Enhancement of the charge trapping performances with HfAlO composite oxide thin films in SONOS-type nonvolatile memory

[Display omitted] •Charge trapping memory devices based on HfAlO thin film were deposited.•The memory devices based on HfAlO thin film had good charge trapping capability.•Intensive mixing of two high-k materials can improve the charge trapping capability.•The RTA-treated sample exhibited good program/erase and endurance performances.•About 21% of the trapped charges were remained after 10-years retention time. HfAlO composite oxide was prepared as the charge trapping layer to improve the performance of our memory devices. The results showed that the device with HfAlO charge trapping layer had excellent charge trapping capability. The RTA treatment can make HfO2 and Al2O3 mixing more uniformly, and enlarge the inter-diffusion of the two materials, leading to the enhancement of the charge trapping capability. Meanwhile, the sample with RTA treatment exhibited fast program/erase speed, good retention and endurance performance, indicating that the memory device with high-k composite oxide charge trapping layer could be a promising candidate for future memory applications.