Non-Volatile Flash Memory on Ge With an Oxidation-Induced Self-Assembled Charge Trapping Layer

In this work, we explore the material potential of yttrium-content GeO _x (YGO) in the design of a charge-trapping gate stack for embedded non-volatile memory (eNVM), which can share common gate stack materials with Ge logic CMOS. Based on a deep understanding of YGO, we propose a Ge eNVM with an oxidation-induced self-assembled YGO layer as the charge trapping layer. An eNVM fabricated on Ge offers a fast program/erase (P/E) speed (50 $\mu \text{s}$ and 2 ms for program and erase operations, respectively), low-voltage operation, a data retention lifetime of >10 years, and an endurance of > 10 ⁵ P/E cycles.