Synthesis of high-density PtSi nanocrystals for memory application

Vapor-solid-solid growth mechanism was employed to synthesize PtSi nanocrystals with density of 1.5×1012 cm−2 by introducing SiH4 onto Pt-catalyzed SiO2/Si substrate. The nanocrystal density and average size were measured by scanning electron microscope and the nanocrystal chemical nature was determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscope. Metal-oxide-semiconductor memory with PtSi nanocrystals was fabricated and characterized, showing very good memory performance.