Memory Effects of Nonvolatile Memory Devices with a Floating Gate Fabricated Utilizing Ag Nanoparticles Embedded into a Polymethylmethacrylate Layer

Nonvolatile memory devices based on a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) layer containing Ag nanoparticles were formed by using a spin coating method. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images showed that Ag nanoparticles were randomly distributed in the PMMA layer. Capacitance–voltage (C–V) curves for the Al/Ag nanoparticles embedded in a PMMA layer/p-Si(100) device at 300 K showed a hysteresis with a large flat-band voltage shift, indicative of the Ag nanoparticles acting as the charge storage in the memory device. The magnitude of the flat-band voltage shift for the memory devices increased with increasing Ag nanoparticle concentration. The operating mechanisms for the writing and the erasing processes for the Al/Ag nanoparticles embedded in a PMMA layer/p-Si(100) device are described on the basis of the C–V results and electronic structures.