Department of Electrical Engineering, University of California, Riverside, California 92521, United States.
ACS Nano. 2011 Oct 25;5(10):7972-7. doi: 10.1021/nn202377f. Epub 2011 Sep 12.
A memory structure based on self-aligned silicon nanocrystals (Si NCs) grown over Al(2)O(3)-covered parallel-aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by gas source molecular beam epitaxy is reported. Electrostatic force microscopy characterizations directly prove the charging and discharging of discrete NCs through the Al(2)O(3) layer covering the CNTs. A CNT field effect transistor based on the NC/CNT structure is fabricated and characterized, demonstrating evident memory characteristics. Direct tunneling and Fowler-Nordheim tunneling phenomena are observed at different programming/erasing voltages. Retention is demonstrated to be on the order of 10(4) s. Although there is still plenty of room to enhance the performance, the results suggest that CNT-based NC memory with diminutive CNTs and NCs could be an alternative structure to replace traditional floating gate memory.
一种基于自对准硅纳米晶体（Si NCs）的存储结构，该结构是通过气源分子束外延在覆盖有 Al(2)O(3)的平行排列的碳纳米管（CNTs）上生长而成。静电力显微镜的特性分析直接证明了通过覆盖 CNTs 的 Al(2)O(3)层对离散 NCs 的充电和放电。基于 NC/CNT 结构的 CNT 场效应晶体管被制造和表征，展示出明显的存储特性。在不同的编程/擦除电压下观察到直接隧道和 Fowler-Nordheim 隧道现象。保留时间约为 10(4) s。尽管仍有很大的空间来提高性能，但结果表明，具有微小 CNTs 和 NCs 的基于 CNT 的 NC 存储器可能是替代传统浮栅存储器的一种结构。
