The characterization of a single discrete bionanodot for memory device applications

We investigated electronic properties of a biochemically synthesized cobalt oxide bionanodot (Co-BND) by means of scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS) and Kelvin-probe force microscopy (KFM). Experimentally obtained I-V characteristics and numerically obtained dI/dV and (dI/dV)/(I/V) from I-V revealed the band gap energy, band position of valence and conduction band of the Co-BND. KFM observation shows that bias polarity dependent surface potential change after charge injection. The observed surface potential change indicates that the Co-BND has a charge storage capability. We demonstrated the application of Co-BNDs for electronic devices by choosing flash memory as the example device. The fabricated Co-BND embedded MOS memory showed clear memory operation due to the charge confinement in the embedded Co-BNDs.