Size control and charge storage mechanism of germanium nanocrystals in a metal-insulator-semiconductor structure

The size of germanium (Ge) nanocrystals in a trilayer metal-insulator-semiconductor memory device was controlled by varying the thickness of the middle (co-sputtered Ge+SiO2) layer. From analyses using transmission electron microscopy and capacitance–voltage measurements, we deduced that both electrons and holes are most likely stored within the nanocrystals in the middle layer of the trilayer structure rather than at the interfaces of the nanocrystals with the oxide matrix.