Carbon nanotube quantum nanomemory

Abstract

Single-charge memory operated at room temperature was fabricated with single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) transistor surrounded by SiNx/Al2O3double-gate insulator layers, which demonstrates discrete hysteresis characteristics by single-hole transfers. The present memory has the short top gate length of 10 nm fabricated by a self-assemble process which contributes to the room temperature operation. Owing to the strong concentrated electric field due to the top gate electrode which surrounds the SWNT channel with small diameter of 1 nm, Fowler-Nordheim tunneling becomes easy to occur, and the device achieved writing voltage of as small as 0.16 V, which is more than 100 times smaller than the present conventional planer-type flash memory.