Observation of single electron tunneling effect in silicon-rich oxide

The transport properties of Al/SRO/Si MOS-like structures were studied. A staircase behavior in the current versus voltage curves was observed at room temperature. This staircase behavior is ascribed to the Columbic blockade effect in the Si nano-dots embedded in the silicon oxide. The structure can be equivalent to a 2D multi-tunneling junction array, where the dispersion of the parameters such as dot size, distance and tunnel resistance produce the dispersion in the stair voltage. The ultra small dot size is the main reason to observe the Columbic blockade effect in this structure at room temperature.