Nonvolatile Memories Based on Nanocrystals

It is known that if material A is grown on top of material B and is thermodynamically unstable or metastable, layer A is rough and subsequent agglomeration or nanocrystallization occurs. This frequently happens when postgrowth thermal annealing is performed. 

Nanocrystallization via dewetting of materials has been observed in processing techniques, including ion implantation followed by thermal annealing, laser ablation, high-vacuum deposition, and molecular beam epitaxy In this section we focus on 

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