and longer retention time compared to control devices. Using the same thickness 2.5 nm of the bottom tunneling oxide, we found that N 2 O is better than O 2 oxide. Retention property is improved when the thickness of N 2 O is increased to 3.0 nm.

In this study, a high-performance TixZrySizO flash memory is demonstrated using a sol–gel spin-coating method and formed under a low annealing temperature. The high-efficiency charge storage layer is formed by depositing a well-mixed solution of titanium tetrachloride, silicon tetrachloride, and zirconium tetrachloride, followed by 60 s of annealing at 600°C. The flash memory exhibits a noteworthy hot hole trapping characteristic and excellent electrical properties regarding memory window, program/erase speeds, and charge retention. At only 6-V operation, the program/erase speeds can be as fast as 120:5.2 μs with a 2-V shift, and the memory window can be up to 8 V. The retention times are extrapolated to 106 s with only 5% (at 85°C) and 10% (at 125°C) charge loss. The barrier height of the TixZrySizO film is demonstrated to be 1.15 eV for hole trapping, through the extraction of the Poole-Frenkel current. The excellent performance of the memory is attributed to high trapping sites of the low-temperature-annealed, high-κ sol–gel film.

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Multi-level-cell (MLC) operation of Cu-doped SiOx-based (SiOx:Cu-based) resistance random access memory (ReRAM) has been reported for the first time. For this study, we employed a novel ion bombardment-induced (IB-induced) SiOx:Cu switching layer (SL). Using modulation of SET-current compliance, we completed 2-bit-per-cell memory application. The MLC resistance switching process is described in detail. Owing to controllability of Cu source from advanced IB technique, the IB-induced SiOx:Cu SL shows good cell-to-cell uniformity of MLC resistance switching parameters, including operation voltages and resistance states. Additionally, the IB-induced TaN/SiOx:Cu/TaN ReRAM exhibits infinite potential for MLC operation, such as over 3 times differentiation space among memory states, robust resistance retention, and promising operation endurance properties. During frequent MLC resistance switching, moreover, the IB-induced SiOx:Cu-based device also has excellent single-cell uniformity of memory states due to IB-induced thin Cu filament.

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