Energy-band engineering for improved charge retention in fully self-aligned double floating-gate single-electron memories

Xiaohui Tang (1) , Christophe Krzeminski (2) , Aurelien Lecavelier Des Etangs-Levallois (2) , Zhenkun Chen (2) , Emmanuel Dubois (2) , Erich Kasper (3) , Alim Karmous (3) , Nicolas Reckinger (1) , Denis Flandre (1) , Laurent A. Francis (1) , Jean-Pierre Collinge (4) , Jean-Pierre Raskin (1)

1 ICTEAM - Institute of Information and Communication Technologies, Electronics and Applied Mathematics
2 IEMN - Institut d’Électronique, de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie - UMR 8520
3 Institut für Halbeitertechnik
4 Tyndall National Institute

We present a new fully self-aligned single-electron memory with a single pair of nano floating gates, made of different materials (Si and Ge). The energy barrier that prevents stored charge leakage is induced not only by quantum effects but also by the conduction-band offset that arises between Ge and Si. The dimension and position of each floating gate are well defined and controlled. The devices exhibit a long retention time and single-electron injection at room temperature.

Mots clés: Double floating-gate single-electron memory; heterostructure; quantum effects; conduction-band offset

Domaines: Micro et nanotechnologies/Microélectronique

Xiaohui Tang, Christophe Krzeminski, Aurelien Lecavelier Des Etangs-Levallois, Zhenkun Chen, Emmanuel Dubois, et al.. Energy-band engineering for improved charge retention in fully self-aligned double floating-gate single-electron memories. Nano Letters, 2011, 11, pp.4520-4526. ⟨10.1021/nl202434k⟩. ⟨hal-00640212⟩