Metallic nanoparticles for application in electronic non-volatile memories

Nanoparticle memories have appeared during last years as a possible solution to overcome the scaling issue of electronic nonvolatile memories. Ultimately, we are looking for nanoparticle memories to significantly decrease the voltage needed to write/erase the memory without compromising its retention characteristics. As an alternative to semiconductor nanoparticles which have been intensively investigated, metallic nanoparticles have been recently also used since they have the potential for more versatile engineering of energy barriers. This would allow improved data retention for memory devices operating at low voltages. Processing approaches for metallic nanoparticle fabrication are addressed and corresponding memory devices performance is discussed. The work presented in this paper is a review of results obtained during the last four years within the Nanodevice Research group at NTUA in collaboration with IMEL/NCSR Demokritos and University of Durham.