3-D computer simulation of single-electron charging in silicon nanocrystal floating gate flash memory devices

The operation of a silicon nanocrystal quantum-dot based flash memory device is simulated numerically with emphasis on energy and charge quantization in the quantum-dot. The simulation involves the self-consistent solution of three-dimensional (3-D) Poisson and Schrodinger-like equations, with the Slater rule for determining the charging voltage. We also compute the capacitance-voltage characteristics of the device and derive the threshold voltage, V/sub T/, variation with single-electron charging as a function of design parameters.