Electrons and Holes Charging Current Peaks in Silicon Nanocrystals within SiO2 Layers Fabricated by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

Metal-insulator-semiconductors structures (MIS) with a layer of silicon nanocrystals embedded within two SiO₂ layers are fabricated by using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. By using current-voltage (I-V) measurements with different sweep rates, we study the mechanism of electrons and holes charging/discharging characteristic of the MIS structures. Distinct current peaks duo to electrons (holes) charging into the nc-Si dots and discharging out of the nc-Si dots are observed. The current peaks are depended on the sweep rate and the areas of current peaks have been used to calculate the charged charge density. The experimental result demonstrates that each nc-Si dots underlying the electrode is charged by one carrier.