Nonvolatile memory based on redox-active ruthenium molecular monolayers

A monolayer of diruthenium molecules was self-assembled onto the silicon oxide surface in a semiconductor capacitor structure with a “click” reaction for nonvolatile memory applications. The attachment of the active molecular monolayer was verified by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The prototypical capacitor memory devices in this work employed a metal/oxide/molecule/oxide/Si structure. With the intrinsic redox-active charge-storage properties of diruthenium molecules, these capacitor memory devices exhibited fast Program and Erase speed, excellent endurance performance with negligible degradation of the memory window after 105 program/erase cycles, and very good 10-year memory retention. These experimental results indicate that the redox-active ruthenium molecular memory is very promising for use in nonvolatile memory applications.