Single-electron tunneling through Si nanocrystals dispersed in phosphosilicate glass thin films

Electrical transport properties of extremely thin phosphosilicate glass (PSG) films containing Si nanocrystals (nc-Si) a few nanometers in diameter were studied. Samples were prepared by cosputtering Si and PSG targets, and post-annealing. Periodic Coulomb staircases were clearly observed in the DC current–voltage (I–V) characteristics along the vertical direction of films. Although the step structure was broadened with increasing temperature, it remained up to 200 K. The I–V curve could be well fitted by Monte Carlo simulation with a simple double-barrier structure model. Advantages of using PSG instead of SiO2 as surrounding matrices of nc-Si to observe single-electron tunneling effects are discussed.

[1]  M. Fujii,et al.  Photoluminescence from B-doped Si nanocrystals , 1998 .

[2]  Kazuo Yano,et al.  Room-temperature single-electron memory , 1994 .

[3]  Naoki Yokoyama,et al.  Room temperature operation of Si single-electron memory with self-aligned floating dot gate , 1997 .

[4]  B. Hamilton,et al.  THE EFFECT OF SURFACE MODIFICATION ON THE LUMINESCENCE OF POROUS SILICON , 1994 .

[5]  M. Fujii,et al.  Photoluminescence from Si nanocrystals dispersed in phosphosilicate glass thin films: Improvement of photoluminescence efficiency , 1999 .

[6]  H. Ahmed,et al.  Observation of a Coulomb staircase in electron transport through a molecularly linked chain of gold colloidal particles , 1997 .

[7]  M. Fujii,et al.  Quenching of photoluminescence from Si nanocrystals caused by boron doping , 1999 .

[8]  S. Miyazaki,et al.  Resonant tunneling through a self-assembled Si quantum dot , 1997 .

[9]  Defects in porous silicon investigated by optically detected and by electron paramagnetic resonance techniques , 1993 .

[10]  Sandip Tiwari,et al.  A silicon nanocrystals based memory , 1996 .

[11]  M. Fujii,et al.  Current-transport properties of and composite films: observation of single-electron tunnelling and random telegraph signals , 1997 .

[12]  Toshiro Hiramoto,et al.  Effects of traps on charge storage characteristics in metal-oxide-semiconductor memory structures based on silicon nanocrystals , 1998 .

[13]  A. Itoh,et al.  Fabrication and Electrical Characteristics of Single Electron Tunneling Devices Based on Si Quantum Dots Prepared by Plasma Processing , 1997 .

[14]  Deborah Silver,et al.  Visiometrics, Juxtaposition and Modeling , 1993 .