Recent progress in gold nanoparticle-based non-volatile memory devices

Recently, much progress has been made toward the fabrication of non-volatile memory devices based on metallic nanoparticles. Among the many kinds of nanoparticles, gold nanoparticles are some of the most widely used materials for charge trapping elements in non-volatile memory devices because they are chemically stable, easily synthesized, and have a high work function. Various synthesis methods have been applied to fabricate gold nanoparticle-based nonvolatile memory devices and recent progress indicates that gold is a very promising material for non-volatile memory applications. In this article, the recent advances in fabrication and characterization of gold nanoparticle-based nonvolatile memory devices, with an emphasis on flash memory-type memory devices, are reviewed. Detailed device fabrication, characterization, and future directions are reported based on the recent research activities and literature.