Influence of hydrogen plasma treatment on charge storage characteristics in high density tungsten nanocrystal nonvolatile memory

This study focuses on the influence of a hydrogen plasma treatment on electrical properties of tungsten nanocrystal nonvolatile memory. The X-ray photon emission spectra show that, after the hydrogen plasma treatment, a change in binding energy occurs such that Six+ and Siy+ peaks appear at a position that is shifted about 2.3 and 3.3eV from Si0+ in Si 2p spectra. This indicates that Si dangling bonds are passivated to form a Si–H bond structure in the SiO2. Furthermore, the transmission electron microscopy shows cross-sectional and plane-view for the nanocrystal microstructure after the hydrogen plasma treatment. Electrical measurement analyses show improved data retention because the hydrogen plasma treatment enhances the quality of the oxide surrounding the nanocrystals. The endurance and retention properties of the memory device are improved by about 36% and 30%, respectively.