Scaling down of cobalt quantum-dots by colloidal route for non-volatile memory device application

Abstract

The present work details the synthesis of cobalt quantum-dots (Co QDs) with size downscaling to 1-2 nm and their applications in non-volatile memory (NVM) devices. The process of colloidal synthesis is simple and provides the control over a wide range of QDs size. The scaled-down colloidal Co QDs are applied for the NVM device fabrication. Colloidal synthesised Co QDs are spin-coated over silicon dioxide wafer for the fabrication of floating-gate NVM devices. Capacitance-voltage (C-V) and capacitance-time (C-t) measurements of the fabricated NVM device indicate a low voltage operation of device. A sweep voltages as small as 1.2-4 V lead to a flat band voltage shift of 0.35-1.5 V, evidencing the low operating voltage and low power NVM applications. Further, retention characteristics show a robust retention by fabricated NVM device. In addition, C-V measurements are done for the several samples in order to study the process repeatability. The work also is compared with the other processes for the floating gate memory device.