Two-Terminal Low-temperature Poly-Si Thin Film Non-Volatile Memory
We have developed a low temperature growth methodology of silicon structures for applications in flash memory. In this article, we report on the memory behaviour of poly-Si films grown by this technique at 300 °C, investigated through electrical measurements on metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) and metal-insulator-metal (MIM) devices containing these films. Current-voltage (I-V) and Capacitance Voltage (C-V) behaviour of these devices exhibit hysteresis not seen in devices made of only a-Si and/or Si3N4. The devices also exhibit capacitance switching behaviour and non-volatility by the application of different pulse voltages for write, read and erase operations. All process temperatures from growth of films to fabrication of devices were ≤ 300 °C. If well harnessed, this novel growth method could be promising for memory applications in systems-on-glass, plastics and even in 3-D flash memory widely viewed as the only practical solution to some of the down-scaling challenges of memory devices.