Charging effects in silicon nanocrystals embedded in SiO2 films

Kouvatsos, Dimitrios N.; Ioannou‐Sougleridis, V.; Nassiopoulou, A. G.

doi:10.1016/s0921-5107(02)00695-5

Cited by 13 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…For further increasing applied voltage, F-N tunneling current sets in due to the electron injection from the gate. 72 Similar I-V characteristic is believed to be observed when the insulator layer is nitride instead of oxide.…”

Section: Charge Transport Mechanism and I-v Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 69%

SILICON QUANTUM DOTS GROWTH IN SiN_x DIELECTRIC: A REVIEW

Panchal

Mathew

et al. 2009

NANO

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This paper reviews research works carried out on silicon quantum dots (Si-QDs) embedded in the silicon nitride (SiN x ) dielectric matrix films with different fabrication techniques and different characteristics. The advantages of SiN x as a dielectric compared to silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) for SiQDs from a device point of view are discussed. Various fabrication techniques along with different optimized deposition conditions are summarized. The typical results of structural characteristics of the films with Raman spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) are discussed. The origin of photoluminescence (PL) from the films and the chemical compositional analysis such as X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS) analysis of the films are also made available in brief. The charge conduction mechanism in the films with metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structure, with their electrical characterization like capacitance-voltage (C-V ) and current-voltage (I-V ) measurements are presented.

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Section: Charge Transport Mechanism and I-v Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 69%

SILICON QUANTUM DOTS GROWTH IN SiN_x DIELECTRIC: A REVIEW

Panchal

Mathew

et al. 2009

NANO

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“…In the latter case, the charge trapping in the nanocrystals leads to a shift of the C-V curve ͑i.e., a change in the flat-band voltage͒, 1,9,11 but it does not change the capacitance magnitude under accumulation or inversion. In contrast, in our case, the charge trapping leads to a dramatic reduction in the capacitance magnitude, but no obvious flat-band voltage shift can be seen as the MOS capacitance is reduced to an extremely low level.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Charging and discharging in nc-Si are indeed very important as they are directly related to data storage/retention in the memory cells. For memory applications, the nanocrystals are normally confined in a narrow layer embedded in the gate dielectrics near the Si substrate.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For memory applications, the nanocrystals are normally confined in a narrow layer embedded in the gate dielectrics near the Si substrate. [9][10][11] However, it would be interesting to examine the charging and discharging in the nc-Si that distributes throughout the gate dielectrice specially with the nc-Si peak concentration located near the gate. For the MOS structures with such an nc-Si distribution, charging and discharging of the nc-Si are expected to occur easily and thus they will have a significant impact on the electrical characteristics of the MOS structures.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Modulation of Capacitance Magnitude by Charging/Discharging in Silicon Nanocrystals Distributed Throughout the Gate Oxide in MOS Structures

Chen

Liu

et al. 2005

Electrochem. Solid-State Lett.

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In this work, charge trapping in silicon nanocrystals ͑nc-Si͒ distributed throughout the gate oxide in a metal oxide semiconductor ͑MOS͒ structure has been studied. This situation is different from the conventional one with nc-Si confined in a narrow layer embedded in the gate oxide. In the latter, charge trapping in nc-Si leads to a shift in capacitance-voltage characteristic ͑i.e., a change in the flat-band voltage͒. In contrast, in the former the charge trapping leads to a dramatic reduction in the MOS capacitance. The original capacitance could be recovered after the release of the trapped charges by a small bias, UV light illumination, or low-temperature thermal annealing.Silicon nanocrystals ͑nc-Si͒ embedded in gate oxide of metal oxide semiconductor ͑MOS͒ structures are expected to play an important role in memory devices due to the nanocrystals unique charging and discharging effect. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Charging and discharging in nc-Si are indeed very important as they are directly related to data storage/retention in the memory cells. For memory applications, the nanocrystals are normally confined in a narrow layer embedded in the gate dielectrics near the Si substrate. 9-11 However, it would be interesting to examine the charging and discharging in the nc-Si that distributes throughout the gate dielectrice specially with the nc-Si peak concentration located near the gate. For the MOS structures with such an nc-Si distribution, charging and discharging of the nc-Si are expected to occur easily and thus they will have a significant impact on the electrical characteristics of the MOS structures. Indeed, for such MOS structures, some interesting phenomena have been observed. In a previous study, 12 it was shown that charging in the nc-Si leads to a change in both the gate current and the MOS capacitance, and the change in the oxide conduction is explained by the change in the nc-Si tunneling paths due to charging/discharging in the nc-Si. In the present study, it will be shown that the capacitance can be reduced to an extremely low level by charging up the nc-Si with either a positive or a negative gate bias. Furthermore, the original capacitance can be recovered by discharging the nanocrystals with a small opposite gate bias, ultraviolet ͑UV͒ illumination, or even a low-temperature ͑100°C͒ heating. The modulation of the capacitance magnitude by charging/discharging in the nc-Si provides the possibility of memory devices application.To fabricate the MOS structures with nc-Si distributed throughout the gate oxide with its peak concentration located near the gate, a 30 nm SiO 2 film was thermally grown on p-type ͑100͒ Si wafers in dry oxygen at 950°C. Then Siϩ ions with the dose of 3 ϫ 10 16 cm Ϫ2 were implanted to the SiO 2 at 14 keV. From the transport and range of ions in matter ͑TRIM͒ simulations, the peak concentration was estimated to be at the depth of ϳ20 nm. Thermal annealing was carried out at 1000°C in N 2 ambient for 1 h to induce nc-Si formation. The annealing can also eliminate ...

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“…Ye et al 8 and Ishikawa et al 9 reported the resonant tunneling via silicon quantum dots at low temperature; others reported the room temperature single electron phenomenon in Si nanodots embedded in a dielectric matrix. [10][11][12][13][14] However, none of these researchers demonstrates clear periodical NDC. Until recently, the observation of significant NDC effect in nanocrystalline Si embedded in amorphous Si tissue has been reported at low temperature.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Room temperature current oscillations in naturally grown silicon nanocrystallites embedded in oxide films

Aceves-Mijares

Monfil

et al. 2008

Journal of Applied Physics

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Current oscillations and other abnormalities in the dark current-voltage characteristics of an aluminum/silicon-rich oxide (SRO)/silicon structure were observed at room temperature. The SRO layers in the devices were fabricated by low pressure chemical vapor deposition and postdeposition thermal annealing. The spikelike current oscillations and other abnormalities are interpreted by an alternative switching between the on and off states of the conduction paths through the Si nanocrystallites at proper biases.

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Charging effects in silicon nanocrystals embedded in SiO2 films

Cited by 13 publications

References 16 publications

SILICON QUANTUM DOTS GROWTH IN SiN_x DIELECTRIC: A REVIEW

SILICON QUANTUM DOTS GROWTH IN SiN_x DIELECTRIC: A REVIEW

Modulation of Capacitance Magnitude by Charging/Discharging in Silicon Nanocrystals Distributed Throughout the Gate Oxide in MOS Structures

Room temperature current oscillations in naturally grown silicon nanocrystallites embedded in oxide films

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Charging effects in silicon nanocrystals embedded in SiO2 films

Cited by 13 publications

References 16 publications

SILICON QUANTUM DOTS GROWTH IN SiNx DIELECTRIC: A REVIEW

SILICON QUANTUM DOTS GROWTH IN SiNx DIELECTRIC: A REVIEW

Modulation of Capacitance Magnitude by Charging/Discharging in Silicon Nanocrystals Distributed Throughout the Gate Oxide in MOS Structures

Room temperature current oscillations in naturally grown silicon nanocrystallites embedded in oxide films

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SILICON QUANTUM DOTS GROWTH IN SiN_x DIELECTRIC: A REVIEW

SILICON QUANTUM DOTS GROWTH IN SiN_x DIELECTRIC: A REVIEW