Electrical and material characterization of tantalum pentoxide (Ta2O5) charge trapping layer memory

► A metal/oxide/high k-Ta2O5/oxide/silicon novel nanocrystal memory as a trapping layer was fabricated. ► Post-annealing treatment, which can passivate defects and improve the material quality of the high-k dielectric, was applied to optimize device performance. ► Material and electrical characterization techniques including XRD, XPS, AFM, and electrical measurements were performed to analyze the device under different annealing conditions. ► Devices with the best performance and material quality can be fabricated at an annealing temperature of 900 °C.