Observation of memory effect in germanium nanocrystals embedded in an amorphous silicon oxide matrix of a metal–insulator– semiconductor structure

Abstract

The memory effect of a trilayer structure (rapid thermal oxide/Ge nanocrystals in SiO2/sputtered SiO2) was investigated via capacitance versus voltage (C–V) measurements. The Ge nanocrystals were synthesized by rapid thermal annealing of the cosputtered Ge+SiO2 films. The memory effect was manifested by the hysteresis in the C–V curve. Transmission electron microscope and C–V results indicated that the hysteresis was due to Ge nanocrystals in the middle layer of the trilayer structure.