Threshold‐Voltage Modulation and N ₂ O Plasma Passivation for Enhanced Retention and Memory Window in Capacitorless 2T0C DRAM Oxide Thin‐Film Transistors

ABSTRACT Capacitorless two‐transistor‐zero‐capacitor (2T0C) dynamic random‐access memories (DRAMs) offer scalability, simplified processing, and design flexibility by eliminating storage capacitors. We propose 2T0C DRAMs using aluminum‐doped indium tin zinc oxide (Al:ITZO) thin‐film transistors (TFTs) that enhance both retention time and memory window through device‐level engineering. To suppress off‐state leakage, N 2 O plasma treatment was applied, which enabled fine‐tuning the threshold voltage (V th ) control via oxygen vacancy reduction, as confirmed by XPS analysis. Additionally, by adjusting the channel width‐to‐length (W/L) ratio of the read transistor (RTR), three key objectives were achieved. First, the write transistor (WTR) Vth was also engineered to enable hold‐state operation at 0 V write word line (WWL), enabling ultra‐low‐power operation. Second, optimization of the RTR W/L ratio effectively suppressed charge loss, resulting in significantly improved retention characteristics. Third, the memory window was maximized by balancing the intrinsic trade‐off between the RTR Vth and on‐current ( I on ). As a result, we achieved retention times exceeding 1000 s and a ∼13‐fold increase in memory window. These results demonstrate the feasibility of Al:ITZO‐based 2T0C DRAMs for next‐generation memory systems with improved scalability and energy efficiency.