Nonvolatile flash memory based on biologically integrated hierarchical nanostructures.

The first six peptides of multifunctional titanium binding peptide-1 bestowed recombinant L-ferritin, minT1-LF, was genetically engineered and used to fabricate multilayered nanoparticle architecture. The multifunctionality of minT1-LF enables specific binding of nanoparticle-accommodated minT1-LF to the silicon substrate surface and wet biochemical fabrication of gate oxide layer by its biomineralization activity. Three-dimensional (3D) nanoparticle architecture with multilayered structure was fabricated by the biological layer-by-layer method and embedded in a metal oxide-semiconductor device structure as a charge storage node of a flash memory device. The 3D-integrated multilayered nanoparticle architecture successfully worked as a charge storage node in flash memory devices that exhibited improved charge storage capacity compared with that of a conventional monolayer structure device.