Low Frequency Noise Studies of Si Nano-Crystal Effects in MOS Transistors and Capacitors

Recent developments in the novel generation of Non Volatile Memories (NVM) containing a plane of Si nano-crystals (Si-nc), embedded in the gate oxide MOS transistors, created a need for a better understanding of the basic physics of the charge/release phenomena on the Si-nc’s. Such studies are also important because the expected retention time is interesting for practical memory applications. Here, for the first time to our knowledge, low frequency noise (LFN) studies on MOS capacitors and transistors with the Si-nc’s are presented. The results obtained in the structures with and without Si-nc’s are compared. The implication of the Si-nc’s in the LFN generation and charge dynamics in the devices are discussed.